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University · Heredia · Costa Rica

Universidad Nacional

In research, Universidad Nacional stands highest in Social Sciences (#3,029 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#2,786 of 6,365 worldwide) and Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#1,691 of 3,409 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Computer Science Applications and Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics — Computer Science Applications is 9.6× its share of world research.

una.ac.crROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#8,302
of 28,054 · #10,338 all time
Rank in Costa Rica
#2
of 26
Research works
5.4k
▲ 25% vs 2013–17
Citations
33k
6.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
8.2%
record average 16.5%
Open access
73%
world 28%

What is Universidad Nacional 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 #3,029 of 10,521 8.2%505 #4769
Social SciencesField #2,786 of 6,365 7.6%308 #3909
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #1,691 of 3,409 8.8%141 #1993
Life SciencesDomain #5,235 of 7,800 8.8%192 #5945
Physical SciencesDomain #8,905 of 12,888 7.5%266 #10009
Arts and HumanitiesField #1,390 of 1,998 14.3%66 #2635
EducationSubfield #1,603 of 1,892 7.6%95 #2103
Environmental ScienceField #3,027 of 3,551 5.4%127 #3269
Health SciencesDomain #10,287 of 11,982 8.5%96 #10856
Computer ScienceField #4,295 of 4,667 11.7%70 #5985

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Universidad Nacional 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#4,769 #3,029
  2. Social Sciences#3,909 #2,786
  3. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#1,993 #1,691
  4. Life Sciences#5,945 #5,235
  5. Physical Sciences#10,009 #8,905
  6. Arts and Humanities#2,635 #1,390
  7. Education#2,103 #1,603
  8. Environmental Science#3,269 #3,027
  9. Health Sciences#10,856 #10,287
  10. Computer Science#5,985 #4,295
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 Universidad Nacional specialise in?

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

  1. Computer Science ApplicationsSubfield · 25.0 works9.6×
  2. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield · 34.6 works7.0×
← 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: 2.80× its world share, 141 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.62× its world share, 35 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.89× its world share, 10 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.24× its world share, 4 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.67× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.19× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.30× its world share, 5 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.85× its world share, 70 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.45× its world share, 24 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.72× its world share, 7 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.12× its world share, 20 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.41× its world share, 127 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.25× its world share, 9 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.24× its world share, 3 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.05× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.66× its world share, 18 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.34× its world share, 69 worksMedicineNursing: 0.35× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 3.97× its world share, 6 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.17× its world share, 66 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.16× its world share, 40 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.56× its world share, 6 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.98× its world share, 45 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.25× its world share, 40 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.30× its world share, 308 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Veterinary, 4.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Universidad Nacional?

Ranked on the composite score, Edgardo Moreno, Juan José Romero Zúñiga and Francisco Rojas Aravena lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Universidad Nacional.

  1. 1 Edgardo Moreno Costa Rica · #136,620 worldwide 158 citations · 26 works
  2. 2 Juan José Romero Zúñiga Costa Rica · #323,101 worldwide 60 citations · 28 works
  3. 3 Francisco Rojas Aravena Costa Rica · #330,071 worldwide 11 citations · 36 works
  4. 4 Revista Electrónica Educare Costa Rica · #338,501 worldwide 0 citations · 28 works
  5. 5 Bernardo Vargas‐Leitón Costa Rica · #384,955 worldwide 75 citations · 18 works
  6. 6 Carlos Jiménez Costa Rica · #489,186 worldwide 40 citations · 20 works
  7. 7 Daniel Rojas‐Valverde Costa Rica · #514,709 worldwide 39 citations · 29 works
  8. 8 Franz J. Hinkelammert Costa Rica · #533,285 worldwide 26 citations · 147 works
  9. 9 Berna van Wendel de Joode Costa Rica · #607,430 worldwide 44 citations · 29 works
  10. 10 Christopher Vaughan Costa Rica · #616,164 worldwide 79 citations · 20 works
All ranked researchers at Universidad Nacional

Which keywords describe research at Universidad Nacional?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Education, Innovation, Latin America, Climate Change, Biodiversity, Knowledge Management, Globalization and Teacher Training.

