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University · San Diego · United States

San Diego State University

In research, San Diego State University stands highest in Social Sciences (#841 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#1,566 of 12,888 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#849 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Oceanography, Environmental Chemistry and Astronomy and Astrophysics — Oceanography is 8.6× its share of world research.

sdsu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,630
of 28,054 · #790 all time
Rank in United States
#253
of 4,192
Research works
26k
▲ 12% vs 2013–17
Citations
758k
29.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
28%
world 28%

What is San Diego 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 #841 of 10,521 25.8%1,149 #293
Physical SciencesDomain #1,566 of 12,888 15.4%1,382 #887
Social SciencesField #849 of 6,365 25.3%583 #267
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #673 of 3,409 28.0%73 #652
EngineeringField #1,318 of 6,636 15.2%470 #647
Health SciencesDomain #2,456 of 11,982 18.5%570 #787
Life SciencesDomain #1,670 of 7,800 19.0%328 #966
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #561 of 2,578 27.4%216 #272
MedicineField #2,310 of 10,443 17.4%422 #1234
Environmental ScienceField #879 of 3,551 15.7%271 #396

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where San Diego 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#293 #841
  2. Physical Sciences#887 #1,566
  3. Social Sciences#267 #849
  4. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#652 #673
  5. Engineering#647 #1,318
  6. Health Sciences#787 #2,456
  7. Life Sciences#966 #1,670
  8. Sociology and Political Science#272 #561
  9. Medicine#1,234 #2,310
  10. Environmental Science#396 #879
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 San Diego State University specialise in?

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

  1. OceanographySubfield · 82.3 works8.6×
  2. Environmental ChemistrySubfield · 64.1 works8.6×
  3. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 94.5 works5.3×
  4. Developmental and Educational PsychologySubfield · 46.1 works3.0×
  5. Gender StudiesSubfield · 35.8 works2.9×
  6. Clinical PsychologySubfield · 99.9 works2.8×
← 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: 0.45× its world share, 74 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.76× its world share, 139 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.48× its world share, 17 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.68× its world share, 93 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.44× its world share, 5 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.54× its world share, 6 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.62× its world share, 33 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.73× its world share, 194 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.61× its world share, 140 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.41× its world share, 13 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.91× its world share, 470 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.59× its world share, 271 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.51× its world share, 61 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.23× its world share, 50 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.88× its world share, 143 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.30× its world share, 5 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.37× its world share, 124 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.64× its world share, 422 worksMedicineNursing: 1.13× its world share, 19 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.11× its world share, 110 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.86× its world share, 95 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.96× its world share, 32 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.80× its world share, 59 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.59× its world share, 271 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.34× its world share, 583 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 2.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at San Diego State University?

Ranked on the composite score, James F. Sallis, Robert A. Edwards and Esther D. Rothblum lead among researchers whose main affiliation is San Diego State University.

  1. 1 James F. Sallis United States · #427 worldwide 2.5k citations · 136 works
  2. 2 Robert A. Edwards United States · #7,602 worldwide 1.5k citations · 55 works
  3. 3 Esther D. Rothblum United States · #9,537 worldwide 631 citations · 71 works
  4. 4 Eyal Oren United States · #10,049 worldwide 3.9k citations · 47 works
  5. 5 Chris Mı United States · #11,142 worldwide 1.4k citations · 97 works
  6. 6 Walter C. Oechel United States · #14,168 worldwide 1.5k citations · 101 works
  7. 7 A. T. Young United States · #15,001 worldwide 414 citations · 56 works
  8. 8 Forest Rohwer United States · #21,738 worldwide 763 citations · 43 works
  9. 9 Edward P. Riley United States · #23,607 worldwide 512 citations · 51 works
  10. 10 Sarah N. Mattson United States · #32,713 worldwide 439 citations · 39 works
All ranked researchers at San Diego State University

Which keywords describe research at San Diego State University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Mental Health, Hydrological Modeling, Geodetic Measurements, Solar Wind, Sea Level Rise, GRACE and groundwater depletion.

