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University · Aberdeen · United Kingdom

University of Aberdeen

In research, University of Aberdeen stands highest in Social Sciences (#528 of 10,521 worldwide), Health Sciences (#637 of 11,982 worldwide) and Medicine (#566 of 10,443 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Religious studies, History and Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty — Religious studies is 6.5× its share of world research.

abdn.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#868
of 28,054 · #362 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#38
of 1,094
Research works
47k
▼ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.5M
32.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.2%
record average 16.5%
Open access
33%
world 28%

What is University of Aberdeen 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 #528 of 10,521 21.6%1,346 #218
Health SciencesDomain #637 of 11,982 22.8%850 #185
MedicineField #566 of 10,443 22.2%688 #209
Arts and HumanitiesField #145 of 1,998 16.7%288 #65
Physical SciencesDomain #1,212 of 12,888 18.8%1,353 #624
Life SciencesDomain #769 of 7,800 24.2%494 #237
Environmental ScienceField #374 of 3,551 26.0%314 #111
Social SciencesField #910 of 6,365 21.0%607 #320
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #560 of 3,409 30.4%150 #118
EngineeringField #1,480 of 6,636 16.0%423 #902

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Aberdeen 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#218 #528
  2. Health Sciences#185 #637
  3. Medicine#209 #566
  4. Arts and Humanities#65 #145
  5. Physical Sciences#624 #1,212
  6. Life Sciences#237 #769
  7. Environmental Science#111 #374
  8. Social Sciences#320 #910
  9. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#118 #560
  10. Engineering#902 #1,480
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 University of Aberdeen specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Religious studies takes 6.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Religious studiesSubfield · 43.8 works6.5×
  2. HistorySubfield · 64.2 works5.0×
  3. Statistics, Probability and UncertaintySubfield · 20.4 works3.0×
← 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: 0.78× its world share, 150 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.84× its world share, 181 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.94× its world share, 38 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.77× its world share, 116 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.57× its world share, 8 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.89× its world share, 13 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.89× its world share, 56 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.65× its world share, 205 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.41× its world share, 153 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.80× its world share, 30 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.70× its world share, 423 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.56× its world share, 314 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.44× its world share, 62 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.00× its world share, 48 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.55× its world share, 49 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.61× its world share, 12 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.23× its world share, 132 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.88× its world share, 688 worksMedicineNursing: 0.83× its world share, 16 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.45× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.46× its world share, 288 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.88× its world share, 115 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.11× its world share, 44 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.46× its world share, 126 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.35× its world share, 166 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.19× its world share, 607 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 2.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Aberdeen?

Ranked on the composite score, Tim Ingold, Ehud Reiter and Marion Campbell lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Aberdeen.

  1. 1 Tim Ingold United Kingdom · #1,942 worldwide 944 citations · 115 works
  2. 2 Ehud Reiter United Kingdom · #11,484 worldwide 917 citations · 72 works
  3. 3 Marion Campbell United Kingdom · #12,468 worldwide 629 citations · 67 works
  4. 4 Frank C. Odds United Kingdom · #13,408 worldwide 916 citations · 47 works
  5. 5 Andrew A. Meharg United Kingdom · #16,289 worldwide 761 citations · 57 works
  6. 6 Michael J. Rogers United Kingdom · #17,482 worldwide 515 citations · 63 works
  7. 7 Paul A. Racey United Kingdom · #18,148 worldwide 690 citations · 57 works
  8. 8 I. Howard Marshall United Kingdom · #18,478 worldwide 203 citations · 89 works
  9. 9 H. W. Kosterlitz United Kingdom · #19,366 worldwide 713 citations · 49 works
  10. 10 Peter Fayers United Kingdom · #19,545 worldwide 472 citations · 45 works
All ranked researchers at University of Aberdeen

Which keywords describe research at University of Aberdeen?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Religion, Globalization, Human Rights, Epidemiology, Gender, Sustainability and Nationalism.

▲ 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 Change213▲ 1.96×93 topics
  2. Epidemiology136▼ 0.85×122 topics
  3. Globalization123▲ 1.55×92 topics
  4. Sustainability107◆ 1.09×76 topics
  5. Machine Learning103▼ 0.78×72 topics
  6. Inflammation92◆ 1.09×78 topics
  7. Environmental Impact84▲ 1.22×54 topics
  8. Human Rights82▲ 1.98×55 topics
  9. Religion82▲ 4.3×29 topics
  10. Renewable Energy77▲ 1.32×38 topics
  11. Mental Health74▲ 1.25×38 topics
  12. Public Health65◆ 1.11×53 topics
  13. Identity64▲ 2.2×48 topics
  14. Quality of Life64◆ 1.10×52 topics
  15. Gender62▲ 2.8×40 topics
  16. History58▲ 2.0×34 topics
  17. Literature58▲ 2.6×35 topics
  18. Nationalism56▲ 3.0×24 topics
  19. Colonialism54▲ 2.8×33 topics
  20. Economic Growth53▲ 1.55×25 topics
  21. Social Justice51▲ 2.1×32 topics
  22. Metabolic Syndrome49▲ 1.48×24 topics
  23. Biodiversity46▲ 1.54×26 topics
  24. Health Effects44▲ 1.82×22 topics
  25. Ethics44▲ 2.2×28 topics
  26. Microbial Communities39▲ 2.3×10 topics
  27. Democracy37▲ 2.6×17 topics
  28. International Law36▲ 2.9×20 topics
  29. Tectonics34▲ 7.1×3 topics
  30. Shale Gas32▲ 6.3×2 topics
  31. Pore Structure31▲ 6.1×3 topics
  32. Gas Permeability31▲ 7.5×2 topics
  33. Race30▲ 6.6×15 topics
  34. Theology29▲ 7.4×4 topics
  35. Nanopores28▲ 7.1×2 topics
  36. Mudstones28▲ 8.9×1 topic
  37. Thermal Maturity28▲ 8.9×1 topic
  38. National Identity25▲ 5.5×7 topics
  39. NGOs25▲ 6.3×4 topics
  40. Church History20▲ 11×3 topics

Which research topics does University of Aberdeen publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis, Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis, Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact and Geology and Paleoclimatology Research.

Hydrocarbon exploration …28Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis: 28 fractional worksHydraulic Fracturing and…15Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis: 15 fractional worksAgriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact: 15 fractional worksGeology and Paleoclimatology Research: 15 fractional worksGeological formations and processes: 14 fractional worksScottish History and National Identity: 14 fractional worksMethane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 14 fractional worksGeological and Geochemic…14Geological and Geochemical Analysis: 14 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Interpretation: 13 fractional worksReligion, Society, and Development: 13 fractional works
Mechanics of MaterialsMechanical EngineeringEcologyAtmospheric Science6 others

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

  1. 1 Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis Mechanics of Materials 28 works
  2. 2 Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis Mechanical Engineering 15 works
  3. 3 Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact Ecology 15 works
  4. 4 Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Atmospheric Science 15 works
  5. 5 Geological formations and processes Earth-Surface Processes 14 works
  6. 6 Scottish History and National Identity History 14 works
  7. 7 Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena Environmental Chemistry 14 works
  8. 8 Geological and Geochemical Analysis Geophysics 14 works
  9. 9 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 13 works
  10. 10 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 13 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 available32.9%not open67.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors20.9%domestic only79.1%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Aberdeen's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% 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 Aberdeen

All research institutions in Aberdeen

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.