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University · Santiago · Chile

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

In research, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile stands highest in Social Sciences (#497 of 10,521 worldwide), Medicine (#542 of 10,443 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#627 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in General Social Sciences, Cultural Studies and Literature and Literary Theory — General Social Sciences is 8.6× its share of world research.

uc.clROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,306
of 28,054 · #1,175 all time
Rank in Chile
#2
of 107
Research works
39k
▲ 11% vs 2013–17
Citations
562k
14.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
16.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
62%
world 28%

What is Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile 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 #497 of 10,521 18.0%2,795 #470
MedicineField #542 of 10,443 12.9%1,216 #889
Health SciencesDomain #627 of 11,982 13.3%1,464 #960
Social SciencesField #341 of 6,365 18.4%1,674 #424
Arts and HumanitiesField #254 of 1,998 13.4%518 #438
EducationSubfield #271 of 1,892 28.6%279 #313
Life SciencesDomain #1,203 of 7,800 20.3%574 #1067
Physical SciencesDomain #2,030 of 12,888 15.1%1,666 #1488
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #489 of 2,578 13.9%448 #434
EngineeringField #1,520 of 6,636 16.0%509 #1702

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile 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#470 #497
  2. Medicine#889 #542
  3. Health Sciences#960 #627
  4. Social Sciences#424 #341
  5. Arts and Humanities#438 #254
  6. Education#313 #271
  7. Life Sciences#1,067 #1,203
  8. Physical Sciences#1,488 #2,030
  9. Sociology and Political Science#434 #489
  10. Engineering#1,702 #1,520
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 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: General Social Sciences takes 8.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. General Social SciencesSubfield · 61.5 works8.6×
  2. Cultural StudiesSubfield · 151.0 works5.7×
  3. Literature and Literary TheorySubfield · 181.6 works5.2×
  4. Visual Arts and Performing ArtsSubfield · 54.7 works5.1×
  5. Urban StudiesSubfield · 83.9 works4.7×
  6. DevelopmentSubfield · 26.1 works4.0×
← 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: 0.70× its world share, 217 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.58× its world share, 202 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.60× its world share, 40 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.98× its world share, 103 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.51× its world share, 12 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.51× its world share, 12 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.54× its world share, 55 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.49× its world share, 250 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.02× its world share, 104 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.78× its world share, 47 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.52× its world share, 509 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.04× its world share, 336 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.34× its world share, 77 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.45× its world share, 111 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.15× its world share, 166 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.84× its world share, 26 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.12× its world share, 191 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.97× its world share, 1,216 worksMedicineNursing: 0.82× its world share, 26 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.50× its world share, 4 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.76× its world share, 518 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.65× its world share, 136 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.87× its world share, 55 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.93× its world share, 130 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.42× its world share, 282 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.04× its world share, 1,674 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 2.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile?

Ranked on the composite score, Marcelo Arenas, Marcelo Garrido and J. Dixon lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

  1. 1 Marcelo Arenas Chile · #9,170 worldwide 589 citations · 64 works
  2. 2 Marcelo Garrido Chile · #12,307 worldwide 1k citations · 47 works
  3. 3 J. Dixon Chile · #24,837 worldwide 678 citations · 39 works
  4. 4 Miguél Nussbaum Chile · #29,954 worldwide 470 citations · 52 works
  5. 5 A. Clocchiatti Chile · #32,628 worldwide 742 citations · 52 works
  6. 6 Eduardo A. Undurraga Chile · #36,187 worldwide 4.2k citations · 31 works
  7. 7 Juan Pablo Arab Chile · #44,813 worldwide 283 citations · 62 works
  8. 8 Sandra Cortés Chile · #51,552 worldwide 445 citations · 29 works
  9. 9 David Altman Chile · #55,939 worldwide 317 citations · 61 works
  10. 10 Carlos Fardella Chile · #57,409 worldwide 264 citations · 33 works
All ranked researchers at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Which keywords describe research at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Latin America, Globalization, Social Movements, Education, Ethics, Memory, Cultural Identity and Colonialism.