▲ 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. Education109▲ 6.0×42 topics
  2. Climate Change85▲ 3.0×71 topics
  3. Globalization70▲ 3.4×43 topics
  4. Innovation70▲ 6.3×24 topics
  5. Latin America58▲ 29×18 topics
  6. Sustainability57▲ 2.2×51 topics
  7. Biodiversity55▲ 7.0×22 topics
  8. Knowledge Management49▲ 8.4×10 topics
  9. Sustainable Development47▲ 2.8×28 topics
  10. E-Learning47▲ 4.4×5 topics
  11. Teacher Training45▲ 6.8×12 topics
  12. Environmental Impact44▲ 2.5×31 topics
  13. Educational Technology44▲ 3.5×19 topics
  14. COVID-1939▲ 2.7×18 topics
  15. Public Health38▲ 2.5×35 topics
  16. Pedagogy37▲ 7.1×7 topics
  17. Population Dynamics36▲ 13×11 topics
  18. Digital Marketing34▲ 7.7×2 topics
  19. Public Policy32▲ 6.2×14 topics
  20. Distance Learning32▲ 8.8×6 topics
  21. Technology32▲ 5.6×14 topics
  22. Invasive Species31▲ 6.9×19 topics
  23. Conservation29▲ 6.3×20 topics
  24. Rural Development28▲ 7.5×10 topics
  25. Sustainable Agriculture27▲ 8.1×7 topics
  26. Digital Divide26▲ 9.6×5 topics
  27. ICT25▲ 18×2 topics
  28. Community Participation25▲ 6.4×9 topics
  29. Online Education25▲ 12×1 topic
  30. Virtual Teaching25▲ 43×1 topic
  31. Informal Learning24▲ 18×5 topics
  32. Competitiveness24▲ 29×6 topics
  33. Social Movements24▲ 7.4×12 topics
  34. Urban Development23▲ 6.0×7 topics
  35. Communication23▲ 7.0×9 topics
  36. Teacher Development21▲ 32×2 topics
  37. Student Performance20▲ 18×3 topics
  38. Innovation Ecosystems20▲ 18×2 topics
  39. Social Responsibility20▲ 8.0×3 topics
  40. Educational Leadership20▲ 15×1 topic

Which research topics does Universidad Nacional publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Educational Innovations and Technology, Education and Teacher Training, E-Learning and Knowledge Management and Business, Innovation, and Economy.

Educational Innovations …25Educational Innovations and Technology: 25 fractional worksEducation and Teacher Tr…20Education and Teacher Training: 20 fractional worksE-Learning and Knowledge…18E-Learning and Knowledge Management: 18 fractional worksBusiness, Innovation, an…17Business, Innovation, and Economy: 17 fractional worksInternational Relations in Latin America: 12 fractional worksEducational and Organizational Development: 12 fractional worksHigher Education and Sus…12Higher Education and Sustainability: 12 fractional worksRegional Development and Innovation: 11 fractional worksEducational Research and Science Teaching: 11 fractional worksBotany and Geology in La…10Botany and Geology in Latin America and Caribbean: 10 fractional works
Information SystemsEducationComputer Science ApplicationsEconomics and Econometrics5 others

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

  1. 1 Educational Innovations and Technology Information Systems 25 works
  2. 2 Education and Teacher Training Education 20 works
  3. 3 E-Learning and Knowledge Management Computer Science Applications 18 works
  4. 4 Business, Innovation, and Economy Economics and Econometrics 17 works
  5. 5 International Relations in Latin America Political Science and International Relations 12 works
  6. 6 Educational and Organizational Development Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management 12 works
  7. 7 Higher Education and Sustainability Education 12 works
  8. 8 Regional Development and Innovation Development 11 works
  9. 9 Educational Research and Science Teaching General Agricultural and Biological Sciences 11 works
  10. 10 Botany and Geology in Latin America and Caribbean Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 10 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 available72.9%not open27.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors19.8%domestic only80.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Universidad Nacional's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 25% 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 Heredia

All research institutions in Heredia

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.