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University · Tacoma · United States

Pacific Lutheran University

In research, Pacific Lutheran University stands highest in Social Sciences (#8,836 of 10,521 worldwide), 2022–2025.

plu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#19,893
of 28,054 · #7,788 all time
Rank in United States
#2,894
of 4,192
Research works
1.6k
▲ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
22k
13.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
11.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
17%
world 28%

What is Pacific Lutheran 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
Social SciencesDomain #8,836 of 10,521 13.1%82 #1978

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 world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

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: 0.26× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.50× its world share, 4 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.42× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.52× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.18× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.49× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.17× its world share, 13 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.04× its world share, 2 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.25× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.25× its world share, 6 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.27× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.18× its world share, 1 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 4.80× its world share, 8 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.30× its world share, 4 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 1.61× its world share, 6 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.40× its world share, 11 worksMedicineNursing: 0.56× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.56× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 4.61× its world share, 19 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.45× its world share, 7 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.38× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.56× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 3.21× its world share, 14 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.07× its world share, 38 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Mathematics, 4.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Pacific Lutheran University?

Ranked on the composite score, Laurie Murphy, K. T. Tang and John Moritsugu lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Pacific Lutheran University.

  1. 1 Laurie Murphy United States · #152,226 worldwide 260 citations · 41 works
  2. 2 K. T. Tang United States · #167,002 worldwide 258 citations · 33 works
  3. 3 John Moritsugu United States · #218,233 worldwide 126 citations · 19 works
  4. 4 E. Wayne Carp United States · #229,499 worldwide 61 citations · 22 works
  5. 5 Jon Grahe United States · #238,170 worldwide 129 citations · 58 works
  6. 6 Paul T. Menzel United States · #379,353 worldwide 52 citations · 24 works
  7. 7 B Ihssen United States · #388,734 worldwide 0 citations · 27 works
  8. 8 Alicia J. Batten United States · #691,134 worldwide 2 citations · 23 works
  9. 9 Michael Halvorson United States · #754,243 worldwide 0 citations · 20 works
  10. 10 Erin McKenna United States · #835,837 worldwide 1 citations · 24 works
All ranked researchers at Pacific Lutheran University

Which keywords describe research at Pacific Lutheran University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Religion, Social Justice, Gender, Teaching Methods, History, Parallel Computing, Mathematics Education and Education.

▲ 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. Religion8▲ 12×13 topics
  2. Social Justice8▲ 9.1×12 topics
  3. Gender6▲ 8.1×11 topics
  4. Education6▲ 2.5×12 topics
  5. Machine Learning6▲ 1.18×19 topics
  6. History5▲ 4.7×8 topics
  7. Teaching Methods4▲ 22×5 topics
  8. Mental Health4▲ 2.0×16 topics
  9. Parallel Computing4▲ 22×2 topics
  10. Ethics4▲ 5.2×8 topics
  11. Mathematics Education4▲ 53×2 topics
  12. Identity3▲ 3.2×9 topics
  13. Democracy3▲ 6.4×6 topics
  14. Matrix Computations3▲ 87×1 topic
  15. Numerical Linear Algebra3▲ 87×1 topic
  16. Religious Identity3▲ 37×4 topics
  17. Christianity3▲ 37×4 topics
  18. Cultural Transmission3▲ 27×2 topics
  19. Philosophy3▲ 4.9×6 topics
  20. Student Engagement3▲ 5.3×7 topics
  21. Geometry3▲ 127×1 topic
  22. Hyperbolic3▲ 127×1 topic
  23. Colonialism3▲ 4.1×5 topics
  24. Culture3▲ 3.7×5 topics
  25. Society3▲ 10×5 topics
  26. Historical Sources3▲ 107×1 topic
  27. Mathematical Concepts3▲ 107×1 topic
  28. Speech Perception3▲ 23×2 topics
  29. Teaching Strategies3▲ 6.0×3 topics
  30. Ethnicity2▲ 4.6×3 topics
  31. Feminism2▲ 6.1×3 topics
  32. Data Science2▲ 15×2 topics
  33. Ethical Considerations2▲ 4.8×6 topics
  34. Technology Integration2▲ 5.2×3 topics
  35. Nursing Education2▲ 11×2 topics
  36. Theology2▲ 16×3 topics
  37. Violence2▲ 9.3×2 topics
  38. Instructional Interventions2▲ 16×1 topic
  39. Cultural Exchange2▲ 9.7×2 topics
  40. Demography2▲ 27×2 topics

Which research topics does Pacific Lutheran University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Matrix Theory and Algorithms, Mathematics and Applications, History and Theory of Mathematics and Education and Critical Thinking Development.

Matrix Theory and Algorithms: 3 fractional worksMathematics and Applications: 3 fractional worksHistory and Theory of Ma…3History and Theory of Mathematics: 3 fractional worksEducation and Critical T…2Education and Critical Thinking Development: 2 fractional worksByzantine Studies and History: 2 fractional worksReligion, Gender, and Enlightenment: 2 fractional worksPhonetics and Phonology …2Phonetics and Phonology Research: 2 fractional worksAdvanced Theoretical and Applied Studies in Material Sciences and Geometry: 1 fractional worksReformation and Early Modern Christianity: 1 fractional worksRhetoric and Communication Studies: 1 fractional works
Computational Theory and MathematicsGeometry and TopologyTheoretical Computer ScienceEducation6 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 Education and Critical Thinking Development Education 2 works
  5. 5 Byzantine Studies and History Classics 2 works
  6. 6 Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment Religious studies 2 works
  7. 7 Phonetics and Phonology Research Experimental and Cognitive Psychology 2 works
  8. 8 Advanced Theoretical and Applied Studies in Material Sciences and Geometry Biomedical Engineering 1 works
  9. 9 Reformation and Early Modern Christianity History 1 works
  10. 10 Rhetoric and Communication Studies Philosophy 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: 28% of research is openly available.

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

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Pacific Lutheran University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% 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 Tacoma

All research institutions in Tacoma

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.