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University · Colombo · Sri Lanka

University of Colombo

In research, University of Colombo stands highest in Social Sciences (#406 of 6,365 worldwide), Social Sciences (#940 of 10,521 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#3,651 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Complementary and alternative medicine — Complementary and alternative medicine is 6.8× its share of world research.

cmb.ac.lkROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#3,280
of 28,054 · #5,919 all time
Rank in Sri Lanka
#3
of 37
Research works
8k
▲ 50% vs 2013–17
Citations
74k
9.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
10.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
62%
world 28%

What is University of Colombo 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 #406 of 6,365 17.6%303 #1127
Social SciencesDomain #940 of 10,521 14.5%644 #1966
Health SciencesDomain #3,651 of 11,982 6.6%749 #3074
MedicineField #3,183 of 10,443 6.3%614 #3408
Life SciencesDomain #2,775 of 7,800 9.4%324 #3940
Physical SciencesDomain #4,821 of 12,888 9.8%480 #8458
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,519 of 2,578 18.0%100 #2107
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #2,355 of 3,409 9.6%132 #2576
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #2,521 of 3,579 9.4%124 #4992
Environmental ScienceField #2,542 of 3,551 10.4%113 #3702

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Colombo 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#1,127 #406
  2. Social Sciences#1,966 #940
  3. Health Sciences#3,074 #3,651
  4. Medicine#3,408 #3,183
  5. Life Sciences#3,940 #2,775
  6. Physical Sciences#8,458 #4,821
  7. Sociology and Political Science#2,107 #1,519
  8. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#2,576 #2,355
  9. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#4,992 #2,521
  10. Environmental Science#3,702 #2,542
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 Colombo specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Complementary and alternative medicine takes 6.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Complementary and alternative medicineSubfield · 43.7 works6.8×
← 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: 1.26× its world share, 132 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.06× its world share, 124 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.14× its world share, 25 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.54× its world share, 19 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 2.95× its world share, 23 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.37× its world share, 3 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.58× its world share, 20 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.93× its world share, 158 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.52× its world share, 18 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.37× its world share, 7 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.31× its world share, 102 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.04× its world share, 114 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.38× its world share, 30 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.55× its world share, 14 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.29× its world share, 14 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.50× its world share, 5 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.69× its world share, 98 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.45× its world share, 614 worksMedicineNursing: 2.71× its world share, 29 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.15× its world share, 3 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.43× its world share, 27 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.63× its world share, 115 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.34× its world share, 28 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.55× its world share, 73 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.45× its world share, 97 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.09× its world share, 303 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics, 3.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Colombo?

Ranked on the composite score, Priyanga Ranasinghe, Ranil Jayawardena and Achala Upendra Jayatilleke lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Colombo.

  1. 1 Priyanga Ranasinghe Sri Lanka · #60,217 worldwide 295 citations · 32 works
  2. 2 Ranil Jayawardena Sri Lanka · #100,175 worldwide 296 citations · 25 works
  3. 3 Achala Upendra Jayatilleke Sri Lanka · #119,261 worldwide 2.7k citations · 20 works
  4. 4 Yasith Mathangasinghe Sri Lanka · #196,175 worldwide 446 citations · 17 works
  5. 5 Nadira D. Karunaweera Sri Lanka · #229,952 worldwide 79 citations · 21 works
  6. 6 Prasad Katulanda Sri Lanka · #266,027 worldwide 143 citations · 42 works
  7. 7 Gihan Wikramanayake Sri Lanka · #567,931 worldwide 47 citations · 22 works
  8. 8 Jennifer Perera Sri Lanka · #592,616 worldwide 62 citations · 22 works
  9. 9 W.D. Ratnasooriya Sri Lanka · #612,622 worldwide 40 citations · 30 works
  10. 10 R.L.C. Wijesundera Sri Lanka · #739,707 worldwide 64 citations · 21 works
All ranked researchers at University of Colombo

Which keywords describe research at University of Colombo?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Antioxidant, Neuroprotective, Inflammation, Vaccine Development, Public Health, Machine Learning and Traditional Medicine.

