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University · Tacoma · United States

Pacific Lutheran University

In research, Pacific Lutheran University stands highest in Social Sciences (#7,388 of 9,585 worldwide), 2022-now.

plu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#12,511
of 22,385 · #5,297 all time
Rank in United States
#1,764
of 3,332
Research works
1.6k
▼ 48% vs 2018-21
Citations
22k
13.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
5.2%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.89×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
17%
world 40%
International
8%
world 18%
Pacific Lutheran University

What is Pacific Lutheran University known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #7,388 of 9,585 4.0%82 #2547

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Pacific Lutheran 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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Pacific Lutheran University work in?

In 2022-now, 57% of research at Pacific Lutheran University is in Social Sciences, 26% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (27%), Arts and Humanities (13%), Psychology (10%). It does 2.2× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 88 fractional works · 56.9% of its workSocial Sciences: 41 fractional works · 26.6% of its workSociology and Political Science: 13 fractional works · 8.4% of its workEducation: 10 fractional works · 6.3% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 3 fractional works · 1.8% of its workAnthropology: 3 fractional works · 1.7% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workGender Studies: 2 fractional works · 1.2% of its workLinguistics and Language: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workCommunication: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workLaw: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workCultural Studies: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workDemography: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workLibrary and Information Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workUrban Studies: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSafety Research: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workArts and Humanities: 20 fractional works · 12.8% of its workPhilosophy: 5 fractional works · 3.0% of its workHistory: 3 fractional works · 1.9% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 3 fractional works · 1.8% of its workReligious studies: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workClassics: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workVisual Arts and Performing Arts: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workMusic: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workArcheology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Arts and Humanities: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychology: 16 fractional works · 10.1% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 5 fractional works · 3.1% of its workClinical Psychology: 4 fractional works · 2.8% of its workSocial Psychology: 4 fractional works · 2.6% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workApplied Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 7 fractional works · 4.8% of its workManagement Information Systems: 2 fractional works · 1.6% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workMarketing: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workStrategy and Management: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAccounting: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workFinance: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workDecision Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysical Sciences: 40 fractional works · 25.7% of its workComputer Science: 14 fractional works · 9.2% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 5 fractional works · 3.3% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 5 fractional works · 3.2% of its workInformation Systems: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workComputer Science Applications: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 9 fractional works · 5.5% of its workGeometry and Topology: 3 fractional works · 2.0% of its workTheoretical Computer Science: 3 fractional works · 1.7% of its workStatistics and Probability: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workApplied Mathematics: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 6 fractional works · 3.7% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 1.7% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMechanical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workOcean Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 5 fractional works · 2.9% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 2 fractional works · 1.2% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workAtmospheric Science: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeophysics: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPaleontology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Science: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workEcology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workWater Science and Technology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workChemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPhysical and Theoretical Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Sciences: 19 fractional works · 12.3% of its workMedicine: 12 fractional works · 7.9% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 4 fractional works · 2.3% of its workPhysiology: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workInfectious Diseases: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workObstetrics and Gynecology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth Informatics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workOncology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAnesthesiology and Pain Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeriatrics and Gerontology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPathology and Forensic Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHealth Professions: 6 fractional works · 4.0% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 5 fractional works · 3.0% of its workPharmacy: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workHealth Information Management: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workVeterinary: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 8 fractional works · 5.1% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 4 fractional works · 2.5% of its workMolecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workGenetics: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.1% of its workFood Science: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workNeuroscience: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMicrobiology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKPacific LutheranUniversity154fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences5%Physical Sciences26%Health Sciences12%Social Sciences57%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 24 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences4126.6%
    2. Arts and Humanities2012.8%
    3. Psychology1610.1%
    4. Business, Management and Accounting74.8%
    5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance21.3%
    6. Decision Sciences21.3%
    1. Computer Science149.2%
    2. Mathematics95.5%
    3. Engineering63.7%
    4. Physics and Astronomy52.9%
    5. Earth and Planetary Sciences21.5%
    6. Environmental Science21.3%
    7. Chemistry10.7%
    8. Materials Science10.6%
    9. Energy00.2%
    1. Medicine127.9%
    2. Health Professions64.0%
    3. Nursing00.3%
    4. Veterinary00.1%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology42.5%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences21.1%
    3. Neuroscience21.0%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology10.4%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

