Science Explorer Interactive view Map
University · Bochum · Germany

Ruhr University Bochum

In research, Ruhr University Bochum stands highest in Physical Sciences (#295 of 12,888 worldwide), Social Sciences (#299 of 10,521 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#368 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, History and Philosophy of Science and Nuclear and High Energy Physics — Physical and Theoretical Chemistry is 5.3× its share of world research.

ruhr-uni-bochum.deROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#335
of 28,054 · #277 all time
Rank in Germany
#17
of 1,178
Research works
59k
▲ 15% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.3M
22.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.3%
record average 16.5%
Open access
29%
world 28%

What is Ruhr University Bochum 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 #295 of 12,888 18.2%3,857 #232
Social SciencesDomain #299 of 10,521 21.4%2,372 #461
Social SciencesField #368 of 6,365 21.1%1,015 #510
Arts and HumanitiesField #117 of 1,998 16.3%576 #286
Life SciencesDomain #513 of 7,800 18.3%760 #443
EngineeringField #520 of 6,636 14.2%1,533 #387
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #219 of 2,578 20.4%455 #372
MedicineField #911 of 10,443 19.0%895 #574
Health SciencesDomain #1,071 of 11,982 19.2%1,026 #681
Computer ScienceField #512 of 4,667 23.2%643 #311

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Ruhr University Bochum 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#232 #295
  2. Social Sciences#461 #299
  3. Social Sciences#510 #368
  4. Arts and Humanities#286 #117
  5. Life Sciences#443 #513
  6. Engineering#387 #520
  7. Sociology and Political Science#372 #219
  8. Medicine#574 #911
  9. Health Sciences#681 #1,071
  10. Computer Science#311 #512
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 Ruhr University Bochum specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Physical and Theoretical Chemistry takes 5.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Physical and Theoretical ChemistrySubfield · 33.6 works5.3×
  2. History and Philosophy of ScienceSubfield · 50.4 works4.1×
  3. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 98.0 works3.9×
  4. ElectrochemistrySubfield · 20.8 works3.5×
← 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: 0.24× its world share, 93 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.72× its world share, 306 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.53× its world share, 43 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 2.36× its world share, 307 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.44× its world share, 12 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.29× its world share, 64 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 2.11× its world share, 266 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.03× its world share, 643 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.89× its world share, 112 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.39× its world share, 103 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.28× its world share, 1,533 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.64× its world share, 255 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.03× its world share, 289 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.73× its world share, 163 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 2.41× its world share, 430 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.10× its world share, 4 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.52× its world share, 111 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.58× its world share, 895 worksMedicineNursing: 0.28× its world share, 11 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.49× its world share, 5 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.49× its world share, 576 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.65× its world share, 169 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.74× its world share, 58 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.66× its world share, 113 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.81× its world share, 442 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.00× its world share, 1,015 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 2.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Ruhr University Bochum?

Ranked on the composite score, Wolfgang Wagner, Christof Paar and Thorsten Holz lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Ruhr University Bochum.

  1. 1 Wolfgang Wagner · #4,700 worldwide 997 citations · 119 works
  2. 2 Christof Paar · #5,934 worldwide 1.8k citations · 125 works
  3. 3 Thorsten Holz · #6,207 worldwide 1.1k citations · 81 works
  4. 4 Dietrich Braess · #13,233 worldwide 615 citations · 54 works
  5. 5 Gregor Leander · #13,746 worldwide 1.1k citations · 50 works
  6. 6 Stefan Berger · #18,817 worldwide 344 citations · 151 works
  7. 7 M. Steinke · #24,147 worldwide 1.6k citations · 117 works
  8. 8 B. Lewandowski · #24,542 worldwide 1.6k citations · 117 works
  9. 9 Johann Fischer · #27,113 worldwide 648 citations · 42 works
  10. 10 Christof Hättig · #32,274 worldwide 615 citations · 38 works
All ranked researchers at Ruhr University Bochum

Which keywords describe research at Ruhr University Bochum?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Identity, Ethics, Gender, Philosophy, Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, Bildung and Catalysis.

