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University · Canterbury · United Kingdom

University of Kent

In research, University of Kent stands highest in Social Sciences (#434 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#372 of 6,365 worldwide) and Sociology and Political Science (#204 of 2,578 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in History, History and Philosophy of Science and Visual Arts and Performing Arts — History is 6.9× its share of world research.

kent.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,602
of 28,054 · #700 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#65
of 1,094
Research works
29k
◆ 1% vs 2013–17
Citations
620k
21.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
24.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
31%
world 28%

What is University of Kent 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 #434 of 10,521 26.6%1,577 #173
Social SciencesField #372 of 6,365 30.7%799 #167
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #204 of 2,578 31.7%315 #83
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #162 of 1,201 30.3%147 #73
Physical SciencesDomain #1,961 of 12,888 21.3%813 #822
EngineeringField #1,257 of 6,636 22.0%263 #394
PsychologyField #437 of 2,181 25.8%190 #173
MedicineField #2,190 of 10,443 25.4%240 #1735
Health SciencesDomain #2,562 of 11,982 26.4%345 #1406
Computer ScienceField #1,189 of 4,667 24.8%233 #427

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Kent 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#173 #434
  2. Social Sciences#167 #372
  3. Sociology and Political Science#83 #204
  4. Political Science and International Relations#73 #162
  5. Physical Sciences#822 #1,961
  6. Engineering#394 #1,257
  7. Psychology#173 #437
  8. Medicine#1,735 #2,190
  9. Health Sciences#1,406 #2,562
  10. Computer Science#427 #1,189
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 Kent specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: History takes 6.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. HistorySubfield · 66.7 works6.9×
  2. History and Philosophy of ScienceSubfield · 27.3 works5.9×
  3. Visual Arts and Performing ArtsSubfield · 28.5 works5.8×
  4. Literature and Literary TheorySubfield · 71.9 works4.5×
  5. AnthropologySubfield · 35.6 works4.2×
← 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: 0.43× its world share, 61 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.71× its world share, 114 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.45× its world share, 14 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.54× its world share, 75 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.31× its world share, 3 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.31× its world share, 3 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.76× its world share, 36 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.00× its world share, 233 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.36× its world share, 17 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.34× its world share, 9 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.58× its world share, 262 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.72× its world share, 107 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.32× its world share, 33 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.00× its world share, 35 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.15× its world share, 77 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.25× its world share, 4 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.20× its world share, 95 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.42× its world share, 240 worksMedicineNursing: 0.23× its world share, 3 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.69× its world share, 3 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 3.69× its world share, 320 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.26× its world share, 122 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.06× its world share, 31 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.80× its world share, 116 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.07× its world share, 190 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.10× its world share, 799 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 3.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Kent?

Ranked on the composite score, Dominic Abrams, Saı̈d Salhi and R. E. Pahl lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Kent.

  1. 1 Dominic Abrams United Kingdom · #7,242 worldwide 1.2k citations · 89 works
  2. 2 Saı̈d Salhi United Kingdom · #15,969 worldwide 963 citations · 67 works
  3. 3 R. E. Pahl United Kingdom · #16,123 worldwide 352 citations · 68 works
  4. 4 Θάνος Παπαδόπουλος United Kingdom · #21,362 worldwide 754 citations · 44 works
  5. 5 Stephen Bann United Kingdom · #22,109 worldwide 143 citations · 58 works
  6. 6 Richard Gameson United Kingdom · #27,214 worldwide 180 citations · 44 works
  7. 7 Charles H. Kennedy United Kingdom · #44,935 worldwide 236 citations · 37 works
  8. 8 Alan T. Bull United Kingdom · #46,862 worldwide 316 citations · 37 works
  9. 9 Richard Scase United Kingdom · #53,561 worldwide 173 citations · 48 works
  10. 10 Andrew Gray United Kingdom · #57,933 worldwide 202 citations · 65 works
All ranked researchers at University of Kent

Which keywords describe research at University of Kent?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Colonialism, Gender, Identity, Nationalism, Literature, Human Rights and Ethics.

