Stellenbosch University
In research, Stellenbosch University stands highest in Social Sciences (#259 of 9,585 worldwide), Health Sciences (#460 of 9,902 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#318 of 5,988 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Religious studies and Nature and Landscape Conservation (Religious studies is 8.9× its share of world research).
- World rank, 2022-now
- #491 of 22,385 · #603 all time
- Rank in South Africa
- #2 of 75
- Research works
- 45k ◆ 1% vs 2018-21
- Citations
- 792k 17.8 per fractional work
- Top-10% rate
- 9.9% all institutions 10.0%
- vs its own fields
- 1.03× 1.00× is exactly expected
- Open access
- 48% world 40%
- International
- 21% world 18%
What is Stellenbosch University known for in research?
The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.
| Field | World rank | Where that sits | Top-10% rate | Works | All time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social SciencesDomain | #259 of 9,585 | 11.9% | 2,689 | #269 | |
| Health SciencesDomain | #460 of 9,902 | 10.1% | 1,723 | #590 | |
| Social SciencesField | #318 of 5,988 | 11.3% | 1,403 | #333 | |
| MedicineField | #494 of 8,541 | 10.0% | 1,356 | #597 | |
| Physical SciencesDomain | #762 of 10,670 | 7.6% | 2,496 | #793 | |
| Agricultural and Biological SciencesField | #352 of 3,157 | 10.1% | 541 | #307 | |
| Life SciencesDomain | #748 of 6,403 | 9.3% | 1,022 | #1085 | |
| Arts and HumanitiesField | #261 of 1,896 | 14.9% | 381 | #168 | |
| EngineeringField | #851 of 5,901 | 6.8% | 1,054 | #735 | |
| Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield | #379 of 2,526 | 10.3% | 485 | #359 |
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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).
Which of those standings moved
The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022-now. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.
- Social Sciences#269 #259
- Health Sciences#590 #460
- Social Sciences#333 #318
- Medicine#597 #494
- Physical Sciences#793 #762
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences#307 #352
- Life Sciences#1,085 #748
- Arts and Humanities#168 #261
- Engineering#735 #851
- Sociology and Political Science#359 #379
A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.
Which fields of science does Stellenbosch University work in?
In 2022-now, 34% of research at Stellenbosch University is in Social Sciences, 31% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (18%), Medicine (17%), Engineering (13%). It does 1.4× the world's share of Social Sciences.
Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.
Its 4 domains and 26 fields, with their numbers
- Social Sciences2,98433.6%
- Social Sciences1,55917.5%
- Arts and Humanities4184.7%
- Psychology3754.2%
- Business, Management and Accounting3153.5%
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance2142.4%
- Decision Sciences1031.2%
- Physical Sciences2,78831.4%
- Engineering1,13612.8%
- Environmental Science6297.1%
- Computer Science3824.3%
- Earth and Planetary Sciences1621.8%
- Physics and Astronomy1121.3%
- Chemistry891.0%
- Mathematics851.0%
- Materials Science851.0%
- Energy820.9%
- Chemical Engineering280.3%
- Health Sciences1,96222.1%
- Medicine1,54517.4%
- Health Professions3313.7%
- Nursing650.7%
- Veterinary100.1%
- Dentistry100.1%
- Life Sciences1,15313.0%
What does Stellenbosch University specialise in?
Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Religious studies takes 8.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.
- Religious studiesSubfield · 132.1 works8.9×
- Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 75.5 works3.6×
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.
Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 1.6×. Every wedge is a field page.
All 26 fields, with their numbers
- Arts and Humanities1.63×418 works
- Nursing1.49×65 works
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences1.44×606 works
- Environmental Science1.42×628 works
- Health Professions1.42×332 works
- Social Sciences1.39×1,559 works
- Psychology1.38×375 works
- Decision Sciences1.20×103 works
- Earth and Planetary Sciences1.16×162 works
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance1.13×214 works
- Business, Management and Accounting1.10×315 works
- Energy1.01×82 works
- Medicine0.90×1,545 works
- Chemical Engineering0.89×28 works
- Veterinary0.87×10 works
- Immunology and Microbiology0.86×77 works
- Engineering0.85×1,136 works
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.82×390 works
- Mathematics0.81×85 works
- Chemistry0.64×89 works
- Physics and Astronomy0.57×112 works
- Computer Science0.55×382 works
- Neuroscience0.48×70 works
- Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.33×10 works
- Materials Science0.27×85 works
- Dentistry0.24×10 works
- Arts and Humanities 1.6×
- Nursing 1.5×
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences 1.4×
- Environmental Science 1.4×
- Health Professions 1.4×
- Social Sciences 1.4×
- Psychology 1.4×
- Decision Sciences 1.2×
- Earth and Planetary Sciences 1.2×
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance 1.1×
- Business, Management and Accounting 1.1×
- Energy 1.0×
- Medicine 0.9×
- Chemical Engineering 0.9×
- Veterinary 0.9×
- Immunology and Microbiology 0.9×
- Engineering 0.8×
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 0.8×
- Mathematics 0.8×
- Chemistry 0.6×
- Physics and Astronomy 0.6×
- Computer Science 0.6×
- Neuroscience 0.5×
- Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics 0.3×
- Materials Science 0.3×
- Dentistry 0.2×
Who are the top researchers at Stellenbosch University?
Ranked on the quality score, Grant Theron, Olatunji Adetokunboh and Christine Löchner lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Stellenbosch University.
