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University · Berlin · Germany

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

In research, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin stands highest in Social Sciences (#147 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#119 of 6,365 worldwide) and Medicine (#225 of 10,443 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Classics, Museology and History and Philosophy of Science — Classics is 7.0× its share of world research.

hu-berlin.de/?set_language=en&cl=enROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#294
of 28,054 · #284 all time
Rank in Germany
#14
of 1,178
Research works
50k
▲ 25% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.2M
22.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
25.1%
record average 16.5%
Open access
36%
world 28%

What is Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 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
Social SciencesDomain #147 of 10,521 23.8%2,964 #216
Social SciencesField #119 of 6,365 26.4%1,431 #244
MedicineField #225 of 10,443 26.5%1,217 #332
Health SciencesDomain #272 of 11,982 26.8%1,421 #355
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #34 of 1,201 25.5%318 #96
Life SciencesDomain #274 of 7,800 28.0%1,085 #314
Physical SciencesDomain #467 of 12,888 24.1%1,831 #280
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #101 of 2,578 25.8%576 #225
PsychologyField #99 of 2,181 26.8%442 #213
Arts and HumanitiesField #91 of 1,998 14.7%749 #132

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 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. Social Sciences#216 #147
  2. Social Sciences#244 #119
  3. Medicine#332 #225
  4. Health Sciences#355 #272
  5. Political Science and International Relations#96 #34
  6. Life Sciences#314 #274
  7. Physical Sciences#280 #467
  8. Sociology and Political Science#225 #101
  9. Psychology#213 #99
  10. Arts and Humanities#132 #91
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 Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Classics takes 7.0× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. ClassicsSubfield · 30.3 works7.0×
  2. MuseologySubfield · 61.5 works6.9×
  3. History and Philosophy of ScienceSubfield · 54.6 works4.8×
  4. PhilosophySubfield · 124.3 works4.0×
  5. Language and LinguisticsSubfield · 124.9 works3.9×
  6. Literature and Literary TheorySubfield · 143.3 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: 0.84× its world share, 290 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.04× its world share, 406 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.19× its world share, 88 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 2.37× its world share, 280 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.84× its world share, 22 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.43× its world share, 11 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.93× its world share, 106 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.70× its world share, 397 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.55× its world share, 63 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.50× its world share, 33 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.30× its world share, 330 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.91× its world share, 331 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.60× its world share, 153 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.70× its world share, 146 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.62× its world share, 263 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.96× its world share, 34 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.74× its world share, 142 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.87× its world share, 1,217 worksMedicineNursing: 0.56× its world share, 20 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.89× its world share, 9 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 3.55× its world share, 749 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.55× its world share, 129 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.98× its world share, 69 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.93× its world share, 145 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.99× its world share, 442 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.55× its world share, 1,431 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 3.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin?

Ranked on the composite score, H. Kolanoski, Wolfgang Rettig and Patrick Hostert lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

  1. 1 H. Kolanoski Germany · #2,188 worldwide 6.5k citations · 324 works
  2. 2 Wolfgang Rettig Germany · #17,570 worldwide 876 citations · 52 works
  3. 3 Patrick Hostert Germany · #22,616 worldwide 859 citations · 53 works
  4. 4 Jens B. Asendorpf Germany · #25,216 worldwide 800 citations · 78 works
  5. 5 Matthias Weidlich Germany · #26,614 worldwide 637 citations · 79 works
  6. 6 Holger Gerhardt Germany · #26,820 worldwide 420 citations · 49 works
  7. 7 Heinz‐Elmar Tenorth Germany · #28,126 worldwide 175 citations · 109 works
  8. 8 Manfred Krifka Germany · #33,500 worldwide 414 citations · 37 works
  9. 9 Miroslaw Malek Germany · #35,880 worldwide 605 citations · 65 works
  10. 10 Werner Römisch Germany · #38,964 worldwide 490 citations · 34 works
All ranked researchers at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Which keywords describe research at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Identity, Gender, Globalization, History, Governance, Climate Change, Literature and Nationalism.

