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University · Christchurch · New Zealand

University of Canterbury

In research, University of Canterbury stands highest in Social Sciences (#534 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#972 of 12,888 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#565 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Nature and Landscape Conservation, Civil and Structural Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction — Nature and Landscape Conservation is 4.4× its share of world research.

canterbury.ac.nzROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,161
of 28,054 · #856 all time
Rank in New Zealand
#4
of 71
Research works
27k
▲ 3% vs 2013–17
Citations
638k
23.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
22.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
30%
world 28%

What is University of Canterbury 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 #534 of 10,521 30.1%1,122 #363
Physical SciencesDomain #972 of 12,888 18.9%1,591 #796
Social SciencesField #565 of 6,365 32.3%570 #383
Environmental ScienceField #422 of 3,551 22.6%317 #341
EngineeringField #857 of 6,636 17.7%653 #716
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #345 of 2,578 35.9%180 #307
Business, Management and AccountingField #426 of 2,578 40.6%124 #197
Health SciencesDomain #2,048 of 11,982 17.1%352 #2501
Computer ScienceField #1,182 of 4,667 18.1%236 #668
EducationSubfield #566 of 1,892 35.3%111 #365

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Canterbury 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#363 #534
  2. Physical Sciences#796 #972
  3. Social Sciences#383 #565
  4. Environmental Science#341 #422
  5. Engineering#716 #857
  6. Sociology and Political Science#307 #345
  7. Business, Management and Accounting#197 #426
  8. Health Sciences#2,501 #2,048
  9. Computer Science#668 #1,182
  10. Education#365 #566
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 Canterbury specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Nature and Landscape Conservation takes 4.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 35.2 works4.4×
  2. Civil and Structural EngineeringSubfield · 165.8 works4.2×
  3. Human-Computer InteractionSubfield · 27.6 works4.0×
  4. Developmental and Educational PsychologySubfield · 52.0 works3.4×
← 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: 0.74× its world share, 117 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.48× its world share, 86 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.12× its world share, 4 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.20× its world share, 65 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.24× its world share, 3 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.34× its world share, 27 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.65× its world share, 34 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.91× its world share, 236 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.23× its world share, 117 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.92× its world share, 28 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.30× its world share, 653 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.91× its world share, 317 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.51× its world share, 60 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.04× its world share, 41 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.04× its world share, 77 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.11× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.00× its world share, 88 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.40× its world share, 254 worksMedicineNursing: 0.29× its world share, 5 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.54× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.98× its world share, 94 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.15× its world share, 124 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.33× its world share, 43 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.90× its world share, 64 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.22× its world share, 226 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.35× its world share, 570 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Chemical Engineering, 2.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Canterbury?

Ranked on the composite score, Christoph Bartneck, M. J. N. Priestley and Mark Billinghurst lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Canterbury.

  1. 1 Christoph Bartneck New Zealand · #9,278 worldwide 863 citations · 72 works
  2. 2 M. J. N. Priestley New Zealand · #15,596 worldwide 881 citations · 60 works
  3. 3 Mark Billinghurst New Zealand · #21,521 worldwide 2.2k citations · 239 works
  4. 4 Girish Prayag New Zealand · #21,617 worldwide 650 citations · 63 works
  5. 5 C. Michael Hall New Zealand · #23,259 worldwide 2.2k citations · 360 works
  6. 6 S. A. M. Adshead New Zealand · #23,757 worldwide 215 citations · 45 works
  7. 7 R. Doesburg New Zealand · #28,194 worldwide 869 citations · 55 works
  8. 8 B. G. Wybourne New Zealand · #35,710 worldwide 634 citations · 45 works
  9. 9 Andreas Willig New Zealand · #44,368 worldwide 541 citations · 33 works
  10. 10 David C. Thorns New Zealand · #46,354 worldwide 211 citations · 40 works
All ranked researchers at University of Canterbury