▲ 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 Change183▲ 1.98×79 topics
  2. Mental Health141▲ 2.8×40 topics
  3. Epidemiology137◆ 1.01×94 topics
  4. Public Health88▲ 1.76×44 topics
  5. Machine Learning83▼ 0.74×68 topics
  6. Deep Learning80▼ 0.68×69 topics
  7. Hydrological Modeling75▲ 9.3×5 topics
  8. Microbial Communities74▲ 5.1×9 topics
  9. Globalization73◆ 1.09×74 topics
  10. Geodetic Measurements71▲ 19×2 topics
  11. Solar Wind70▲ 22×2 topics
  12. Sea Level Rise68▲ 15×3 topics
  13. GRACE65▲ 37×1 topic
  14. groundwater depletion65▲ 37×1 topic
  15. Ionosphere64▲ 33×1 topic
  16. Magnetosphere64▲ 33×1 topic
  17. Methane Oxidation60▲ 22×2 topics
  18. Anaerobic60▲ 25×1 topic
  19. Gas Hydrates60▲ 25×1 topic
  20. Risk Factors52▲ 1.38×26 topics
  21. Depression48▲ 1.60×24 topics
  22. Gender48▲ 2.6×32 topics
  23. Identity46▲ 1.85×45 topics
  24. Social Support46▲ 2.4×16 topics
  25. Colonialism46▲ 2.8×32 topics
  26. Health Disparities43▲ 4.8×8 topics
  27. Prevalence40▲ 2.9×12 topics
  28. Health Effects39▲ 1.88×21 topics
  29. Intersectionality37▲ 5.9×9 topics
  30. Resilience37▲ 2.2×16 topics
  31. Adolescents35▲ 2.8×9 topics
  32. Emotion Regulation33▲ 3.1×9 topics
  33. Psychiatric Disorders32▲ 7.1×4 topics
  34. Global Burden of Disease28▲ 3.3×4 topics
  35. Bilingualism28▲ 5.9×5 topics
  36. Stigma26▲ 5.7×4 topics
  37. Language Development24▲ 5.8×6 topics
  38. Substance Abuse24▲ 9.8×2 topics
  39. Neighborhood Effects22▲ 6.0×3 topics
  40. Acculturation21▲ 8.0×2 topics

Which research topics does San Diego State University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Geophysics and Gravity Measurements, Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics, Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena and Homelessness and Social Issues.

Geophysics and Gravity M…65Geophysics and Gravity Measurements: 65 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosp…64Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 64 fractional worksMethane Hydrates and Rel…60Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 60 fractional worksHomelessness and Social Issues: 16 fractional worksDementia and Cognitive Impairment Research: 15 fractional worksLGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy: 14 fractional worksSmoking Behavior and Cessation: 13 fractional worksFood Security and Health in Diverse Populations: 13 fractional worksCritical Race Theory in Education: 12 fractional worksHIV/AIDS Research and Interventions: 12 fractional works
OceanographyAstronomy and AstrophysicsEnvironmental ChemistryGeneral Health Professions5 others

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

  1. 1 Geophysics and Gravity Measurements Oceanography 65 works
  2. 2 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 64 works
  3. 3 Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena Environmental Chemistry 60 works
  4. 4 Homelessness and Social Issues General Health Professions 16 works
  5. 5 Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research Psychiatry and Mental health 15 works
  6. 6 LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy Social Psychology 14 works
  7. 7 Smoking Behavior and Cessation Physiology 13 works
  8. 8 Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations General Health Professions 13 works
  9. 9 Critical Race Theory in Education Sociology and Political Science 12 works
  10. 10 HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Infectious Diseases 12 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-authors12.4%domestic only87.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has San Diego State University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 12% 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 San Diego

All research institutions in San Diego

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.