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: 0.24× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.47× its world share, 4 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.39× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.62× its world share, 2 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.17× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.46× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.18× its world share, 14 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.98× its world share, 2 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.23× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.25× its world share, 6 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.25× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 4.70× its world share, 9 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.32× its world share, 4 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 1.53× its world share, 6 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.41× its world share, 12 worksMedicineNursing: 0.56× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.53× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 4.42× its world share, 20 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.50× its world share, 8 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.30× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.63× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 3.33× its world share, 16 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.10× its world share, 41 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Mathematics, 4.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 24 fields, with their numbers
  1. Mathematics4.70×9 works
  2. Arts and Humanities4.42×20 works
  3. Psychology3.33×16 works
  4. Social Sciences2.10×41 works
  5. Health Professions1.53×6 works
  6. Business, Management and Accounting1.50×8 works
  7. Physics and Astronomy1.32×4 works
  8. Decision Sciences1.30×2 works
  9. Computer Science1.18×14 works
  10. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.98×2 works
  11. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.63×2 works
  12. Neuroscience0.62×2 works
  13. Nursing0.56×0 works
  14. Veterinary0.53×0 works
  15. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.47×4 works
  16. Chemistry0.46×1 works
  17. Medicine0.41×12 works
  18. Immunology and Microbiology0.39×1 works
  19. Engineering0.25×6 works
  20. Environmental Science0.25×2 works
  21. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.24×2 works
  22. Energy0.23×0 works
  23. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.17×0 works
  24. Materials Science0.17×1 works

Who are the top researchers at Pacific Lutheran University?

Ranked on the quality score, D. Song, Jon E. Grahe and Renzhi Cao lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Pacific Lutheran University.

  1. 1 D. Song United States · #145,776 worldwide 2.3k citations · 68 works
  2. 2 Jon E. Grahe United States · #372,153 worldwide 3.1k citations · 261 works
  3. 3 Renzhi Cao United States · #548,674 worldwide 4.5k citations · 132 works
  4. 4 Pasang Yangjee Sherpa United States · #605,316 worldwide 580 citations · 38 works
  5. 5 Kwong Tin Tang United States · #1,317,314 worldwide 6.6k citations · 171 works
  6. 6 Teresa Ciabattari United States · #1,348,420 worldwide 515 citations · 19 works
  7. 7 Corey L. Cook United States · #1,431,130 worldwide 814 citations · 62 works
  8. 8 Sharon L. Jansen United States · #1,474,418 worldwide 223 citations · 52 works
  9. 9 R. Michael Brown United States · #1,500,255 worldwide 2.3k citations · 63 works
  10. 10 Rebecca M. Wilkin United States · #1,636,958 worldwide 281 citations · 31 works
All ranked researchers at Pacific Lutheran University

What are the most cited papers from Pacific Lutheran University?

The most cited paper from Pacific Lutheran University is "Importance-Performance Analysis" (John A. Martilla, John James, 1977), with 3,529 citations. Next come "Prevalence of Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescriptions Among US Ambulatory Care Visits, 2010-2011" (1,763) and "Climate change increases cross-species viral transmission risk" (1,074).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Importance-Performance Analysis John A. Martilla, John James · Journal of Marketing 1977 3,529
2 Prevalence of Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescriptions Among US Ambulatory Care Visits, 2010-2011 Katherine E. Fleming-Dutra et al. · JAMA Open access 3 May 2016 1,763
3 Climate change increases cross-species viral transmission risk Colin J. Carlson, Gregory F. Albery, Cory Merow et al. · Nature Open access 28 Apr 2022 1,074
4 Many Labs 2: Investigating Variation in Replicability Across Samples and Settings Richard Anthony Klein et al. · Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science Open access190 authors Dec 2018 1,045
5 Two-day-olds prefer their native language Christine Moon, Robin Panneton Cooper, William Paul Fifer · Infant Behavior and Development Oct 1993 783
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Pacific Lutheran University?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Religion, Social Justice, Gender, Teaching Methods, Parallel Computing, History, Mathematics Education and Speech Perception.

