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University · Townsville · Australia

James Cook University

In research, James Cook University stands highest in Health Sciences (#429 of 11,982 worldwide), Social Sciences (#605 of 10,521 worldwide) and Environmental Science (#230 of 3,551 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Nature and Landscape Conservation, Ecology and Global and Planetary Change — Nature and Landscape Conservation is 10.7× its share of world research.

jcu.edu.auROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,005
of 28,054 · #987 all time
Rank in Australia
#29
of 391
Research works
20k
▼ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
614k
31.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
27.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
40%
world 28%

What is James Cook 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
Health SciencesDomain #429 of 11,982 23.8%665 #775
Social SciencesDomain #605 of 10,521 33.9%723 #434
Environmental ScienceField #230 of 3,551 27.7%473 #90
MedicineField #774 of 10,443 22.9%468 #1275
Social SciencesField #645 of 6,365 33.6%378 #392
EcologySubfield #63 of 578 29.6%167 #23
Physical SciencesDomain #1,496 of 12,888 26.4%961 #1265
Life SciencesDomain #1,137 of 7,800 25.2%359 #865
Business, Management and AccountingField #472 of 2,578 45.6%73 #213
PsychologyField #434 of 2,181 31.3%138 #570

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where James Cook 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. Health Sciences#775 #429
  2. Social Sciences#434 #605
  3. Environmental Science#90 #230
  4. Medicine#1,275 #774
  5. Social Sciences#392 #645
  6. Ecology#23 #63
  7. Physical Sciences#1,265 #1,496
  8. Life Sciences#865 #1,137
  9. Business, Management and Accounting#213 #472
  10. Psychology#570 #434
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 James Cook University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Nature and Landscape Conservation takes 10.7× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 69.2 works11×
  2. EcologySubfield · 167.3 works7.9×
  3. Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield · 107.3 works5.2×
  4. Emergency Medical ServicesSubfield · 25.0 works5.1×
← 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: 1.28× its world share, 165 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.82× its world share, 118 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.48× its world share, 40 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.73× its world share, 32 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.39× its world share, 4 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.35× its world share, 3 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.59× its world share, 25 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.49× its world share, 103 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.77× its world share, 118 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.57× its world share, 14 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.42× its world share, 170 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 3.52× its world share, 473 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.34× its world share, 32 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.26× its world share, 8 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.22× its world share, 13 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.25× its world share, 16 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 2.13× its world share, 152 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.90× its world share, 468 worksMedicineNursing: 1.35× its world share, 18 worksNursingVeterinary: 2.75× its world share, 10 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.86× its world share, 67 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.83× its world share, 73 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.67× its world share, 18 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.86× its world share, 50 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.67× its world share, 138 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.10× its world share, 378 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

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

Who are the top researchers at James Cook University?

Ranked on the composite score, Richard C. Franklin, William F. Laurance and Terry P. Hughes lead among researchers whose main affiliation is James Cook University.

  1. 1 Richard C. Franklin Australia · #2,973 worldwide 1.5k citations · 74 works
  2. 2 William F. Laurance Australia · #3,871 worldwide 1.6k citations · 90 works
  3. 3 Terry P. Hughes Australia · #10,808 worldwide 831 citations · 53 works
  4. 4 Jane Mills Australia · #16,196 worldwide 506 citations · 54 works
  5. 5 Stephen E. Williams Australia · #28,624 worldwide 2k citations · 34 works
  6. 6 Susan G. W. Laurance Australia · #32,251 worldwide 631 citations · 36 works
  7. 7 Jan M. Strugnell Australia · #35,893 worldwide 563 citations · 36 works
  8. 8 David R. Bellwood Australia · #37,430 worldwide 653 citations · 44 works
  9. 9 Joshua E. Cinner Australia · #38,436 worldwide 579 citations · 48 works
  10. 10 Andrew H. Baird Australia · #38,905 worldwide 490 citations · 41 works
All ranked researchers at James Cook University

Which keywords describe research at James Cook University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Ocean Acidification, Marine Ecosystems, Conservation, Population Dynamics, Bleaching, Coral Reefs and Biodiversity.

