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University · State College · United States

Pennsylvania State University

In research, Pennsylvania State University stands highest in Social Sciences (#37 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#30 of 6,365 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#88 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Architecture, Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience — Architecture is 6.8× its share of world research.

psu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#93
of 28,054 · #34 all time
Rank in United States
#25
of 4,192
Research works
181k
▲ 8% vs 2013–17
Citations
6.1M
33.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
28%
world 28%

What is Pennsylvania State 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 #37 of 10,521 25.5%5,685 #16
Social SciencesField #30 of 6,365 28.0%2,674 #8
Physical SciencesDomain #88 of 12,888 19.5%8,826 #23
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #23 of 2,578 29.9%935 #13
EngineeringField #121 of 6,636 17.5%3,675 #14
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #74 of 3,409 29.5%813 #18
Life SciencesDomain #177 of 7,800 23.8%2,381 #98
Environmental ScienceField #82 of 3,551 23.2%948 #24
PsychologyField #51 of 2,181 23.7%1,272 #8
Literature and Literary TheorySubfield #10 of 390 27.1%151 #1

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Pennsylvania State 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. Social Sciences#16 #37
  2. Social Sciences#8 #30
  3. Physical Sciences#23 #88
  4. Sociology and Political Science#13 #23
  5. Engineering#14 #121
  6. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#18 #74
  7. Life Sciences#98 #177
  8. Environmental Science#24 #82
  9. Psychology#8 #51
  10. Literature and Literary Theory#1 #10
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 Pennsylvania State University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Architecture takes 6.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. ArchitectureSubfield · 51.3 works6.8×
  2. Neuropsychology and Physiological PsychologySubfield · 23.7 works3.7×
  3. Behavioral NeuroscienceSubfield · 21.4 works2.8×
  4. Public AdministrationSubfield · 29.3 works2.8×
  5. Experimental and Cognitive PsychologySubfield · 255.5 works2.8×
  6. Applied PsychologySubfield · 71.4 works2.6×
← 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: 0.88× its world share, 813 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.98× its world share, 1,024 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.44× its world share, 86 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.37× its world share, 435 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.34× its world share, 23 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.94× its world share, 64 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.61× its world share, 186 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.97× its world share, 1,465 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.41× its world share, 432 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.73× its world share, 131 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.26× its world share, 3,675 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.98× its world share, 948 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.23× its world share, 836 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.37× its world share, 314 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.79× its world share, 776 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.15× its world share, 14 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.98× its world share, 504 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.53× its world share, 1,988 worksMedicineNursing: 0.91× its world share, 87 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.82× its world share, 22 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.06× its world share, 599 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.84× its world share, 530 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.38× its world share, 260 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.84× its world share, 350 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.14× its world share, 1,272 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.08× its world share, 2,674 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Psychology, 2.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Pennsylvania State University?

Ranked on the composite score, Henri Guitton, Patrick McDaniel and William A. Steele lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Pennsylvania State University.

  1. 1 Henri Guitton United States · #101 worldwide 6.9k citations · 122 works
  2. 2 Patrick McDaniel United States · #2,620 worldwide 1.8k citations · 127 works
  3. 3 William A. Steele United States · #3,265 worldwide 1.9k citations · 77 works
  4. 4 John C. Collins United States · #3,309 worldwide 1.7k citations · 87 works
  5. 5 Kenneth M. Merz United States · #3,350 worldwide 2.1k citations · 95 works
  6. 6 Jay Belsky United States · #3,751 worldwide 1.8k citations · 96 works
  7. 7 Penny M. Kris‐Etherton United States · #5,635 worldwide 1.7k citations · 123 works
  8. 8 Donald C. Hambrick United States · #6,037 worldwide 2.9k citations · 56 works
  9. 9 Hiroshi Ohmoto United States · #6,069 worldwide 1.4k citations · 67 works
  10. 10 J. Brinkmann United States · #7,260 worldwide 3.1k citations · 56 works
All ranked researchers at Pennsylvania State University

Which keywords describe research at Pennsylvania State University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mental Health, Machine Learning, Climate Change, Deep Learning, Globalization, Sustainability, Engineering Education and Epidemiology.