- 1
Grant Theron
South Africa · #26,149 worldwide 9.8k citations · 293 works
- 2
Olatunji Adetokunboh
South Africa · #32,899 worldwide 98k citations · 97 works
- 3
Christine Löchner
South Africa · #35,812 worldwide 25k citations · 404 works
- 4
André Young
South Africa · #43,076 worldwide 19k citations · 93 works
- 5
Wendy Foden
South Africa · #50,662 worldwide 9k citations · 75 works
- 6
Steven L. Chown
South Africa · #60,761 worldwide 44k citations · 757 works
- 7
David M. Richardson
South Africa · #64,788 worldwide 83k citations · 803 works
- 8
Gerhard Walzl
South Africa · #69,096 worldwide 20k citations · 427 works
- 9
Andreas Henri Diacon
South Africa · #69,701 worldwide 14k citations · 260 works
- 10
Mark Tomlinson
South Africa · #74,313 worldwide 24k citations · 580 works
Which keywords describe research at Stellenbosch University?
By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Epidemiology, Colonialism, Globalization, Human Rights, Sustainability, South Africa and Invasive Species.
- Socio-Economic Rights
- Constitutionalism
- Consumer Protection
- Judicial Review
- Biological Invasions
- Equality
- Habitat Fragmentation
- economic empowerment
- Global Change
- Gender-based Violence
- Development
- Inequality
- South Africa
- Nationalism
- Invasive Species
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Impact
- Renewable Energy
- Globalization
- Climate Change
- Epidemiology
- Sustainability
- Human Rights
- Mental Health
- Colonialism
- Social Justice
- Higher Education
- Conservation
- Race
- Antiretroviral Therapy
- Social Movements
- Neoliberalism
- Intersectionality
- protests
- African Christianity
- Gender Dynamics
- Environmental Governance
- NGOs
- Public Participation
- Developmental Local Government
Size is fractional works in 2022-now 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
- Epidemiology429▲ 1.21×130 topics
- Climate Change394▲ 1.63×101 topics
- Sustainability292▲ 1.35×86 topics
- Globalization283▲ 1.62×108 topics
- Human Rights218▲ 2.4×57 topics
- Renewable Energy204▲ 1.59×49 topics
- Mental Health202▲ 1.59×39 topics
- Environmental Impact191▲ 1.26×54 topics
- Colonialism188▲ 4.5×30 topics
- Biodiversity184▲ 2.7×31 topics
- Social Justice166▲ 3.1×37 topics
- Invasive Species151▲ 4.0×20 topics
- Higher Education126▲ 2.7×23 topics
- Nationalism118▲ 3.0×25 topics
- Conservation112▲ 2.9×21 topics
- South Africa112▲ 46×4 topics
- Race109▲ 10×15 topics
- Inequality104▲ 5.1×13 topics
- Antiretroviral Therapy102▲ 7.0×6 topics
- Development100▲ 3.2×16 topics
- Social Movements100▲ 3.8×11 topics
- Gender-based Violence99▲ 19×3 topics
- Neoliberalism91▲ 2.9×20 topics
- Global Change86▲ 3.6×7 topics
- Intersectionality83▲ 4.9×12 topics
- economic empowerment81▲ 57×1 topic
- protests81▲ 116×1 topic
- Habitat Fragmentation77▲ 4.0×5 topics
- African Christianity73▲ 36×2 topics
- Equality69▲ 13×6 topics
- Gender Dynamics67▲ 7.2×6 topics
- Biological Invasions66▲ 8.2×3 topics
- Environmental Governance65▲ 11×4 topics
- Judicial Review60▲ 8.0×4 topics
- NGOs60▲ 7.2×4 topics
- Consumer Protection60▲ 16×2 topics
- Public Participation59▲ 31×2 topics
- Constitutionalism59▲ 7.5×3 topics
- Developmental Local Government58▲ 63×1 topic
- Socio-Economic Rights58▲ 63×1 topic
Which research topics does Stellenbosch University publish most on?
By volume in 2022-now: South African History and Culture, Legal Issues in South Africa, Christian Theology and Mission and African history and culture studies.
Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.
- 1 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 81 works
- 2 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 58 works
- 3 Christian Theology and Mission Religious studies 49 works
- 4 African history and culture studies Anthropology 46 works
- 5 Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology Infectious Diseases 45 works
- 6 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 44 works
- 7 African cultural and philosophical studies Education 42 works
- 8 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 38 works
- 9 HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Infectious Diseases 36 works
- 10 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 35 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.
World: 40% of research is openly available.
World: 18% is written across borders.
How has Stellenbosch University's research output changed?
Output in 2022-2025 was 1% higher than in 2018-2021.
The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Its share of all research
Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Stellenbosch University as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.036% in 2024.
Fractional works of Stellenbosch University over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.
How much of it reaches the world top 10%
Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.
Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 11.4% in 2011.
Other research institutions in Stellenbosch
- Sustainability Institute
- iThemba Laboratory
- ISS International (South Africa)
- Centre for Higher Education Trust
- WAM Technology (South Africa)
- Centre for Rural Legal Studies
- Physiology Society of Southern Africa
Compare Stellenbosch University with
- vs
University of Twente
- vs
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
- vs
University of San Francisco
- vs
University of Tasmania
- vs
Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications
- vs
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners have tabs of their own, above.
Discussion
Ask a question or share a note about Stellenbosch University. Posts are plain text and can be reported.
