Science Explorer Interactive view Map
University · Rondebosch · South Africa

University of Cape Town

In research, University of Cape Town stands highest in Social Sciences (#64 of 6,365 worldwide), Social Sciences (#182 of 10,521 worldwide) and Medicine (#360 of 10,443 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Virology, Anthropology and Paleontology — Virology is 5.8× its share of world research.

uct.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#611
of 28,054 · #458 all time
Rank in South Africa
#5
of 87
Research works
50k
◆ 1% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.1M
22.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
40%
world 28%

What is University of Cape Town 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 #64 of 6,365 29.1%1,224 #30
Social SciencesDomain #182 of 10,521 28.3%2,219 #93
MedicineField #360 of 10,443 19.1%1,388 #304
Health SciencesDomain #480 of 11,982 20.1%1,731 #316
Life SciencesDomain #562 of 7,800 19.5%687 #431
AnthropologySubfield #12 of 153 33.4%89 #17
Physical SciencesDomain #1,092 of 12,888 15.6%1,977 #824
Environmental ScienceField #303 of 3,551 17.6%560 #178
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #239 of 2,578 27.8%381 #173
Infectious DiseasesSubfield #34 of 345 24.0%166 #42

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Cape Town 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#30 #64
  2. Social Sciences#93 #182
  3. Medicine#304 #360
  4. Health Sciences#316 #480
  5. Life Sciences#431 #562
  6. Anthropology#17 #12
  7. Physical Sciences#824 #1,092
  8. Environmental Science#178 #303
  9. Sociology and Political Science#173 #239
  10. Infectious Diseases#42 #34
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 Cape Town specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Virology takes 5.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. VirologySubfield · 22.2 works5.8×
  2. AnthropologySubfield · 89.3 works4.8×
  3. PaleontologySubfield · 37.5 works4.7×
  4. DevelopmentSubfield · 27.2 works4.1×
  5. Emergency MedicineSubfield · 61.6 works3.8×
← 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: 0.75× its world share, 234 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.76× its world share, 268 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.45× its world share, 96 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.70× its world share, 76 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.54× its world share, 13 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.82× its world share, 19 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.61× its world share, 63 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.54× its world share, 278 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.05× its world share, 212 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.68× its world share, 41 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.56× its world share, 559 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.70× its world share, 560 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.22× its world share, 52 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.60× its world share, 47 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.98× its world share, 144 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.21× its world share, 7 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.72× its world share, 299 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.09× its world share, 1,388 worksMedicineNursing: 0.93× its world share, 30 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.72× its world share, 6 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.04× its world share, 199 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.03× its world share, 219 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.23× its world share, 78 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.66× its world share, 235 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.31× its world share, 264 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.46× its world share, 1,224 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 2.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Cape Town?

Ranked on the composite score, Dan J. Stein, Bongani M. Mayosi and Heather J. Zar lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Cape Town.

  1. 1 Dan J. Stein South Africa · #1,863 worldwide 7.7k citations · 620 works
  2. 2 Bongani M. Mayosi South Africa · #4,541 worldwide 1.2k citations · 68 works
  3. 3 Heather J. Zar South Africa · #12,192 worldwide 1.1k citations · 114 works
  4. 4 J. Cleymans South Africa · #14,238 worldwide 2.3k citations · 175 works
  5. 5 William J. Bond South Africa · #14,279 worldwide 1.3k citations · 85 works
  6. 6 Keertan Dheda South Africa · #14,838 worldwide 432 citations · 71 works
  7. 7 Eric D. Bateman South Africa · #15,100 worldwide 639 citations · 44 works
  8. 8 R. W. Fearick South Africa · #19,505 worldwide 720 citations · 41 works
  9. 9 Mark P. Nicol South Africa · #22,399 worldwide 621 citations · 40 works
  10. 10 Gina Ziervogel South Africa · #23,572 worldwide 502 citations · 45 works
All ranked researchers at University of Cape Town

Which keywords describe research at University of Cape Town?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Epidemiology, Antiretroviral Therapy, Colonialism, Globalization, South Africa, Human Rights and Vaccine.