▲ 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 Change339▲ 4.7×84 topics
  2. Epidemiology148▲ 1.38×124 topics
  3. Sustainability92▲ 1.39×67 topics
  4. Conservation88▲ 7.6×21 topics
  5. Ocean Acidification88▲ 44×3 topics
  6. Marine Ecosystems87▲ 61×2 topics
  7. Population Dynamics84▲ 12×10 topics
  8. Biodiversity81▲ 4.0×29 topics
  9. Mental Health68▲ 1.73×36 topics
  10. Invasive Species67▲ 5.8×20 topics
  11. Public Health66▲ 1.68×53 topics
  12. Environmental Impact64▲ 1.38×46 topics
  13. Bleaching62▲ 69×1 topic
  14. Coral Reefs62▲ 69×1 topic
  15. Fisheries Sustainability57▲ 24×2 topics
  16. Trophic Cascades53▲ 21×2 topics
  17. Habitat Fragmentation48▲ 8.1×5 topics
  18. Ecosystem Services41▲ 3.9×9 topics
  19. Resilience38▲ 3.0×15 topics
  20. Ecosystem Management38▲ 23×1 topic
  21. Marine Fisheries38▲ 34×1 topic
  22. Migration35▲ 3.8×8 topics
  23. Phylogeny33▲ 8.2×15 topics
  24. Ecosystem Resilience33▲ 8.2×5 topics
  25. Vulnerability32▲ 5.3×7 topics
  26. Global Change32▲ 4.6×6 topics
  27. Aquaculture32▲ 4.6×8 topics
  28. Health Equity32▲ 4.4×6 topics
  29. Coastal Protection32▲ 19×2 topics
  30. Ecology31▲ 7.5×10 topics
  31. Climate Change Impacts30▲ 9.3×7 topics
  32. Decolonization29▲ 13×5 topics
  33. Sea-Level Rise29▲ 9.5×5 topics
  34. Fisheries29▲ 27×3 topics
  35. Conservation Biology28▲ 10.0×4 topics
  36. Benthic Communities27▲ 17×2 topics
  37. Marine Biodiversity27▲ 17×2 topics
  38. Traditional Ecological Knowledge26▲ 22×2 topics
  39. Rays25▲ 46×1 topic
  40. Sharks25▲ 46×1 topic

Which research topics does James Cook University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies, Marine and fisheries research, Ichthyology and Marine Biology and Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights.

Coral and Marine Ecosyst…62Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies: 62 fractional worksMarine and fisheries research: 38 fractional worksIchthyology and Marine Biology: 25 fractional worksIndigenous Health, Education, and Rights: 22 fractional worksMarine and coastal plant biology: 22 fractional worksFish Ecology and Management Studies: 20 fractional worksGlobal Health Workforce …17Global Health Workforce Issues: 17 fractional worksMarine animal studies overview: 16 fractional worksWildlife Ecology and Conservation: 16 fractional worksSpecies Distribution and Climate Change: 14 fractional works
EcologyGlobal and Planetary ChangeNature and Landscape ConservationHealth3 others

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

  1. 1 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Ecology 62 works
  2. 2 Marine and fisheries research Global and Planetary Change 38 works
  3. 3 Ichthyology and Marine Biology Nature and Landscape Conservation 25 works
  4. 4 Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights Health 22 works
  5. 5 Marine and coastal plant biology Oceanography 22 works
  6. 6 Fish Ecology and Management Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 20 works
  7. 7 Global Health Workforce Issues Emergency Medical Services 17 works
  8. 8 Marine animal studies overview Ecology 16 works
  9. 9 Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Ecology 16 works
  10. 10 Species Distribution and Climate Change Ecological Modeling 14 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 available40.5%not open59.5%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors25.7%domestic only74.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has James Cook University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% 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 Townsville

All research institutions in Townsville

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.