▲ 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. Climate Change246▲ 1.25×104 topics
  2. Globalization246▲ 1.71×107 topics
  3. Epidemiology239▼ 0.83×130 topics
  4. Identity214▲ 4.0×58 topics
  5. Gender191▲ 4.8×41 topics
  6. History162▲ 3.2×41 topics
  7. Sustainability159◆ 0.89×83 topics
  8. Human Rights150▲ 1.99×56 topics
  9. Literature130▲ 3.3×38 topics
  10. Ethics124▲ 3.5×44 topics
  11. Governance123▲ 5.1×16 topics
  12. Nationalism123▲ 3.6×30 topics
  13. Neoliberalism98▲ 3.8×21 topics
  14. Cultural Studies90▲ 3.2×24 topics
  15. Religion90▲ 2.6×32 topics
  16. Colonialism86▲ 2.5×36 topics
  17. Philosophy86▲ 2.7×33 topics
  18. Bildung79▲ 33×3 topics
  19. Narrative77▲ 6.6×13 topics
  20. Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse75▲ 25×2 topics
  21. Biodiversity Conservation73▲ 2.7×15 topics
  22. Autorschaft68▲ 44×1 topic
  23. Literaturkritik68▲ 44×1 topic
  24. Art68▲ 11×8 topics
  25. Materiality66▲ 24×2 topics
  26. Social History63▲ 10×8 topics
  27. Bildungsungleichheit63▲ 29×1 topic
  28. Ethnografisches Schreiben63▲ 29×1 topic
  29. Embodiment56▲ 4.1×7 topics
  30. Authorship54▲ 25×3 topics
  31. Exhibition52▲ 66×1 topic
  32. Museum52▲ 66×1 topic
  33. Sexuality50▲ 9.4×3 topics
  34. Neural Mechanisms50▲ 7.4×4 topics
  35. Cultural History50▲ 5.6×15 topics
  36. Occupation50▲ 10×3 topics
  37. Imperialism48▲ 8.2×6 topics
  38. Forced Laborers44▲ 31×1 topic
  39. Nazi Propaganda44▲ 31×1 topic
  40. Cultural Memory41▲ 11×4 topics

Which research topics does Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: German Literature and Culture Studies, Sociology and Education Studies, Libraries and Information Services and European history and politics.

German Literature and Culture Studies: 68 fractional worksSociology and Education Studies: 63 fractional worksLibraries and Informatio…52Libraries and Information Services: 52 fractional worksEuropean history and pol…44European history and politics: 44 fractional worksPublic Administration and Political Analysis: 35 fractional worksEconomic and Social Issues: 27 fractional worksLinguistic research and …26Linguistic research and analysis: 26 fractional worksLaw and Political Science: 25 fractional worksGerman legal, social, and political studies: 24 fractional worksLand Use and Ecosystem Services: 24 fractional works
Literature and Literary TheorySociology and Political ScienceMuseologyPolitical Science and International Relations3 others

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

  1. 1 German Literature and Culture Studies Literature and Literary Theory 68 works
  2. 2 Sociology and Education Studies Sociology and Political Science 63 works
  3. 3 Libraries and Information Services Museology 52 works
  4. 4 European history and politics Political Science and International Relations 44 works
  5. 5 Public Administration and Political Analysis Political Science and International Relations 35 works
  6. 6 Economic and Social Issues Sociology and Political Science 27 works
  7. 7 Linguistic research and analysis Language and Linguistics 26 works
  8. 8 Law and Political Science Law 25 works
  9. 9 German legal, social, and political studies Sociology and Political Science 24 works
  10. 10 Land Use and Ecosystem Services Global and Planetary Change 24 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 available35.6%not open64.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors23.1%domestic only76.9%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 25% higher 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 Berlin

All research institutions in Berlin

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.