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University · Princeton · United States

Princeton University

In research, Princeton University stands highest in Physical Sciences (#33 of 12,888 worldwide), Decision Sciences (#2 of 703 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#5 of 1,646 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics, Astronomy and Astrophysics and Classics — Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics is 8.1× its share of world research.

princeton.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#40
of 28,054 · #14 all time
Rank in United States
#11
of 4,192
Research works
97k
◆ 0% vs 2013–17
Citations
5.6M
57.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
28.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
33%
world 28%

What is Princeton 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
Physical SciencesDomain #33 of 12,888 29.5%4,718 #8
Decision SciencesField #2 of 703 24.5%109 #6
Physics and AstronomyField #5 of 1,646 40.1%1,031 #5
Social SciencesDomain #50 of 10,521 24.4%2,722 #20
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #6 of 443 42.7%334 #3
Life SciencesDomain #109 of 7,800 34.1%959 #67
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield #8 of 565 35.0%290 #8
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #38 of 2,578 28.0%520 #16
Organic ChemistrySubfield #10 of 615 49.3%108 #13
Social SciencesField #107 of 6,365 26.8%1,312 #36

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Princeton 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. Physical Sciences#8 #33
  2. Decision Sciences#6 #2
  3. Physics and Astronomy#5 #5
  4. Social Sciences#20 #50
  5. Astronomy and Astrophysics#3 #6
  6. Life Sciences#67 #109
  7. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics#8 #8
  8. Sociology and Political Science#16 #38
  9. Organic Chemistry#13 #10
  10. Social Sciences#36 #107
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 Princeton University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics takes 8.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Discrete Mathematics and CombinatoricsSubfield · 28.4 works8.1×
  2. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 333.9 works7.3×
  3. ClassicsSubfield · 35.8 works6.8×
  4. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 185.1 works6.7×
  5. History and Philosophy of ScienceSubfield · 86.8 works6.4×
  6. InstrumentationSubfield · 27.3 works6.2×
← 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: 0.34× its world share, 142 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.15× its world share, 541 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.40× its world share, 35 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.57× its world share, 225 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.49× its world share, 15 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.75× its world share, 54 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.45× its world share, 200 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.23× its world share, 842 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.25× its world share, 312 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.90× its world share, 73 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.87× its world share, 1,152 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.00× its world share, 437 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.94× its world share, 291 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 3.14× its world share, 326 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 5.25× its world share, 1,031 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.08× its world share, 3 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.33× its world share, 76 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.19× its world share, 330 worksMedicineNursing: 0.23× its world share, 10 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.35× its world share, 4 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.42× its world share, 617 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.42× its world share, 119 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.28× its world share, 109 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.65× its world share, 312 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.94× its world share, 253 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.18× its world share, 1,312 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 5.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Princeton University?

Ranked on the composite score, G. John Ikenberry, David N. Spergel and William J. Baumöl lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Princeton University.

  1. 1 G. John Ikenberry United States · #57 worldwide 3k citations · 159 works
  2. 2 David N. Spergel United States · #104 worldwide 7.9k citations · 198 works
  3. 3 William J. Baumöl United States · #108 worldwide 3.6k citations · 187 works
  4. 4 Philip W. Anderson United States · #141 worldwide 5.8k citations · 126 works
  5. 5 Robert M. May United States · #167 worldwide 4.2k citations · 146 works
  6. 6 Robert E. Tarjan United States · #193 worldwide 3.9k citations · 141 works
  7. 7 E. P. Wigner United States · #214 worldwide 2.8k citations · 203 works
  8. 8 Alejandro Portes United States · #247 worldwide 4.7k citations · 108 works
  9. 9 John W. Tukey United States · #410 worldwide 4.4k citations · 104 works
  10. 10 Robert O. Keohane United States · #454 worldwide 2.7k citations · 103 works
All ranked researchers at Princeton University

