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University · Boulder · United States

University of Colorado System

In research, University of Colorado System stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,155 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#1,564 of 12,888 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#1,102 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Safety Research and Atmospheric Science — Astronomy and Astrophysics is 4.9× its share of world research.

cu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,930
of 28,054 · #936 all time
Rank in United States
#292
of 4,192
Research works
17k
▼ 10% vs 2013–17
Citations
384k
23.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
12.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
28%
world 28%

What is University of Colorado System 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 #1,155 of 10,521 15.5%765 #260
Physical SciencesDomain #1,564 of 12,888 12.8%835 #997
Social SciencesField #1,102 of 6,365 16.3%400 #274
Physics and AstronomyField #455 of 1,646 20.9%138 #884
EngineeringField #3,010 of 6,636 11.4%265 #1089
Health SciencesDomain #6,215 of 11,982 6.6%245 #3519
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,344 of 2,578 15.0%125 #267
Computer ScienceField #2,579 of 4,667 15.8%143 #522
Arts and HumanitiesField #1,123 of 1,998 13.9%133 #330
EducationSubfield #1,180 of 1,892 20.5%80 #212

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Colorado System 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#260 #1,155
  2. Physical Sciences#997 #1,564
  3. Social Sciences#274 #1,102
  4. Physics and Astronomy#884 #455
  5. Engineering#1,089 #3,010
  6. Health Sciences#3,519 #6,215
  7. Sociology and Political Science#267 #1,344
  8. Computer Science#522 #2,579
  9. Arts and Humanities#330 #1,123
  10. Education#212 #1,180
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 Colorado System specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 4.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 50.0 works4.9×
  2. Safety ResearchSubfield · 20.4 works3.7×
  3. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 32.5 works3.7×
← 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: 0.28× its world share, 26 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.56× its world share, 59 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.26× its world share, 5 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.19× its world share, 38 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.33× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.71× its world share, 5 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.64× its world share, 20 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.93× its world share, 143 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.63× its world share, 82 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.44× its world share, 8 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.89× its world share, 265 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.06× its world share, 104 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.63× its world share, 43 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.19× its world share, 28 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 3.13× its world share, 138 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.06× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.84× its world share, 44 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.52× its world share, 196 worksMedicineNursing: 0.38× its world share, 4 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.27× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.33× its world share, 133 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.91× its world share, 58 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.48× its world share, 28 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.17× its world share, 49 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.60× its world share, 96 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.60× its world share, 400 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 3.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Colorado System?

Ranked on the composite score, Vine Deloria, Kenneth R. Hammond and Sven Steinmo lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Colorado System.

  1. 1 Vine Deloria United States · #14,553 worldwide 441 citations · 46 works
  2. 2 Kenneth R. Hammond United States · #36,676 worldwide 422 citations · 34 works
  3. 3 Sven Steinmo United States · #70,147 worldwide 712 citations · 25 works
  4. 4 S. Harrison Thomson United States · #83,599 worldwide 70 citations · 35 works
  5. 5 Barbara Alpern Engel United States · #85,950 worldwide 85 citations · 47 works
  6. 6 Ward Churchill United States · #86,596 worldwide 134 citations · 32 works
  7. 7 James Jankowski United States · #99,699 worldwide 62 citations · 43 works
  8. 8 Elise Boulding United States · #118,323 worldwide 117 citations · 42 works
  9. 9 Lise Menn United States · #120,511 worldwide 121 citations · 28 works
  10. 10 Bertram Morris United States · #125,035 worldwide 177 citations · 23 works
All ranked researchers at University of Colorado System

Which keywords describe research at University of Colorado System?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Globalization, Engineering Education, Gender, Education, Innovation, Colonialism and Solar Wind.

▲ 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 Change87▲ 1.63×80 topics
  2. Globalization73▲ 1.88×90 topics
  3. Education53▲ 1.56×68 topics
  4. Machine Learning52▼ 0.80×66 topics
  5. Innovation44▲ 2.1×35 topics
  6. Gender40▲ 3.7×39 topics
  7. Identity37▲ 2.6×47 topics
  8. Mental Health35▲ 1.22×35 topics
  9. Remote Sensing35▲ 1.43×31 topics
  10. History34▲ 2.5×36 topics
  11. Social Media34▲ 1.21×29 topics
  12. Colonialism33▲ 3.5×37 topics
  13. Literature31▲ 2.9×42 topics
  14. Culture30▲ 2.9×25 topics
  15. Engineering Education28▲ 16×4 topics
  16. STEM Education27▲ 3.0×10 topics
  17. Religion27▲ 2.8×28 topics
  18. Ethics26▲ 2.8×33 topics
  19. Feminism24▲ 4.3×20 topics
  20. Nationalism24▲ 2.6×23 topics
  21. Student Engagement23▲ 2.9×11 topics
  22. Solar Wind22▲ 12×2 topics
  23. Sea Level Rise21▲ 8.4×3 topics
  24. Social Interaction21▲ 2.7×11 topics
  25. Hydrological Modeling19▲ 4.1×5 topics
  26. Lifelong Learning17▲ 4.3×8 topics
  27. Electron Acceleration17▲ 13×2 topics
  28. Ionosphere17▲ 15×1 topic
  29. Magnetosphere17▲ 15×1 topic
  30. Diversity16▲ 4.7×9 topics
  31. Assessment Methods16▲ 7.3×3 topics
  32. Geodetic Measurements16▲ 7.2×2 topics
  33. Entanglement15▲ 5.2×4 topics
  34. Anaerobic15▲ 11×1 topic
  35. Methane Oxidation15▲ 9.2×1 topic
  36. Community14▲ 6.3×8 topics
  37. GRACE13▲ 13×1 topic
  38. groundwater depletion13▲ 13×1 topic
  39. Outcome-Based Education13▲ 25×1 topic
  40. Professional Skills13▲ 20×1 topic

Which research topics does University of Colorado System publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics, Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena, Geophysics and Gravity Measurements and Engineering Education and Curriculum Development.

Ionosphere and magnetosp…17Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 17 fractional worksMethane Hydrates and Rel…15Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 15 fractional worksGeophysics and Gravity M…13Geophysics and Gravity Measurements: 13 fractional worksEngineering Education an…13Engineering Education and Curriculum Development: 13 fractional worksCareer Development and Diversity: 10 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Science: 9 fractional worksHigher Education Researc…9Higher Education Research Studies: 9 fractional worksGas Dynamics and Kinetic Theory: 8 fractional worksEngineering Education and Pedagogy: 8 fractional worksNatural Language Process…8Natural Language Processing Techniques: 8 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsEnvironmental ChemistryOceanographyMedia Technology5 others

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

  1. 1 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 17 works
  2. 2 Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena Environmental Chemistry 15 works
  3. 3 Geophysics and Gravity Measurements Oceanography 13 works
  4. 4 Engineering Education and Curriculum Development Media Technology 13 works
  5. 5 Career Development and Diversity Safety Research 10 works
  6. 6 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 9 works
  7. 7 Higher Education Research Studies Education 9 works
  8. 8 Gas Dynamics and Kinetic Theory Applied Mathematics 8 works
  9. 9 Engineering Education and Pedagogy Architecture 8 works
  10. 10 Natural Language Processing Techniques Artificial Intelligence 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 available27.6%not open72.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors10.0%domestic only90.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Colorado System's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 10% 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 Boulder

All research institutions in Boulder

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.