▲ 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-now 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. Religion8▲ 12×13 topics
  2. Social Justice8▲ 8.5×12 topics
  3. Gender6▲ 7.8×12 topics
  4. Machine Learning6▲ 1.22×21 topics
  5. Education6▲ 2.3×12 topics
  6. History5▲ 4.5×8 topics
  7. Mental Health5▲ 2.2×17 topics
  8. Teaching Methods5▲ 19×5 topics
  9. Social Media4▲ 2.1×13 topics
  10. Identity4▲ 3.6×10 topics
  11. Parallel Computing4▲ 21×2 topics
  12. Ethics4▲ 4.7×8 topics
  13. Ethnicity4▲ 6.1×4 topics
  14. Mathematics Education4▲ 49×2 topics
  15. Speech Perception3▲ 26×2 topics
  16. Democracy3▲ 6.2×6 topics
  17. Matrix Computations3▲ 85×1 topic
  18. Numerical Linear Algebra3▲ 85×1 topic
  19. Religious Identity3▲ 35×4 topics
  20. Christianity3▲ 35×4 topics
  21. Cultural Transmission3▲ 27×2 topics
  22. Nationalism3▲ 4.6×5 topics
  23. Philosophy3▲ 4.6×6 topics
  24. Student Engagement3▲ 5.0×7 topics
  25. Geometry3▲ 124×1 topic
  26. Hyperbolic3▲ 124×1 topic
  27. Physical Activity3▲ 4.0×4 topics
  28. Colonialism3▲ 3.9×5 topics
  29. Culture3▲ 3.5×5 topics
  30. Society3▲ 9.6×5 topics
  31. Historical Sources3▲ 101×1 topic
  32. Mathematical Concepts3▲ 101×1 topic
  33. Feminism3▲ 5.8×4 topics
  34. Teaching Strategies3▲ 6.1×3 topics
  35. Data Science2▲ 16×2 topics
  36. Technology Integration2▲ 5.0×3 topics
  37. Peacebuilding2▲ 22×3 topics
  38. Nursing Education2▲ 11×2 topics
  39. Theology2▲ 15×3 topics
  40. Violence2▲ 8.8×2 topics

Which research topics does Pacific Lutheran University publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Matrix Theory and Algorithms, Mathematics and Applications, History and Theory of Mathematics and Phonetics and Phonology Research.

Matrix Theory and Algori…3Matrix Theory and Algorithms: 3 fractional worksMathematics and Applicat…3Mathematics and Applications: 3 fractional worksHistory and Theory of Ma…3History and Theory of Mathematics: 3 fractional worksPhonetics and Phonology …2Phonetics and Phonology Research: 2 fractional worksEducation and Critical Thinking Development: 2 fractional worksByzantine Studies and History: 2 fractional worksReligion, Gender, and En…2Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment: 2 fractional worksLinguistic Variation and…2Linguistic Variation and Morphology: 2 fractional worksStatistics Education and…1Statistics Education and Methodologies: 1 fractional worksReformation and Early Mo…1Reformation and Early Modern Christianity: 1 fractional works
Computational Theory and MathematicsGeometry and TopologyTheoretical Computer ScienceExperimental and Cognitive Psychology6 others

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

  1. 1 Matrix Theory and Algorithms Computational Theory and Mathematics 3 works
  2. 2 Mathematics and Applications Geometry and Topology 3 works
  3. 3 History and Theory of Mathematics Theoretical Computer Science 3 works
  4. 4 Phonetics and Phonology Research Experimental and Cognitive Psychology 2 works
  5. 5 Education and Critical Thinking Development Education 2 works
  6. 6 Byzantine Studies and History Classics 2 works
  7. 7 Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment Religious studies 2 works
  8. 8 Linguistic Variation and Morphology Linguistics and Language 2 works
  9. 9 Statistics Education and Methodologies Statistics and Probability 1 works
  10. 10 Reformation and Early Modern Christianity History 1 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 available16.9%not open83.1%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors8.3%domestic only91.7%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Pacific Lutheran University's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 48% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Pacific Lutheran University as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00050% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%Pacific Lutheran University0.00063% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Pacific Lutheran University over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%30%all institutions10.0% in 2025Pacific Lutheran University3.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 20.9% in 1993.

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Pacific Lutheran University on Science Explorer

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