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University · Heidelberg · Germany

Heidelberg University

In research, Heidelberg University stands highest in Medicine (#85 of 10,443 worldwide), Health Sciences (#100 of 11,982 worldwide) and Life Sciences (#83 of 7,800 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Instrumentation, Classics and Nuclear and High Energy Physics — Instrumentation is 6.0× its share of world research.

uni-heidelberg.deROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#141
of 28,054 · #81 all time
Rank in Germany
#3
of 1,178
Research works
106k
▼ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
3.1M
29.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
30%
world 28%

What is Heidelberg University known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
MedicineField #85 of 10,443 20.2%3,598 #40
Health SciencesDomain #100 of 11,982 20.3%3,965 #49
Life SciencesDomain #83 of 7,800 25.5%1,675 #58
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #63 of 3,579 25.4%1,061 #52
Physical SciencesDomain #248 of 12,888 21.9%2,506 #102
Social SciencesDomain #245 of 10,521 20.3%2,492 #184
Molecular BiologySubfield #69 of 2,175 26.0%632 #52
PsychologyField #76 of 2,181 24.5%481 #80
Arts and HumanitiesField #81 of 1,998 14.8%516 #138
Pulmonary and Respiratory MedicineSubfield #53 of 1,144 18.6%388 #36

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Heidelberg University sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Medicine#40 #85
  2. Health Sciences#49 #100
  3. Life Sciences#58 #83
  4. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#52 #63
  5. Physical Sciences#102 #248
  6. Social Sciences#184 #245
  7. Molecular Biology#52 #69
  8. Psychology#80 #76
  9. Arts and Humanities#138 #81
  10. Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine#36 #53
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Heidelberg University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Instrumentation takes 6.0× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. InstrumentationSubfield · 31.6 works6.0×
  2. ClassicsSubfield · 30.3 works4.8×
  3. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 151.5 works4.5×
  4. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 226.0 works4.1×
  5. GeneticsSubfield · 107.0 works3.7×
  6. RadiationSubfield · 53.6 works3.7×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.21× its world share, 108 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.87× its world share, 1,061 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.78× its world share, 190 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.68× its world share, 290 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.68× its world share, 26 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.33× its world share, 12 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.61× its world share, 269 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.42× its world share, 349 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.80× its world share, 133 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.18× its world share, 18 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.30× its world share, 478 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.39× its world share, 205 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.49× its world share, 184 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.28× its world share, 161 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 2.95× its world share, 697 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.11× its world share, 58 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.96× its world share, 268 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.76× its world share, 3,598 worksMedicineNursing: 0.68× its world share, 35 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.46× its world share, 7 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.68× its world share, 516 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.37× its world share, 126 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.59× its world share, 61 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.62× its world share, 141 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.48× its world share, 481 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.87× its world share, 1,166 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 3.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Heidelberg University?

Ranked on the composite score, Jost B. Jonas, Till Bärnighausen and Hugo A. Katus lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Heidelberg University.

  1. 1 Jost B. Jonas · #12 worldwide 7.7k citations · 243 works
  2. 2 Till Bärnighausen · #139 worldwide 5.4k citations · 123 works
  3. 3 Hugo A. Katus · #1,201 worldwide 3.8k citations · 261 works
  4. 4 Andreas von Deimling · #1,601 worldwide 2.4k citations · 182 works
  5. 5 Andreas Unterberg · #1,802 worldwide 1.8k citations · 147 works
  6. 6 Werner Hacke · #2,130 worldwide 1.2k citations · 114 works
  7. 7 Wolfgang Wagner · #2,882 worldwide 2.8k citations · 69 works
  8. 8 Winfried März · #2,927 worldwide 5.2k citations · 632 works
  9. 9 Christel Herold‐Mende · #3,318 worldwide 1.5k citations · 89 works
  10. 10 Marc‐André Weber · #3,932 worldwide 1.3k citations · 66 works
All ranked researchers at Heidelberg University