▲ 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 Learning215▼ 0.82×78 topics
  2. Sustainability180◆ 0.92×80 topics
  3. Identity165▲ 2.8×51 topics
  4. Globalization157◆ 1.00×97 topics
  5. Mechanical Properties140▲ 1.79×34 topics
  6. Sustainable Development136◆ 1.06×49 topics
  7. Ethics135▲ 3.5×44 topics
  8. Gender132▲ 3.0×43 topics
  9. Microstructure120▲ 2.9×18 topics
  10. History120▲ 2.1×44 topics
  11. Catalysis118▲ 2.2×26 topics
  12. Biomedical Applications115▲ 1.21×34 topics
  13. Philosophy115▲ 3.2×33 topics
  14. Literature94▲ 2.2×43 topics
  15. Religion94▲ 2.5×33 topics
  16. Nationalism92▲ 2.5×28 topics
  17. Governance89▲ 3.4×13 topics
  18. Neuroscience67▲ 2.8×15 topics
  19. Neurobiology66▲ 3.2×10 topics
  20. Bildung63▲ 24×3 topics
  21. Molecular Dynamics63▲ 4.8×7 topics
  22. Electrocatalysis63▲ 2.8×5 topics
  23. Social Cognition61▲ 4.5×8 topics
  24. Catalysts60▲ 3.8×3 topics
  25. Embodiment58▲ 3.9×7 topics
  26. Security Analysis57▲ 4.1×4 topics
  27. Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse56▲ 17×2 topics
  28. Construction51▲ 4.6×3 topics
  29. Hydrogen Bonding50▲ 7.3×6 topics
  30. Autorschaft49▲ 29×1 topic
  31. Literaturkritik49▲ 29×1 topic
  32. Art48▲ 7.0×9 topics
  33. Cryptanalysis48▲ 7.1×4 topics
  34. Aesthetics46▲ 7.7×10 topics
  35. Bildungsungleichheit44▲ 19×1 topic
  36. Ethnografisches Schreiben44▲ 19×1 topic
  37. Neural Circuits44▲ 6.0×4 topics
  38. Side-Channel Attacks42▲ 11×3 topics
  39. Hippocampus40▲ 8.0×2 topics
  40. Language Variation39▲ 8.3×3 topics

Which research topics does Ruhr University Bochum publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: German Literature and Culture Studies, Sociology and Education Studies, Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion and Plasma Diagnostics and Applications.

German Literature and Cu…49German Literature and Culture Studies: 49 fractional worksSociology and Education …44Sociology and Education Studies: 44 fractional worksElectrocatalysts for Energy Conversion: 40 fractional worksPlasma Diagnostics and Applications: 33 fractional worksLinguistic research and analysis: 32 fractional worksEcology, Conservation, and Geographical Studies: 31 fractional worksPhotonic and Optical Devices: 29 fractional worksCryptographic Implementa…27Cryptographic Implementations and Security: 27 fractional worksMemory and Neural Mechanisms: 26 fractional worksPlasma Applications and Diagnostics: 26 fractional works
Literature and Literary TheorySociology and Political ScienceRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the EnvironmentElectrical and Electronic Engineering5 others

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

  1. 1 German Literature and Culture StudiesLiterature and Literary Theory 49 works
  2. 2 Sociology and Education StudiesSociology and Political Science 44 works
  3. 3 Electrocatalysts for Energy ConversionRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 40 works
  4. 4 Plasma Diagnostics and ApplicationsElectrical and Electronic Engineering 33 works
  5. 5 Linguistic research and analysisLanguage and Linguistics 32 works
  6. 6 Ecology, Conservation, and Geographical StudiesNature and Landscape Conservation 31 works
  7. 7 Photonic and Optical DevicesElectrical and Electronic Engineering 29 works
  8. 8 Cryptographic Implementations and SecurityArtificial Intelligence 27 works
  9. 9 Memory and Neural MechanismsCognitive Neuroscience 26 works
  10. 10 Plasma Applications and DiagnosticsRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging 26 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 available29.3%not open70.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors18.5%domestic only81.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Ruhr University Bochum's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 15% 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 Bochum

All research institutions in Bochum

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.