Which keywords describe research at University of Canterbury?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Sustainability, Resilience, Vulnerability, Remote Sensing, Globalization, Biodiversity 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. Climate Change210▲ 2.3×94 topics
  2. Sustainability127▲ 1.57×76 topics
  3. Globalization88▲ 1.34×75 topics
  4. Machine Learning86▼ 0.79×76 topics
  5. Remote Sensing79▲ 1.92×33 topics
  6. Mental Health70▲ 1.44×36 topics
  7. Environmental Impact68▲ 1.19×49 topics
  8. Resilience65▲ 4.0×15 topics
  9. Biodiversity57▲ 2.3×28 topics
  10. Renewable Energy54◆ 1.12×36 topics
  11. Vulnerability50▲ 6.7×7 topics
  12. Invasive Species47▲ 3.3×20 topics
  13. Social Capital41▲ 2.3×16 topics
  14. Ethics39▲ 2.4×28 topics
  15. Heat Transfer39▲ 2.4×16 topics
  16. Conservation36▲ 2.5×20 topics
  17. Social Interaction33▲ 2.5×11 topics
  18. Habitat Fragmentation33▲ 4.5×5 topics
  19. Global Warming32▲ 2.4×14 topics
  20. Large-Eddy Simulation31▲ 4.9×5 topics
  21. Student Engagement30▲ 2.3×14 topics
  22. Governance30▲ 2.7×11 topics
  23. Risk Perception29▲ 3.2×7 topics
  24. Global Change29▲ 3.3×7 topics
  25. Dynamic Analysis28▲ 6.7×2 topics
  26. Structural Dynamics27▲ 18×2 topics
  27. Probabilistic Analysis27▲ 11×2 topics
  28. Ground Motion26▲ 22×1 topic
  29. Seismic Engineering26▲ 22×1 topic
  30. Chemical Kinetics26▲ 8.9×2 topics
  31. Emotion26▲ 3.7×12 topics
  32. Language Development26▲ 6.4×6 topics
  33. Decolonization24▲ 8.9×5 topics
  34. Academic Achievement23▲ 4.0×10 topics
  35. Autism Spectrum Disorders22▲ 6.5×2 topics
  36. Biomass Estimation22▲ 4.2×3 topics
  37. Construction22▲ 4.7×3 topics
  38. Combustion Instabilities19▲ 9.4×2 topics
  39. Pacific17▲ 27×2 topics
  40. Concrete Strengthening16▲ 7.7×1 topic

Which research topics does University of Canterbury publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Seismic Performance and Analysis, Structural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete, Geotechnical Engineering and Underground Structures and Island Studies and Pacific Affairs.

Seismic Performance and …26Seismic Performance and Analysis: 26 fractional worksStructural Behavior of R…16Structural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete: 16 fractional worksGeotechnical Engineering and Underground Structures: 16 fractional worksIsland Studies and Pacific Affairs: 16 fractional worksCombustion and flame dynamics: 16 fractional worksDisaster Management and Resilience: 16 fractional worksVirtual Reality Applications and Impacts: 15 fractional worksStructural Load-Bearing …14Structural Load-Bearing Analysis: 14 fractional worksChild Nutrition and Feeding Issues: 13 fractional worksReading and Literacy Development: 12 fractional works
Civil and Structural EngineeringBuilding and ConstructionDemographyComputational Mechanics4 others

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

  1. 1 Seismic Performance and Analysis Civil and Structural Engineering 26 works
  2. 2 Structural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Building and Construction 16 works
  3. 3 Geotechnical Engineering and Underground Structures Civil and Structural Engineering 16 works
  4. 4 Island Studies and Pacific Affairs Demography 16 works
  5. 5 Combustion and flame dynamics Computational Mechanics 16 works
  6. 6 Disaster Management and Resilience Sociology and Political Science 16 works
  7. 7 Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts Human-Computer Interaction 15 works
  8. 8 Structural Load-Bearing Analysis Civil and Structural Engineering 14 works
  9. 9 Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues Psychiatry and Mental health 13 works
  10. 10 Reading and Literacy Development Developmental and Educational Psychology 12 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 available30.2%not open69.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors25.6%domestic only74.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Canterbury'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 Christchurch

All research institutions in Christchurch

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.