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University · Evanston · United States

Northwestern University

In research, Northwestern University stands highest in Medicine (#18 of 10,443 worldwide), Health Sciences (#22 of 11,982 worldwide) and Decision Sciences (#5 of 703 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Transplantation, Immunology and Allergy and Dermatology — Transplantation is 6.9× its share of world research.

northwestern.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#70
of 28,054 · #30 all time
Rank in United States
#18
of 4,192
Research works
122k
▲ 3% vs 2013–17
Citations
5.9M
48.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
31%
world 28%

What is Northwestern 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 #18 of 10,443 19.0%5,234 #26
Health SciencesDomain #22 of 11,982 19.7%5,772 #29
Decision SciencesField #5 of 703 26.5%134 #15
Physical SciencesDomain #92 of 12,888 25.8%3,483 #34
Life SciencesDomain #63 of 7,800 23.8%2,025 #44
Social SciencesDomain #92 of 10,521 29.5%2,393 #27
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #70 of 3,579 23.2%1,184 #49
SurgerySubfield #43 of 1,816 17.7%626 #29
Social SciencesField #163 of 6,365 32.1%1,027 #41
Cardiology and Cardiovascular MedicineSubfield #21 of 738 17.0%436 #22

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Northwestern 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#26 #18
  2. Health Sciences#29 #22
  3. Decision Sciences#15 #5
  4. Physical Sciences#34 #92
  5. Life Sciences#44 #63
  6. Social Sciences#27 #92
  7. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#49 #70
  8. Surgery#29 #43
  9. Social Sciences#41 #163
  10. Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine#22 #21
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 Northwestern University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Transplantation takes 6.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. TransplantationSubfield · 41.9 works6.9×
  2. Immunology and AllergySubfield · 55.2 works5.1×
  3. DermatologySubfield · 118.0 works3.3×
  4. Family PracticeSubfield · 21.4 works3.3×
  5. Reproductive MedicineSubfield · 99.4 works3.2×
← 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, 73 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.62× its world share, 1,184 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.66× its world share, 229 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 2.32× its world share, 516 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.51× its world share, 24 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.04× its world share, 50 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.04× its world share, 222 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.58× its world share, 619 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.32× its world share, 68 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.50× its world share, 63 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.54× its world share, 1,105 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.29× its world share, 194 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.20× its world share, 571 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.03× its world share, 165 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.40× its world share, 426 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.19× its world share, 12 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.32× its world share, 476 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.99× its world share, 5,234 worksMedicineNursing: 0.65× its world share, 43 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.34× its world share, 6 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.52× its world share, 204 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.37× its world share, 165 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.02× its world share, 134 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.76× its world share, 221 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.54× its world share, 642 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.59× its world share, 1,027 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 2.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Northwestern University?

Ranked on the composite score, Robert O. Bonow, Ted Belytschko and Clyde W. Yancy lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Northwestern University.

  1. 1 Robert O. Bonow · #85 worldwide 4.5k citations · 220 works
  2. 2 Ted Belytschko · #315 worldwide 4.1k citations · 139 works
  3. 3 Clyde W. Yancy · #626 worldwide 2.9k citations · 181 works
  4. 4 Roger Stupp · #803 worldwide 1.8k citations · 116 works
  5. 5 Al B. Benson · #1,022 worldwide 1.7k citations · 112 works
  6. 6 Alice H. Eagly · #1,123 worldwide 3.3k citations · 94 works
  7. 7 Donald M. Lloyd‐Jones · #1,132 worldwide 2.6k citations · 174 works
  8. 8 Philip Greenland · #1,585 worldwide 1.5k citations · 92 works
  9. 9 Charles F. Manski · #2,124 worldwide 2.4k citations · 82 works
  10. 10 Sadiya S. Khan · #2,332 worldwide 1.5k citations · 94 works
All ranked researchers at Northwestern University

Which keywords describe research at Northwestern University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Inflammation, Quality of Life, Immunotherapy, Risk Factors, Treatment, Oxidative Stress and Cardiovascular Disease.