▲ 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. Epidemiology153▲ 1.76×119 topics
  2. Machine Learning81◆ 1.13×65 topics
  3. Inflammation70▲ 1.53×64 topics
  4. Deep Learning69◆ 0.92×64 topics
  5. Climate Change68▲ 1.16×74 topics
  6. Antioxidant60▲ 4.0×43 topics
  7. Public Health59▲ 1.86×44 topics
  8. Globalization58▲ 1.35×56 topics
  9. Sustainability56◆ 1.04×53 topics
  10. Cancer56▲ 1.88×43 topics
  11. Mental Health52▲ 1.61×31 topics
  12. COVID-1950▲ 1.66×25 topics
  13. Cardiovascular Disease49▲ 2.0×33 topics
  14. Human Rights42▲ 1.86×39 topics
  15. Treatment42▲ 1.56×43 topics
  16. Diagnosis40▲ 1.95×39 topics
  17. Antioxidant Activity37▲ 2.7×31 topics
  18. Metabolic Syndrome36▲ 2.0×21 topics
  19. Pandemic34▲ 1.44×10 topics
  20. Vaccine Development32▲ 5.8×9 topics
  21. Obesity32▲ 1.94×21 topics
  22. Depression32▲ 1.66×18 topics
  23. Diabetes31▲ 2.8×19 topics
  24. Neuroprotective30▲ 9.2×9 topics
  25. Anti-inflammatory30▲ 5.0×26 topics
  26. Social Capital30▲ 2.6×15 topics
  27. Consumer Behavior28▲ 2.0×12 topics
  28. Traditional Medicine27▲ 8.5×8 topics
  29. Medicinal Plants25▲ 2.8×15 topics
  30. Well-being24▲ 2.9×12 topics
  31. Herbal Medicine24▲ 3.8×11 topics
  32. Medical Education24▲ 4.2×11 topics
  33. Drug Resistance23▲ 3.7×7 topics
  34. Stress23▲ 2.8×10 topics
  35. Maternal Mortality21▲ 4.3×5 topics
  36. Immunomodulatory20▲ 28×2 topics
  37. Therapeutic Applications18▲ 16×2 topics
  38. Ocimum sanctum18▲ 35×1 topic
  39. Withania somnifera18▲ 35×1 topic
  40. Vector Control16▲ 6.1×4 topics

Which research topics does University of Colombo publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Phytochemicals and Medicinal Plants, Global Maternal and Child Health, Research on Leishmaniasis Studies and Child Nutrition and Water Access.

Phytochemicals and Medic…18Phytochemicals and Medicinal Plants: 18 fractional worksGlobal Maternal and Chil…12Global Maternal and Child Health: 12 fractional worksResearch on Leishmaniasis Studies: 11 fractional worksChild Nutrition and Water Access: 10 fractional worksMosquito-borne diseases and control: 10 fractional worksCOVID-19 Pandemic Impacts: 10 fractional worksOnline and Blended Learning: 9 fractional worksDisaster Management and …8Disaster Management and Resilience: 8 fractional worksSmart Agriculture and AI: 8 fractional worksFlood Risk Assessment and Management: 8 fractional works
Complementary and alternative medicinePediatrics, Perinatology and Child HealthPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthNutrition and Dietetics5 others

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

  1. 1 Phytochemicals and Medicinal Plants Complementary and alternative medicine 18 works
  2. 2 Global Maternal and Child Health Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health 12 works
  3. 3 Research on Leishmaniasis Studies Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 11 works
  4. 4 Child Nutrition and Water Access Nutrition and Dietetics 10 works
  5. 5 Mosquito-borne diseases and control Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 10 works
  6. 6 COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Economics and Econometrics 10 works
  7. 7 Online and Blended Learning Education 9 works
  8. 8 Disaster Management and Resilience Sociology and Political Science 8 works
  9. 9 Smart Agriculture and AI Plant Science 8 works
  10. 10 Flood Risk Assessment and Management Global and Planetary Change 8 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 available62.1%not open37.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors18.6%domestic only81.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Colombo's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 50% 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 Colombo

All research institutions in Colombo

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.