▲ 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. Globalization484▲ 3.8×104 topics
  2. Latin America428▲ 34×21 topics
  3. Education302▲ 2.7×88 topics
  4. Epidemiology273◆ 1.06×133 topics
  5. Climate Change220▲ 1.26×95 topics
  6. Human Rights199▲ 3.0×48 topics
  7. Ethics193▲ 6.2×49 topics
  8. Social Movements187▲ 9.6×23 topics
  9. Cultural Identity175▲ 5.2×20 topics
  10. Colonialism162▲ 5.3×33 topics
  11. Memory150▲ 9.5×14 topics
  12. Philosophy148▲ 5.2×33 topics
  13. Social Inequality136▲ 7.8×13 topics
  14. Poetry126▲ 58×3 topics
  15. Identity123▲ 2.6×50 topics
  16. Religion121▲ 3.9×27 topics
  17. History115▲ 2.5×46 topics
  18. Gender112▲ 3.2×41 topics
  19. Political Violence107▲ 63×3 topics
  20. Dictatorship103▲ 87×2 topics
  21. Literary Discourse100▲ 67×2 topics
  22. Interculturalism100▲ 125×1 topic
  23. Mapuche100▲ 125×1 topic
  24. Neoliberalism98▲ 4.2×25 topics
  25. Sociology95▲ 11×17 topics
  26. Community Participation93▲ 3.9×13 topics
  27. Chile88▲ 139×1 topic
  28. Pinochet88▲ 139×1 topic
  29. Catholicism84▲ 34×4 topics
  30. Indigenous Knowledge83▲ 13×7 topics
  31. Migrant Integration77▲ 32×2 topics
  32. Theology76▲ 12×5 topics
  33. Violence76▲ 7.9×14 topics
  34. Social Dynamics71▲ 18×5 topics
  35. Housing69▲ 22×2 topics
  36. Liberation68▲ 64×2 topics
  37. Segregation68▲ 13×2 topics
  38. Fragmentation65▲ 22×2 topics
  39. Metropolitan Areas65▲ 53×1 topic
  40. Residential65▲ 53×1 topic

Which research topics does Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Cultural and Social Studies in Latin America, Political and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America, Religious and Theological Studies and Latin American Urban Studies.

Cultural and Social Studies in Latin America: 100 fractional worksPolitical and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America: 88 fractional worksReligious and Theologica…67Religious and Theological Studies: 67 fractional worksLatin American Urban Stu…65Latin American Urban Studies: 65 fractional worksEnvironmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond: 41 fractional worksSocial Sciences and Policies: 39 fractional worksEducation and Teacher Tr…39Education and Teacher Training: 39 fractional worksMigration, Education, Indigenous Social Dynamics: 38 fractional worksLatin American Literature Studies: 36 fractional worksHistorical Studies in Latin America: 33 fractional works
Literature and Literary TheorySociology and Political ScienceUrban StudiesEcology4 others

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

  1. 1 Cultural and Social Studies in Latin America Literature and Literary Theory 100 works
  2. 2 Political and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America Sociology and Political Science 88 works
  3. 3 Religious and Theological Studies Sociology and Political Science 67 works
  4. 4 Latin American Urban Studies Urban Studies 65 works
  5. 5 Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond Ecology 41 works
  6. 6 Social Sciences and Policies General Social Sciences 39 works
  7. 7 Education and Teacher Training Education 39 works
  8. 8 Migration, Education, Indigenous Social Dynamics Cultural Studies 38 works
  9. 9 Latin American Literature Studies Cultural Studies 36 works
  10. 10 Historical Studies in Latin America Demography 33 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 available61.6%not open38.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors21.9%domestic only78.1%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 11% 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 Santiago

All research institutions in Santiago

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.