▲ 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. Epidemiology407▲ 1.56×129 topics
  2. Climate Change358▲ 2.0×92 topics
  3. Globalization232▲ 1.79×90 topics
  4. Sustainability182◆ 1.13×82 topics
  5. Mental Health153▲ 1.58×41 topics
  6. Public Health150▲ 1.56×59 topics
  7. Human Rights148▲ 2.2×49 topics
  8. Colonialism145▲ 4.6×32 topics
  9. Antiretroviral Therapy128▲ 12×6 topics
  10. Treatment117▲ 1.46×49 topics
  11. Economic Growth117▲ 2.1×26 topics
  12. Biodiversity112▲ 2.3×28 topics
  13. Vaccine104▲ 3.9×11 topics
  14. Immune Response102▲ 2.7×22 topics
  15. Nationalism100▲ 3.3×20 topics
  16. Higher Education93▲ 2.6×23 topics
  17. Social Justice92▲ 2.4×33 topics
  18. Invasive Species88▲ 3.1×20 topics
  19. South Africa81▲ 45×4 topics
  20. Ethical Considerations76▲ 3.4×19 topics
  21. Drug Resistance73▲ 3.9×9 topics
  22. Population Dynamics71▲ 4.2×13 topics
  23. Race70▲ 9.4×14 topics
  24. Poverty Reduction68▲ 7.8×5 topics
  25. Inequality68▲ 4.5×10 topics
  26. Gender-based Violence67▲ 18×3 topics
  27. Biogeography66▲ 3.8×20 topics
  28. HIV Transmission62▲ 13×2 topics
  29. Gender Inequality58▲ 6.4×6 topics
  30. HIV Infection58▲ 8.5×4 topics
  31. Mortality Rates57▲ 9.2×2 topics
  32. Viral Load56▲ 11×2 topics
  33. Trophic Cascades55▲ 8.8×2 topics
  34. Environmental Governance52▲ 12×4 topics
  35. economic empowerment52▲ 49×1 topic
  36. protests52▲ 99×1 topic
  37. Preexposure Prophylaxis51▲ 16×1 topic
  38. Stigma and Discrimination51▲ 16×1 topic
  39. Habitat Selection49▲ 10.0×2 topics
  40. Community Health Workers47▲ 8.4×2 topics

Which research topics does University of Cape Town publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: South African History and Culture, HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions, Legal Issues in South Africa and African history and culture studies.

South African History an…52South African History and Culture: 52 fractional worksHIV/AIDS Research and In…51HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions: 51 fractional worksLegal Issues in South Africa: 39 fractional worksAfrican history and culture studies: 38 fractional worksTuberculosis Research and Epidemiology: 37 fractional worksGlobal Maternal and Child Health: 34 fractional worksAdolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: 31 fractional worksAfrican studies and soci…31African studies and sociopolitical issues: 31 fractional worksPoverty, Education, and Child Welfare: 30 fractional worksMarine and fisheries research: 30 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceInfectious DiseasesLawAnthropology4 others

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

  1. 1 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 52 works
  2. 2 HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Infectious Diseases 51 works
  3. 3 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 39 works
  4. 4 African history and culture studies Anthropology 38 works
  5. 5 Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology Infectious Diseases 37 works
  6. 6 Global Maternal and Child Health Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health 34 works
  7. 7 Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health General Health Professions 31 works
  8. 8 African studies and sociopolitical issues Sociology and Political Science 31 works
  9. 9 Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare Safety Research 30 works
  10. 10 Marine and fisheries research Global and Planetary Change 30 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 available39.8%not open60.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors24.8%domestic only75.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Cape Town's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 1% 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 Rondebosch

All research institutions in Rondebosch

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.