▲ 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. Machine Learning694◆ 1.09×89 topics
  2. Deep Learning610◆ 0.91×83 topics
  3. Climate Change581◆ 1.11×108 topics
  4. Epidemiology565▼ 0.73×131 topics
  5. Mental Health505▲ 1.77×44 topics
  6. Sustainability472◆ 0.99×107 topics
  7. Globalization456▲ 1.19×127 topics
  8. Public Health341▲ 1.20×55 topics
  9. Neural Networks332◆ 1.10×39 topics
  10. Social Media311◆ 1.12×32 topics
  11. Education285▼ 0.85×96 topics
  12. Depression268▲ 1.56×24 topics
  13. Biomedical Applications235◆ 1.02×35 topics
  14. Mechanical Properties229▲ 1.21×38 topics
  15. Nanoparticles222◆ 0.90×44 topics
  16. Social Support217▲ 2.0×18 topics
  17. Innovation212◆ 1.03×55 topics
  18. Meta-Analysis199▲ 1.73×21 topics
  19. Big Data196◆ 1.11×24 topics
  20. Heat Transfer192▲ 1.98×19 topics
  21. Identity191▲ 1.34×64 topics
  22. Gender189▲ 1.78×49 topics
  23. Emotion Regulation176▲ 2.9×9 topics
  24. Additive Manufacturing169▲ 2.8×8 topics
  25. Adolescents168▲ 2.3×9 topics
  26. Resilience163▲ 1.74×17 topics
  27. Well-being143▲ 1.92×14 topics
  28. Engineering Education143▲ 8.2×4 topics
  29. Psychopathology135▲ 3.8×3 topics
  30. Large-Eddy Simulation134▲ 3.6×5 topics
  31. Self-Regulation132▲ 3.8×6 topics
  32. Emotion123▲ 3.0×12 topics
  33. 3D Printing118▲ 2.6×6 topics
  34. Developmental Trajectories116▲ 4.8×3 topics
  35. Psychiatric Disorders102▲ 3.9×4 topics
  36. Biomedical Engineering101▲ 3.5×2 topics
  37. Anxiety Disorders96▲ 4.4×2 topics
  38. Parenting95▲ 3.8×2 topics
  39. Neighborhood Effects92▲ 4.3×3 topics
  40. Creativity71▲ 6.0×2 topics

Which research topics does Pennsylvania State University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development, Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies, Engineering Education and Curriculum Development and Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials.

Child and Adolescent Psy…78Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development: 78 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing a…72Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies: 72 fractional worksEngineering Education and Curriculum Development: 58 fractional worksFerroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials: 53 fractional worksSleep and related disorders: 51 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing Materials and Processes: 50 fractional worksMental Health Research Topics: 48 fractional worksHydraulic Fracturing and…48Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis: 48 fractional worksHealth disparities and outcomes: 48 fractional worksAdvanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials: 48 fractional works
Clinical PsychologyAutomotive EngineeringMedia TechnologyMaterials Chemistry4 others

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

  1. 1 Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Clinical Psychology 78 works
  2. 2 Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies Automotive Engineering 72 works
  3. 3 Engineering Education and Curriculum Development Media Technology 58 works
  4. 4 Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials Materials Chemistry 53 works
  5. 5 Sleep and related disorders Experimental and Cognitive Psychology 51 works
  6. 6 Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes Mechanical Engineering 50 works
  7. 7 Mental Health Research Topics Experimental and Cognitive Psychology 48 works
  8. 8 Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis Mechanical Engineering 48 works
  9. 9 Health disparities and outcomes Health 48 works
  10. 10 Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials Biomedical Engineering 48 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 available27.8%not open72.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors13.1%domestic only86.9%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Pennsylvania State University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 8% 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 State College

All research institutions in State College

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.