▲ 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. Epidemiology998▲ 1.85×127 topics
  2. Inflammation469▲ 1.65×80 topics
  3. Quality of Life383▲ 1.94×54 topics
  4. Oxidative Stress326▲ 1.46×58 topics
  5. Machine Learning325▼ 0.73×79 topics
  6. Deep Learning310▼ 0.66×76 topics
  7. Risk Factors304▲ 2.0×36 topics
  8. Treatment295▲ 1.78×48 topics
  9. Public Health283▲ 1.42×52 topics
  10. Mental Health283▲ 1.41×38 topics
  11. Cardiovascular Disease264▲ 1.74×39 topics
  12. Immunotherapy261▲ 2.7×19 topics
  13. Cancer248▲ 1.35×52 topics
  14. Diagnosis242▲ 1.90×40 topics
  15. Depression216▲ 1.80×21 topics
  16. Management200▲ 1.86×34 topics
  17. Metabolic Syndrome199▲ 1.79×23 topics
  18. Biomarkers191▲ 2.0×17 topics
  19. Clinical Trials182▲ 1.98×19 topics
  20. Neurological Disorders178▲ 2.3×20 topics
  21. Genetics177▲ 1.85×26 topics
  22. Obesity177▲ 1.71×24 topics
  23. Chemotherapy170▲ 1.78×25 topics
  24. Aging168▲ 2.3×17 topics
  25. Guidelines165▲ 2.6×13 topics
  26. Heart Failure165▲ 2.8×14 topics
  27. Prognostic Factors153▲ 2.6×14 topics
  28. Catalysis152▲ 1.67×28 topics
  29. Complications146▲ 2.1×17 topics
  30. Genetic Mutations142▲ 2.4×23 topics
  31. Radiotherapy133▲ 2.5×13 topics
  32. Anxiety128▲ 1.97×11 topics
  33. Echocardiography124▲ 3.4×8 topics
  34. Precision Medicine124▲ 1.95×8 topics
  35. Neurodegeneration123▲ 3.0×10 topics
  36. Health Disparities116▲ 3.2×9 topics
  37. Clinical Guidelines109▲ 2.8×9 topics
  38. Magnetic Resonance Imaging107▲ 3.0×8 topics
  39. Health-related Quality of Life102▲ 3.2×5 topics
  40. Immunosuppressive Therapy97▲ 3.8×8 topics

Which research topics does Northwestern University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Cardiovascular Health and Risk Factors, Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment, Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research and Cardiovascular Function and Risk Factors.

Cardiovascular Health an…56Cardiovascular Health and Risk Factors: 56 fractional worksGlioma Diagnosis and Tre…53Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment: 53 fractional worksDementia and Cognitive Impairment Research: 51 fractional worksCardiovascular Function …46Cardiovascular Function and Risk Factors: 46 fractional worksTransplantation: Methods…45Transplantation: Methods and Outcomes: 45 fractional worksMetal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and Applications: 43 fractional worksDiversity and Career in Medicine: 40 fractional worksDermatology and Skin Dis…38Dermatology and Skin Diseases: 38 fractional worksEpigenetics and DNA Methylation: 38 fractional worksCardiac Imaging and Diagnostics: 37 fractional works
Cardiology and Cardiovascular MedicineGeneticsPsychiatry and Mental healthSurgery5 others

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

  1. 1 Cardiovascular Health and Risk FactorsCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine 56 works
  2. 2 Glioma Diagnosis and TreatmentGenetics 53 works
  3. 3 Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchPsychiatry and Mental health 51 works
  4. 4 Cardiovascular Function and Risk FactorsCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine 46 works
  5. 5 Transplantation: Methods and OutcomesSurgery 45 works
  6. 6 Metal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and ApplicationsInorganic Chemistry 43 works
  7. 7 Diversity and Career in MedicineGender Studies 40 works
  8. 8 Dermatology and Skin DiseasesDermatology 38 works
  9. 9 Epigenetics and DNA MethylationMolecular Biology 38 works
  10. 10 Cardiac Imaging and DiagnosticsRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging 37 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 available30.6%not open69.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors13.7%domestic only86.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Northwestern University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 3% 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 Evanston

All research institutions in Evanston

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.