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University · Oberlin · United States

Oberlin College

In research, Oberlin College stands highest in Physical Sciences (#4,662 of 12,888 worldwide), Social Sciences (#5,637 of 10,521 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#4,651 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025.

oberlin.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#7,752
of 28,054 · #3,962 all time
Rank in United States
#1,026
of 4,192
Research works
5k
▼ 19% vs 2013–17
Citations
78k
15.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
14.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
27%
world 28%

What is Oberlin College 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
Physical SciencesDomain #4,662 of 12,888 16.5%87 #3471
Social SciencesDomain #5,637 of 10,521 13.3%232 #1376
Social SciencesField #4,651 of 6,365 13.0%125 #1032
Arts and HumanitiesField #1,629 of 1,998 14.2%64 #961

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Oberlin College 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. Physical Sciences#3,471 #4,662
  2. Social Sciences#1,376 #5,637
  3. Social Sciences#1,032 #4,651
  4. Arts and Humanities#961 #1,629
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.

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: 0.48× its world share, 9 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.74× its world share, 15 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.99× its world share, 12 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.68× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.42× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 2.48× its world share, 15 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.47× its world share, 14 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.00× its world share, 12 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.39× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.18× its world share, 10 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.83× its world share, 16 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.38× its world share, 5 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.66× its world share, 7 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.76× its world share, 6 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.52× its world share, 5 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.24× its world share, 18 worksMedicineNursing: 0.22× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.13× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 5.85× its world share, 64 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.62× its world share, 8 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.64× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.62× its world share, 13 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.67× its world share, 19 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.61× its world share, 126 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 5.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Oberlin College?

Ranked on the composite score, Carl Wittke, James L. Powell and bell hooks lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Oberlin College.

  1. 1 Carl Wittke United States · #3,809 worldwide 345 citations · 100 works
  2. 2 James L. Powell United States · #8,097 worldwide 880 citations · 64 works
  3. 3 bell hooks United States · #12,352 worldwide 314 citations · 73 works
  4. 4 Marcia L. Colish United States · #24,262 worldwide 146 citations · 53 works
  5. 5 J. Milton Yinger United States · #55,162 worldwide 191 citations · 49 works
  6. 6 Michael H. Fisher United States · #56,446 worldwide 235 citations · 74 works
  7. 7 Jameś T. Shotwell United States · #85,924 worldwide 70 citations · 46 works
  8. 8 George Eaton Simpson United States · #89,668 worldwide 118 citations · 38 works
  9. 9 Clayton R. Koppes United States · #95,993 worldwide 91 citations · 39 works
  10. 10 David H. Benzing United States · #103,382 worldwide 195 citations · 29 works
All ranked researchers at Oberlin College

Which keywords describe research at Oberlin College?

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

▲ 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. Colonialism29▲ 16×24 topics
  2. Globalization26▲ 3.5×42 topics
  3. Identity25▲ 9.2×27 topics
  4. Gender25▲ 12×26 topics
  5. Nationalism21▲ 12×16 topics
  6. History20▲ 7.4×23 topics
  7. Literature18▲ 8.6×24 topics
  8. Culture15▲ 7.7×17 topics
  9. Religion15▲ 8.5×14 topics
  10. Feminism14▲ 13×13 topics
  11. Human Rights14▲ 3.5×25 topics
  12. Climate Change14▲ 1.32×39 topics
  13. Politics10▲ 9.7×8 topics
  14. Innovation10▲ 2.4×12 topics
  15. Social Movements10▲ 8.4×13 topics
  16. Democracy9▲ 6.6×14 topics
  17. Memory8▲ 9.2×9 topics
  18. Society8▲ 11×8 topics
  19. Cultural Studies8▲ 5.6×7 topics
  20. Philosophy8▲ 4.7×13 topics
  21. Race8▲ 18×12 topics
  22. Cultural Exchange7▲ 14×4 topics
  23. Postcolonialism7▲ 15×9 topics
  24. Neoliberalism7▲ 5.1×11 topics
  25. African Diaspora7▲ 45×2 topics
  26. Empire7▲ 21×4 topics
  27. Intersectionality7▲ 9.8×8 topics
  28. Atlantic History6▲ 97×1 topic
  29. Transatlantic Slave Trade6▲ 97×1 topic
  30. Imperialism6▲ 19×6 topics
  31. Scientific History6▲ 35×1 topic
  32. Technological Development6▲ 35×1 topic
  33. Secularism6▲ 14×3 topics
  34. Global Trade5▲ 7.2×6 topics
  35. Ethnomusicology5▲ 34×2 topics
  36. Gender Dynamics5▲ 13×4 topics
  37. Violence5▲ 9.2×7 topics
  38. National Identity5▲ 11×5 topics
  39. Archaeological Evidence5▲ 26×2 topics
  40. Propaganda5▲ 24×3 topics

Which research topics does Oberlin College publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Colonialism, slavery, and trade, Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis, Global Maritime and Colonial Histories and Race, History, and American Society.

Colonialism, slavery, an…6Colonialism, slavery, and trade: 6 fractional worksHistorical Studies and S…6Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis: 6 fractional worksGlobal Maritime and Colonial Histories: 4 fractional worksRace, History, and American Society: 4 fractional worksAfrican history and culture studies: 4 fractional worksItalian Fascism and Post-war Society: 4 fractional worksIslamic Studies and History: 4 fractional worksVietnamese History and C…4Vietnamese History and Culture Studies: 4 fractional worksTheatre and Performance Studies: 3 fractional worksCatalytic C–H Functionalization Methods: 3 fractional works
AnthropologyHistory and Philosophy of ScienceSociology and Political SciencePolitical Science and International Relations2 others

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

  1. 1 Colonialism, slavery, and trade Anthropology 6 works
  2. 2 Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis History and Philosophy of Science 6 works
  3. 3 Global Maritime and Colonial Histories Anthropology 4 works
  4. 4 Race, History, and American Society Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  5. 5 African history and culture studies Anthropology 4 works
  6. 6 Italian Fascism and Post-war Society Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  7. 7 Islamic Studies and History Political Science and International Relations 4 works
  8. 8 Vietnamese History and Culture Studies Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  9. 9 Theatre and Performance Studies Visual Arts and Performing Arts 3 works
  10. 10 Catalytic C–H Functionalization Methods Organic Chemistry 3 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 available26.6%not open73.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors5.4%domestic only94.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Oberlin College's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 19% 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 Oberlin

All research institutions in Oberlin

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.