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University · London · United Kingdom

SOAS University of London

In research, SOAS University of London stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,275 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#1,197 of 6,365 worldwide) and Sociology and Political Science (#633 of 2,578 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Anthropology and Political Science and International Relations — Anthropology is 15.4× its share of world research.

soas.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#6,685
of 28,054 · #4,554 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#264
of 1,094
Research works
6.5k
◆ 1% vs 2013–17
Citations
84k
12.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
24.1%
record average 16.5%
Open access
25%
world 28%

What is SOAS University of London 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 #1,275 of 10,521 24.4%722 #627
Social SciencesField #1,197 of 6,365 23.5%464 #466
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #633 of 2,578 25.9%174 #353
Arts and HumanitiesField #605 of 1,998 22.3%107 #299
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #381 of 1,201 23.0%123 #226
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField #778 of 1,775 31.9%81 #554

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where SOAS University of London 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#627 #1,275
  2. Social Sciences#466 #1,197
  3. Sociology and Political Science#353 #633
  4. Arts and Humanities#299 #605
  5. Political Science and International Relations#226 #381
  6. Economics, Econometrics and Finance#554 #778
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 SOAS University of London specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Anthropology takes 15.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. AnthropologySubfield · 35.6 works15×
  2. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 122.8 works10×
← 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: 0.51× its world share, 20 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.05× its world share, 2 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.10× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.20× its world share, 13 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.19× its world share, 2 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.57× its world share, 4 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.08× its world share, 10 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.53× its world share, 22 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.10× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.10× its world share, 2 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.51× its world share, 11 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.06× its world share, 10 worksMedicineNursing: 0.32× its world share, 1 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 4.49× its world share, 107 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.71× its world share, 45 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.55× its world share, 4 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 4.59× its world share, 81 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.81× its world share, 20 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 4.46× its world share, 464 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 4.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at SOAS University of London?

Ranked on the composite score, Shula Marks, Richard Gray and Hugh Tinker lead among researchers whose main affiliation is SOAS University of London.

  1. 1 Shula Marks United Kingdom · #16,267 worldwide 254 citations · 56 works
  2. 2 Richard Gray United Kingdom · #22,486 worldwide 156 citations · 85 works
  3. 3 Hugh Tinker United Kingdom · #27,572 worldwide 200 citations · 93 works
  4. 4 Peter P. Mollinga United Kingdom · #37,458 worldwide 218 citations · 43 works
  5. 5 Louis Brenner United Kingdom · #37,640 worldwide 167 citations · 39 works
  6. 6 Guy Standing United Kingdom · #43,764 worldwide 279 citations · 83 works
  7. 7 Adrián C. Mayer United Kingdom · #49,786 worldwide 255 citations · 31 works
  8. 8 Paul Gifford United Kingdom · #50,985 worldwide 93 citations · 74 works
  9. 9 Ben Fine United Kingdom · #51,148 worldwide 503 citations · 164 works
  10. 10 Richard Rathbone United Kingdom · #55,134 worldwide 94 citations · 60 works
All ranked researchers at SOAS University of London

Which keywords describe research at SOAS University of London?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Human Rights, Nationalism, History, Colonialism, Religion, Neoliberalism and Identity.

▲ 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. Globalization117▲ 7.3×101 topics
  2. Human Rights74▲ 8.7×48 topics
  3. Nationalism64▲ 17×28 topics
  4. History61▲ 11×22 topics
  5. Colonialism60▲ 15×27 topics
  6. Religion50▲ 13×21 topics
  7. Neoliberalism46▲ 16×23 topics
  8. Identity44▲ 7.4×45 topics
  9. Economic Development42▲ 6.3×21 topics
  10. Culture40▲ 9.2×19 topics
  11. Economic Growth39▲ 5.6×23 topics
  12. Politics39▲ 18×16 topics
  13. Philosophy38▲ 10×18 topics
  14. Ethnicity34▲ 11×19 topics
  15. Regulation31▲ 7.0×11 topics
  16. Conflict31▲ 23×10 topics
  17. Gender31▲ 6.9×28 topics
  18. Governance30▲ 11×13 topics
  19. Gender Equality30▲ 13×11 topics
  20. Political Economy29▲ 14×17 topics
  21. Feminism29▲ 12×13 topics
  22. China27▲ 35×4 topics
  23. Democracy26▲ 8.8×22 topics
  24. Global Governance24▲ 13×16 topics
  25. Society23▲ 14×6 topics
  26. Refugees23▲ 22×8 topics
  27. Inequality22▲ 12×11 topics
  28. Migration22▲ 8.1×19 topics
  29. Monetary Policy22▲ 11×10 topics
  30. Middle East22▲ 42×2 topics
  31. NGOs21▲ 25×3 topics
  32. Christianity20▲ 41×2 topics
  33. Secularism20▲ 23×5 topics
  34. Imperialism20▲ 30×5 topics
  35. Authoritarianism20▲ 27×5 topics
  36. Empire20▲ 28×6 topics
  37. Confucianism19▲ 54×1 topic
  38. Falun Gong19▲ 54×1 topic
  39. Hermeneutics18▲ 27×3 topics
  40. International Law18▲ 7.3×19 topics

Which research topics does SOAS University of London publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Chinese history and philosophy, Islamic Studies and History, International Development and Aid and Political Economy and Marxism.

Chinese history and philosophy: 19 fractional worksIslamic Studies and History: 17 fractional worksInternational Development and Aid: 12 fractional worksPolitical Economy and Marxism: 10 fractional worksPolitics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East: 10 fractional worksAfrican history and culture studies: 9 fractional worksIndian and Buddhist Stud…9Indian and Buddhist Studies: 9 fractional worksJewish and Middle Eastern Studies: 9 fractional worksJapanese History and Culture: 8 fractional worksEconomic Theory and Policy8Economic Theory and Policy: 8 fractional works
Sociology and Political SciencePolitical Science and International RelationsDevelopmentAnthropology3 others

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

  1. 1 Chinese history and philosophy Sociology and Political Science 19 works
  2. 2 Islamic Studies and History Political Science and International Relations 17 works
  3. 3 International Development and Aid Development 12 works
  4. 4 Political Economy and Marxism Sociology and Political Science 10 works
  5. 5 Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East Political Science and International Relations 10 works
  6. 6 African history and culture studies Anthropology 9 works
  7. 7 Indian and Buddhist Studies Religious studies 9 works
  8. 8 Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies Sociology and Political Science 9 works
  9. 9 Japanese History and Culture Cultural Studies 8 works
  10. 10 Economic Theory and Policy General Economics, Econometrics and Finance 8 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 available25.4%not open74.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors34.3%domestic only65.7%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has SOAS University of London's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 1% lower 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 London

All research institutions in London

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.