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University · Washington · United States

National Defense University

In research, National Defense University stands highest in Political Science and International Relations (#702 of 1,201 worldwide), Social Sciences (#6,309 of 10,521 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#3,919 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Political Science and International Relations and Aerospace Engineering — Political Science and International Relations is 12.1× its share of world research.

ndu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#14,690
of 28,054 · #12,201 all time
Rank in United States
#2,066
of 4,192
Research works
1.9k
▲ 20% vs 2013–17
Citations
16k
8.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
10.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
34%
world 28%

What is National Defense 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
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #702 of 1,201 19.3%76 #689
Social SciencesDomain #6,309 of 10,521 11.3%222 #4752
Social SciencesField #3,919 of 6,365 12.9%161 #3257
Physical SciencesDomain #9,115 of 12,888 9.6%174 #8503
EngineeringField #5,422 of 6,636 12.4%75 #5388

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where National Defense 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. Political Science and International Relations#689 #702
  2. Social Sciences#4,752 #6,309
  3. Social Sciences#3,257 #3,919
  4. Physical Sciences#8,503 #9,115
  5. Engineering#5,388 #5,422
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 National Defense University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Political Science and International Relations takes 12.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 75.8 works12×
  2. Aerospace EngineeringSubfield · 21.3 works4.3×
← 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: 0.11× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.27× its world share, 6 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.22× its world share, 2 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.80× its world share, 59 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.86× its world share, 6 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.37× its world share, 5 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.19× its world share, 75 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.55× its world share, 12 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.37× its world share, 6 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.93× its world share, 5 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.61× its world share, 6 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.67× its world share, 8 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.13× its world share, 10 worksMedicineVeterinary: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.17× its world share, 14 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.04× its world share, 14 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.88× its world share, 4 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.79× its world share, 16 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.95× its world share, 12 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 3.01× its world share, 161 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

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

Who are the top researchers at National Defense University?

Ranked on the composite score, Barney G. Glaser, Paul T. Bartone and Thomas A. Marks lead among researchers whose main affiliation is National Defense University.

  1. 1 Barney G. Glaser United States · #18,715 worldwide 789 citations · 46 works
  2. 2 Paul T. Bartone United States · #96,787 worldwide 235 citations · 41 works
  3. 3 Thomas A. Marks United States · #164,006 worldwide 53 citations · 38 works
  4. 4 Luis Kun United States · #205,908 worldwide 84 citations · 25 works
  5. 5 Phillip C. Saunders United States · #313,996 worldwide 46 citations · 21 works
  6. 6 David H. Ucko United States · #317,407 worldwide 30 citations · 22 works
  7. 7 Patrick Clawson United States · #532,073 worldwide 80 citations · 87 works
  8. 8 Jeffrey Simon United States · #668,198 worldwide 22 citations · 27 works
  9. 9 Harry H. Almond United States · #670,903 worldwide 6 citations · 20 works
  10. 10 Julian Lindley‐French United States · #805,744 worldwide 3 citations · 19 works
All ranked researchers at National Defense University

Which keywords describe research at National Defense University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Security, International Relations, International Law, Geopolitics, Globalization, Conflict, Global Governance and Information Warfare.

▲ 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. Globalization27▲ 3.3×41 topics
  2. Security25▲ 9.1×18 topics
  3. International Relations24▲ 24×17 topics
  4. Deep Learning21▲ 1.46×44 topics
  5. International Law21▲ 16×11 topics
  6. Geopolitics20▲ 30×9 topics
  7. Human Rights19▲ 4.3×31 topics
  8. Conflict17▲ 25×8 topics
  9. Global Governance16▲ 16×11 topics
  10. Information Warfare15▲ 115×2 topics
  11. Politics14▲ 12×9 topics
  12. Colonialism14▲ 6.8×16 topics
  13. Russia11▲ 61×3 topics
  14. Identity11▲ 3.6×18 topics
  15. Culture10▲ 4.7×10 topics
  16. Gender10▲ 4.3×14 topics
  17. Ukraine10▲ 66×2 topics
  18. Hybrid Warfare9▲ 130×1 topic
  19. Military Strategy9▲ 130×1 topic
  20. Economy9▲ 27×6 topics
  21. Digital Sovereignty9▲ 47×2 topics
  22. Genocide8▲ 35×3 topics
  23. Middle East8▲ 31×2 topics
  24. Nation-Building8▲ 36×3 topics
  25. State-Building8▲ 52×2 topics
  26. Diplomacy8▲ 19×4 topics
  27. Central Asia7▲ 23×3 topics
  28. Political Economy7▲ 6.4×9 topics
  29. Soft Power7▲ 41×2 topics
  30. Media7▲ 10×4 topics
  31. Reconstruction7▲ 9.1×3 topics
  32. Public-Private Partnerships6▲ 21×2 topics
  33. Hegemony6▲ 56×2 topics
  34. Power6▲ 21×2 topics
  35. Cyber Security6▲ 30×1 topic
  36. Internet Governance6▲ 98×1 topic
  37. International Institutions6▲ 67×1 topic
  38. Norms6▲ 37×1 topic
  39. National Security6▲ 24×3 topics
  40. Terrorism6▲ 29×3 topics

Which research topics does National Defense University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies, Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies, International Relations and Foreign Policy and Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts.

European and Russian Geo…9European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies: 9 fractional worksCybersecurity and Cyber …6Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies: 6 fractional worksInternational Relations and Foreign Policy: 6 fractional worksMiddle East and Rwanda C…6Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts: 6 fractional worksPolitics and Conflicts i…6Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East: 6 fractional worksVietnamese History and Culture Studies: 5 fractional worksIntelligence, Security, War Strategy: 4 fractional worksMilitary Strategy and Te…4Military Strategy and Technology: 4 fractional worksTerrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence: 4 fractional worksMilitary History and Strategy: 4 fractional works
Political Science and International RelationsSociology and Political ScienceControl and Systems Engineering

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

  1. 1 European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies Political Science and International Relations 9 works
  2. 2 Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies Political Science and International Relations 6 works
  3. 3 International Relations and Foreign Policy Political Science and International Relations 6 works
  4. 4 Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts Sociology and Political Science 6 works
  5. 5 Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East Political Science and International Relations 6 works
  6. 6 Vietnamese History and Culture Studies Sociology and Political Science 5 works
  7. 7 Intelligence, Security, War Strategy Political Science and International Relations 4 works
  8. 8 Military Strategy and Technology Control and Systems Engineering 4 works
  9. 9 Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  10. 10 Military History and Strategy Political Science and International Relations 4 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 available33.6%not open66.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors34.5%domestic only65.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has National Defense University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 20% 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 Washington

All research institutions in Washington

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.