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University · Tuscaloosa · United States

University of Alabama

In research, University of Alabama stands highest in Social Sciences (#140 of 6,365 worldwide), Social Sciences (#249 of 10,521 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#545 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Communication — Communication is 4.3× its share of world research.

ua.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#690
of 28,054 · #509 all time
Rank in United States
#136
of 4,192
Research works
38k
▲ 25% vs 2013–17
Citations
897k
23.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
24%
world 28%

What is University of Alabama 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 SciencesField #140 of 6,365 26.0%965 #128
Social SciencesDomain #249 of 10,521 23.8%2,052 #201
Physical SciencesDomain #545 of 12,888 18.4%2,215 #509
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #296 of 2,578 26.1%333 #209
EngineeringField #814 of 6,636 16.9%849 #485
Environmental ScienceField #447 of 3,551 25.0%326 #586
Health SciencesDomain #1,681 of 11,982 13.7%761 #528
Arts and HumanitiesField #293 of 1,998 19.4%237 #282
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #178 of 1,209 25.7%129 —
EducationSubfield #286 of 1,892 29.9%163 #222

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Alabama 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#128 #140
  2. Social Sciences#201 #249
  3. Physical Sciences#509 #545
  4. Sociology and Political Science#209 #296
  5. Engineering#485 #814
  6. Environmental Science#586 #447
  7. Health Sciences#528 #1,681
  8. Arts and Humanities#282 #293
  9. Education#222 #286
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 Alabama specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Communication takes 4.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. CommunicationSubfield · 63.5 works4.3×
← 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: 0.34× its world share, 87 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.46× its world share, 131 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.27× its world share, 14 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.12× its world share, 98 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.37× its world share, 7 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.69× its world share, 50 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.98× its world share, 82 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.73× its world share, 304 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.54× its world share, 129 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.64× its world share, 31 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.05× its world share, 849 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.22× its world share, 326 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.02× its world share, 190 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.59× its world share, 101 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.27× its world share, 151 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.40× its world share, 10 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.43× its world share, 202 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.50× its world share, 519 worksMedicineNursing: 1.08× its world share, 28 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.25× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.53× its world share, 237 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.96× its world share, 167 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.85× its world share, 96 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.97× its world share, 112 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.91× its world share, 476 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.42× its world share, 965 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Psychology, 2.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Alabama?

Ranked on the composite score, Walter Enders, J. Busenitz and Robin D. Rogers lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Alabama.

  1. 1 Walter Enders · #9,114 worldwide 1.3k citations · 52 works
  2. 2 J. Busenitz · #14,606 worldwide 853 citations · 81 works
  3. 3 Robin D. Rogers · #17,638 worldwide 2.7k citations · 238 works
  4. 4 Sharon E. Beatty · #20,010 worldwide 1.5k citations · 39 works
  5. 5 Mark Schneider · #21,690 worldwide 533 citations · 64 works
  6. 6 John B. Vincent · #23,653 worldwide 633 citations · 49 works
  7. 7 K. Michele Kacmar · #24,946 worldwide 741 citations · 38 works
  8. 8 Robert M. Metzger · #26,897 worldwide 640 citations · 57 works
  9. 9 Kenneth L. Lichstein · #30,864 worldwide 380 citations · 40 works
  10. 10 Y. B. Guo · #30,970 worldwide 587 citations · 57 works
All ranked researchers at University of Alabama

Which keywords describe research at University of Alabama?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mental Health, Climate Change, Social Media, Gender, Social Support, Resilience, Epidemiology and Disaster Management.

▲ 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. Mental Health212▲ 2.7×37 topics
  2. Climate Change208▲ 1.44×85 topics
  3. Epidemiology164▼ 0.77×115 topics
  4. Machine Learning135▼ 0.77×76 topics
  5. Social Media132▲ 1.72×28 topics
  6. Globalization115◆ 1.09×77 topics
  7. Sustainability105▼ 0.80×72 topics
  8. Public Health88◆ 1.12×40 topics
  9. Mechanical Properties85▲ 1.63×33 topics
  10. Gender84▲ 2.9×42 topics
  11. Depression83▲ 1.76×21 topics
  12. Remote Sensing83▲ 1.25×31 topics
  13. Social Support79▲ 2.6×15 topics
  14. Resilience74▲ 2.9×14 topics
  15. Identity73▲ 1.88×44 topics
  16. Risk Factors73▲ 1.24×33 topics
  17. Meta-Analysis57▲ 1.81×18 topics
  18. Catalysis57▲ 1.59×24 topics
  19. Religion57▲ 2.2×29 topics
  20. Microstructure56▲ 1.99×19 topics
  21. Emotion Regulation54▲ 3.2×9 topics
  22. Risk Perception54▲ 3.7×7 topics
  23. Hydrological Modeling52▲ 4.2×5 topics
  24. Adolescents52▲ 2.6×8 topics
  25. Nationalism52▲ 2.1×24 topics
  26. Student Engagement51▲ 2.4×13 topics
  27. Well-being50▲ 2.5×14 topics
  28. Ethics50▲ 1.94×34 topics
  29. Gender Differences48▲ 2.4×16 topics
  30. Disaster Management47▲ 5.9×4 topics
  31. Emotion46▲ 4.1×11 topics
  32. Feminism44▲ 2.9×15 topics
  33. Digital Divide42▲ 3.0×9 topics
  34. Psychopathology40▲ 4.1×3 topics
  35. Developmental Trajectories40▲ 6.0×3 topics
  36. Self-Regulation38▲ 4.0×6 topics
  37. Personality Traits35▲ 5.0×8 topics
  38. Neighborhood Effects30▲ 5.2×3 topics
  39. Psychopathy28▲ 16×2 topics
  40. Criminal Behavior26▲ 11×2 topics

Which research topics does University of Alabama publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Flood Risk Assessment and Management, Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development, Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies and Public Relations and Crisis Communication.

Flood Risk Assessment an…26Flood Risk Assessment and Management: 26 fractional worksChild and Adolescent Psy…22Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development: 22 fractional worksHydrology and Watershed Management Studies: 20 fractional worksPublic Relations and Crisis Communication: 18 fractional worksSocial Media and Politics: 18 fractional worksRace, History, and American Society: 17 fractional worksAutism Spectrum Disorder Research: 17 fractional worksMedia Studies and Commun…17Media Studies and Communication: 17 fractional worksPersonality Traits and Psychology: 16 fractional worksTraumatic Brain Injury Research: 16 fractional works
Global and Planetary ChangeClinical PsychologyWater Science and TechnologyCommunication3 others

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

  1. 1 Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementGlobal and Planetary Change 26 works
  2. 2 Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentClinical Psychology 22 works
  3. 3 Hydrology and Watershed Management StudiesWater Science and Technology 20 works
  4. 4 Public Relations and Crisis CommunicationCommunication 18 works
  5. 5 Social Media and PoliticsCommunication 18 works
  6. 6 Race, History, and American SocietySociology and Political Science 17 works
  7. 7 Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchCognitive Neuroscience 17 works
  8. 8 Media Studies and CommunicationCommunication 17 works
  9. 9 Personality Traits and PsychologyClinical Psychology 16 works
  10. 10 Traumatic Brain Injury ResearchEpidemiology 16 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 available24.4%not open75.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors11.0%domestic only89.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Alabama'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 Tuscaloosa

All research institutions in Tuscaloosa

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.