Which keywords describe research at Heidelberg University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Immunotherapy, Inflammation, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Prognostic Factors and Tumor Microenvironment.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Epidemiology566▲ 1.35×133 topics
  2. Inflammation351▲ 1.58×83 topics
  3. Cancer271▲ 1.90×54 topics
  4. Immunotherapy260▲ 3.4×19 topics
  5. Machine Learning235▼ 0.67×68 topics
  6. Oxidative Stress218▲ 1.25×60 topics
  7. Chemotherapy201▲ 2.7×24 topics
  8. Quality of Life195▲ 1.27×53 topics
  9. Treatment191▲ 1.48×50 topics
  10. Risk Factors167▲ 1.43×36 topics
  11. Public Health159◆ 1.03×61 topics
  12. Diagnosis153▲ 1.54×41 topics
  13. Radiotherapy149▲ 3.6×13 topics
  14. Depression148▲ 1.59×23 topics
  15. Prognostic Factors144▲ 3.1×14 topics
  16. Tumor Microenvironment144▲ 3.0×8 topics
  17. Human Rights142▲ 1.30×59 topics
  18. Gender134▲ 2.3×42 topics
  19. Identity133▲ 1.71×54 topics
  20. History129▲ 1.73×45 topics
  21. Clinical Trials124▲ 1.74×19 topics
  22. Clinical Practice Guidelines122▲ 2.1×14 topics
  23. Gene Expression122▲ 1.89×19 topics
  24. Biomarkers121▲ 1.67×18 topics
  25. Religion121▲ 2.4×34 topics
  26. Genetic Mutations117▲ 2.5×23 topics
  27. Cancer Therapy116▲ 1.90×19 topics
  28. Precision Medicine108▲ 2.2×8 topics
  29. Governance108▲ 3.1×16 topics
  30. Guidelines101▲ 2.0×13 topics
  31. Magnetic Resonance Imaging90▲ 3.3×8 topics
  32. Neoadjuvant Therapy89▲ 3.6×5 topics
  33. Targeted Therapy83▲ 3.5×5 topics
  34. Dark Matter78▲ 6.3×4 topics
  35. Molecular Classification72▲ 4.5×4 topics
  36. Black Holes63▲ 6.2×3 topics
  37. Glioblastoma62▲ 8.5×1 topic
  38. Temozolomide62▲ 8.5×1 topic
  39. Star Formation60▲ 11×2 topics
  40. Bildung52▲ 15×3 topics

Which research topics does Heidelberg University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment, Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies, Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging and Pancreatic and Hepatic Oncology Research.

Glioma Diagnosis and Tre…62Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment: 62 fractional worksStellar, planetary, and …45Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 45 fractional worksRadiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging: 43 fractional worksPancreatic and Hepatic Oncology Research: 42 fractional worksGerman Literature and Culture Studies: 40 fractional worksPublic Administration and Political Analysis: 38 fractional worksCancer Genomics and Diagnostics: 37 fractional worksCancer Immunotherapy and…36Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers: 36 fractional worksSociology and Education Studies: 36 fractional worksParticle physics theoretical and experimental studies: 36 fractional works
GeneticsAstronomy and AstrophysicsRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and ImagingOncology5 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment Genetics 62 works
  2. 2 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 45 works
  3. 3 Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging 43 works
  4. 4 Pancreatic and Hepatic Oncology Research Oncology 42 works
  5. 5 German Literature and Culture Studies Literature and Literary Theory 40 works
  6. 6 Public Administration and Political Analysis Political Science and International Relations 38 works
  7. 7 Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Cancer Research 37 works
  8. 8 Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers Oncology 36 works
  9. 9 Sociology and Education Studies Sociology and Political Science 36 works
  10. 10 Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies Nuclear and High Energy Physics 36 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available30.5%not open69.5%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors23.8%domestic only76.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Heidelberg University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Heidelberg

All research institutions in Heidelberg

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.