Which keywords describe research at Princeton University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, History, Nationalism, Globalization, Colonialism, Black Holes, Global Warming 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. Climate Change374▲ 1.57×95 topics
  2. Machine Learning283◆ 0.98×79 topics
  3. Globalization262▲ 1.51×114 topics
  4. Deep Learning252▼ 0.84×75 topics
  5. History185▲ 3.0×56 topics
  6. Nationalism159▲ 3.9×33 topics
  7. Identity157▲ 2.5×63 topics
  8. Colonialism152▲ 3.6×44 topics
  9. Neural Networks147◆ 1.08×36 topics
  10. Global Warming137▲ 3.8×14 topics
  11. Religion137▲ 3.3×41 topics
  12. Human Rights132▲ 1.46×62 topics
  13. Literature130▲ 2.7×56 topics
  14. Ethics125▲ 2.9×44 topics
  15. Gender124▲ 2.6×48 topics
  16. Culture122▲ 2.6×34 topics
  17. Philosophy114▲ 2.9×39 topics
  18. Economic Growth113▲ 1.51×25 topics
  19. Democracy110▲ 3.5×22 topics
  20. Black Holes99▲ 12×3 topics
  21. Feminism89▲ 3.6×20 topics
  22. Society80▲ 4.7×20 topics
  23. Molecular Dynamics78▲ 5.4×6 topics
  24. Public Opinion77▲ 7.0×6 topics
  25. Ocean Circulation74▲ 6.5×3 topics
  26. Politics74▲ 3.1×22 topics
  27. Entanglement72▲ 5.5×4 topics
  28. Turbulence70▲ 9.1×5 topics
  29. Dark Matter68▲ 6.7×4 topics
  30. Solar Wind64▲ 7.8×2 topics
  31. Supernovae62▲ 8.5×2 topics
  32. Quantum Gravity61▲ 8.6×4 topics
  33. Star Formation59▲ 13×2 topics
  34. Approximation Algorithms55▲ 8.9×5 topics
  35. Hydrological Cycle54▲ 6.4×2 topics
  36. Empire51▲ 7.0×6 topics
  37. Quantum Entanglement51▲ 8.8×2 topics
  38. Magnetic Fields50▲ 8.7×3 topics
  39. Cosmology48▲ 8.2×4 topics
  40. Accretion Disks48▲ 12×2 topics

Which research topics does Princeton University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Climate variability and models, Black Holes and Theoretical Physics, Cosmology and Gravitation Theories and Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies.

Climate variability and …46Climate variability and models: 46 fractional worksBlack Holes and Theoreti…43Black Holes and Theoretical Physics: 43 fractional worksCosmology and Gravitation Theories: 40 fractional worksStellar, planetary, and …40Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 40 fractional worksMagnetic confinement fus…38Magnetic confinement fusion research: 38 fractional worksQuantum and electron transport phenomena: 37 fractional worksGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena: 34 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma D…33Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 33 fractional worksTopological Materials and Phenomena: 32 fractional worksTropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research: 31 fractional works
Global and Planetary ChangeNuclear and High Energy PhysicsAstronomy and AstrophysicsAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics1 others

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

  1. 1 Climate variability and models Global and Planetary Change 46 works
  2. 2 Black Holes and Theoretical Physics Nuclear and High Energy Physics 43 works
  3. 3 Cosmology and Gravitation Theories Astronomy and Astrophysics 40 works
  4. 4 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 40 works
  5. 5 Magnetic confinement fusion research Nuclear and High Energy Physics 38 works
  6. 6 Quantum and electron transport phenomena Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 37 works
  7. 7 Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena Astronomy and Astrophysics 34 works
  8. 8 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 33 works
  9. 9 Topological Materials and Phenomena Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 32 works
  10. 10 Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research Atmospheric Science 31 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 available32.8%not open67.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors15.2%domestic only84.8%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Princeton University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 0% 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 Princeton

All research institutions in Princeton

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.