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University · Stellenbosch · South Africa

Stellenbosch University

In research, Stellenbosch University stands highest in Arts and Humanities (#11 of 1,998 worldwide), Social Sciences (#104 of 10,521 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#110 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Religious studies, Nature and Landscape Conservation and Anthropology — Religious studies is 9.6× its share of world research.

sun.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#698
of 28,054 · #843 all time
Rank in South Africa
#7
of 87
Research works
43k
▲ 3% vs 2013–17
Citations
750k
17.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
48%
world 28%

What is Stellenbosch 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
Arts and HumanitiesField #11 of 1,998 24.3%381 #26
Social SciencesDomain #104 of 10,521 23.7%2,681 #232
Social SciencesField #110 of 6,365 23.6%1,399 #250
Business, Management and AccountingField #144 of 2,578 26.2%286 #272
Health SciencesDomain #697 of 11,982 18.6%1,552 #890
MedicineField #765 of 10,443 17.8%1,194 #1006
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #261 of 3,409 22.1%540 #232
Life SciencesDomain #599 of 7,800 20.4%998 #792
Environmental ScienceField #369 of 3,551 21.5%546 #348
EducationSubfield #198 of 1,892 27.5%231 #281

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Stellenbosch 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. Arts and Humanities#26 #11
  2. Social Sciences#232 #104
  3. Social Sciences#250 #110
  4. Business, Management and Accounting#272 #144
  5. Health Sciences#890 #697
  6. Medicine#1,006 #765
  7. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#232 #261
  8. Life Sciences#792 #599
  9. Environmental Science#348 #369
  10. Education#281 #198
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 Stellenbosch University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Religious studies takes 9.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Religious studiesSubfield · 123.2 works9.6×
  2. Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 68.7 works3.7×
  3. AnthropologySubfield · 79.4 works3.7×
← 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: 1.47× its world share, 540 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.80× its world share, 331 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.81× its world share, 63 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.44× its world share, 55 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.33× its world share, 9 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.87× its world share, 23 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.66× its world share, 80 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.56× its world share, 339 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.11× its world share, 134 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.96× its world share, 68 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.91× its world share, 1,052 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.42× its world share, 546 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.27× its world share, 74 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.81× its world share, 73 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.58× its world share, 100 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.18× its world share, 7 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.43× its world share, 290 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.80× its world share, 1,194 worksMedicineNursing: 1.35× its world share, 51 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.90× its world share, 9 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.71× its world share, 381 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.15× its world share, 286 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.21× its world share, 90 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.19× its world share, 197 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.39× its world share, 328 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.43× its world share, 1,399 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 1.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Stellenbosch University?

Ranked on the composite score, David M. Richardson, Wolfgang Preiser and Soraya Seedat lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Stellenbosch University.

  1. 1 David M. Richardson · #3,615 worldwide 2.3k citations · 131 works
  2. 2 Wolfgang Preiser · #6,784 worldwide 735 citations · 61 works
  3. 3 Soraya Seedat · #8,042 worldwide 1.4k citations · 133 works
  4. 4 John R. Wilson · #20,389 worldwide 672 citations · 88 works
  5. 5 Willem Visser · #34,921 worldwide 484 citations · 47 works
  6. 6 Peter S. Nyasulu · #40,119 worldwide 2.6k citations · 30 works
  7. 7 Taryn Young · #53,026 worldwide 289 citations · 38 works
  8. 8 Anneke C. Hesseling · #55,462 worldwide 226 citations · 41 works
  9. 9 Ladislav Mucina · #55,625 worldwide 528 citations · 103 works
  10. 10 Elizabeth Joubert · #56,754 worldwide 265 citations · 47 works
All ranked researchers at Stellenbosch University

Which keywords describe research at Stellenbosch University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Colonialism, Epidemiology, Globalization, Human Rights, Sustainability, South Africa and Invasive Species.

▲ 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. Epidemiology343◆ 1.12×129 topics
  2. Climate Change342▲ 1.64×96 topics
  3. Sustainability260▲ 1.38×83 topics
  4. Globalization255▲ 1.68×104 topics
  5. Human Rights199▲ 2.5×55 topics
  6. Mental Health181▲ 1.60×39 topics
  7. Renewable Energy176▲ 1.58×46 topics
  8. Environmental Impact169▲ 1.29×53 topics
  9. Colonialism169▲ 4.6×29 topics
  10. Biodiversity156▲ 2.7×30 topics
  11. Social Justice147▲ 3.2×36 topics
  12. Invasive Species132▲ 4.0×20 topics
  13. Higher Education112▲ 2.7×22 topics
  14. Nationalism106▲ 3.0×25 topics
  15. Conservation100▲ 3.0×20 topics
  16. South Africa100▲ 48×4 topics
  17. Race95▲ 11×13 topics
  18. Development93▲ 3.5×16 topics
  19. Inequality93▲ 5.3×12 topics
  20. Social Movements90▲ 3.9×10 topics
  21. Gender-based Violence88▲ 20×3 topics
  22. Neoliberalism83▲ 3.0×19 topics
  23. Antiretroviral Therapy82▲ 6.5×6 topics
  24. Intersectionality76▲ 5.4×12 topics
  25. Global Change76▲ 3.8×7 topics
  26. economic empowerment72▲ 59×1 topic
  27. protests72▲ 119×1 topic
  28. African Christianity67▲ 40×2 topics
  29. Equality65▲ 14×6 topics
  30. Gender Dynamics63▲ 7.7×6 topics
  31. Environmental Governance61▲ 12×4 topics
  32. Biological Invasions59▲ 8.6×3 topics
  33. Postcolonialism58▲ 6.1×13 topics
  34. NGOs58▲ 7.6×4 topics
  35. Judicial Review57▲ 8.2×4 topics
  36. Consumer Protection56▲ 17×2 topics
  37. Public Participation56▲ 32×2 topics
  38. Constitutionalism55▲ 7.5×3 topics
  39. Developmental Local Government54▲ 64×1 topic
  40. Socio-Economic Rights54▲ 64×1 topic

Which research topics does Stellenbosch University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: South African History and Culture, Legal Issues in South Africa, Christian Theology and Mission and African history and culture studies.

South African History an…72South African History and Culture: 72 fractional worksLegal Issues in South Af…54Legal Issues in South Africa: 54 fractional worksChristian Theology and Mission: 46 fractional worksAfrican history and culture studies: 43 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Interpretation: 43 fractional worksTuberculosis Research and Epidemiology: 38 fractional worksAfrican cultural and philosophical studies: 37 fractional worksEcology and Vegetation D…35Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies: 35 fractional worksReligion, Society, and Development: 34 fractional worksHIV/AIDS Research and Interventions: 30 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceLawReligious studiesAnthropology3 others

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

  1. 1 South African History and CultureSociology and Political Science 72 works
  2. 2 Legal Issues in South AfricaLaw 54 works
  3. 3 Christian Theology and MissionReligious studies 46 works
  4. 4 African history and culture studiesAnthropology 43 works
  5. 5 Biblical Studies and InterpretationReligious studies 43 works
  6. 6 Tuberculosis Research and EpidemiologyInfectious Diseases 38 works
  7. 7 African cultural and philosophical studiesEducation 37 works
  8. 8 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesNature and Landscape Conservation 35 works
  9. 9 Religion, Society, and DevelopmentSociology and Political Science 34 works
  10. 10 HIV/AIDS Research and InterventionsInfectious Diseases 30 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 available48.2%not open51.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors20.8%domestic only79.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Stellenbosch University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 3% 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 Stellenbosch

All research institutions in Stellenbosch

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.