▲ 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. Globalization162▲ 2.8×84 topics
  2. Mental Health90▲ 2.0×37 topics
  3. Human Rights89▲ 2.9×50 topics
  4. Identity88▲ 4.1×52 topics
  5. Colonialism85▲ 6.0×35 topics
  6. Gender83▲ 5.1×42 topics
  7. Climate Change81◆ 1.00×77 topics
  8. Literature76▲ 4.7×42 topics
  9. Nationalism75▲ 5.4×28 topics
  10. History74▲ 3.5×40 topics
  11. Sustainability72◆ 0.98×66 topics
  12. Ethics68▲ 4.7×34 topics
  13. Religion67▲ 4.7×30 topics
  14. Social Media63▲ 1.47×26 topics
  15. Public Health62▲ 1.43×50 topics
  16. Neoliberalism58▲ 5.4×20 topics
  17. Culture54▲ 3.4×23 topics
  18. Emotion50▲ 8.1×11 topics
  19. Feminism48▲ 5.7×18 topics
  20. Social Capital44▲ 2.8×19 topics
  21. Politics40▲ 4.8×17 topics
  22. Philosophy38▲ 2.8×27 topics
  23. Democracy38▲ 3.5×20 topics
  24. Neuroscience36▲ 4.1×14 topics
  25. Society35▲ 6.1×12 topics
  26. Intersectionality35▲ 6.5×12 topics
  27. Postcolonialism31▲ 8.3×15 topics
  28. Social Movements30▲ 3.4×19 topics
  29. Global Governance29▲ 4.2×18 topics
  30. NGOs28▲ 9.6×4 topics
  31. Cosmopolitanism28▲ 8.8×7 topics
  32. Humanitarianism27▲ 14×4 topics
  33. Anthropocene26▲ 16×3 topics
  34. Public Opinion25▲ 6.8×6 topics
  35. National Identity25▲ 7.3×8 topics
  36. Biopolitics24▲ 12×6 topics
  37. Race24▲ 7.0×17 topics
  38. Transitional Justice23▲ 9.5×5 topics
  39. Immigration23▲ 6.7×7 topics
  40. Global South22▲ 12×3 topics

Which research topics does University of Kent publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Law in Society and Culture, Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics, Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment and Misinformation and Its Impacts.

Law in Society and Culture16Law in Society and Culture: 16 fractional worksHistorical and Contempor…14Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics: 14 fractional worksPsychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment: 14 fractional worksMisinformation and Its Impacts: 14 fractional worksOptical Coherence Tomography Applications: 14 fractional worksAdvanced Wireless Communication Technologies: 14 fractional worksGeographies of human-animal interactions: 14 fractional worksTheatre and Performance …13Theatre and Performance Studies: 13 fractional worksWildlife Ecology and Conservation: 13 fractional worksSocial and Intergroup Psychology: 12 fractional works
LawHistoryCognitive NeuroscienceSociology and Political Science5 others

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

  1. 1 Law in Society and Culture Law 16 works
  2. 2 Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics History 14 works
  3. 3 Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment Cognitive Neuroscience 14 works
  4. 4 Misinformation and Its Impacts Sociology and Political Science 14 works
  5. 5 Optical Coherence Tomography Applications Biomedical Engineering 14 works
  6. 6 Advanced Wireless Communication Technologies Electrical and Electronic Engineering 14 works
  7. 7 Geographies of human-animal interactions Geography, Planning and Development 14 works
  8. 8 Theatre and Performance Studies Visual Arts and Performing Arts 13 works
  9. 9 Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Ecology 13 works
  10. 10 Social and Intergroup Psychology Sociology and Political Science 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 available31.0%not open69.0%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors19.3%domestic only80.7%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Kent'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 Canterbury

All research institutions in Canterbury

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.