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University · Wilmington · United States

University of North Carolina Wilmington

In research, University of North Carolina Wilmington stands highest in Social Sciences (#2,003 of 10,521 worldwide), Health Sciences (#2,589 of 11,982 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#1,438 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Oceanography — Oceanography is 6.5× its share of world research.

uncw.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#4,948
of 28,054 · #3,617 all time
Rank in United States
#686
of 4,192
Research works
7.3k
▲ 18% vs 2013–17
Citations
147k
20.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
16.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
28%
world 28%

What is University of North Carolina Wilmington 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 #2,003 of 10,521 19.5%564 #1181
Health SciencesDomain #2,589 of 11,982 9.7%192 #2757
Social SciencesField #1,438 of 6,365 23.2%251 #910
Physical SciencesDomain #5,519 of 12,888 14.9%347 #4220
MedicineField #5,125 of 10,443 8.6%116 #6005
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,430 of 2,578 23.7%86 #1018
Environmental ScienceField #1,987 of 3,551 20.0%109 #1245
Life SciencesDomain #4,611 of 7,800 17.1%108 #3527
PsychologyField #1,510 of 2,181 13.1%130 #989
Business, Management and AccountingField #1,883 of 2,578 21.8%66 #1229

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of North Carolina Wilmington 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#1,181 #2,003
  2. Health Sciences#2,757 #2,589
  3. Social Sciences#910 #1,438
  4. Physical Sciences#4,220 #5,519
  5. Medicine#6,005 #5,125
  6. Sociology and Political Science#1,018 #1,430
  7. Environmental Science#1,245 #1,987
  8. Life Sciences#3,527 #4,611
  9. Psychology#989 #1,510
  10. Business, Management and Accounting#1,229 #1,883
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 North Carolina Wilmington specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Oceanography takes 6.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. OceanographySubfield · 22.2 works6.5×
← 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: 0.62× its world share, 36 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.61× its world share, 39 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.47× its world share, 6 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.32× its world share, 26 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.45× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.16× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.73× its world share, 14 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.87× its world share, 82 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 3.01× its world share, 57 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.08× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.20× its world share, 37 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.81× its world share, 109 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.08× its world share, 3 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.98× its world share, 28 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.54× its world share, 15 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.97× its world share, 63 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.50× its world share, 116 worksMedicineNursing: 1.86× its world share, 11 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.91× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.77× its world share, 62 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.69× its world share, 66 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.52× its world share, 18 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.42× its world share, 37 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 3.52× its world share, 130 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.64× its world share, 252 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Psychology, 3.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of North Carolina Wilmington?

Ranked on the composite score, Michael A. Mallin, Joseph R. Pawlik and Robert J. Kieber lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of North Carolina Wilmington.

  1. 1 Michael A. Mallin United States · #100,192 worldwide 251 citations · 28 works
  2. 2 Joseph R. Pawlik United States · #121,661 worldwide 320 citations · 41 works
  3. 3 Robert J. Kieber United States · #200,887 worldwide 252 citations · 33 works
  4. 4 Joan D. Willey United States · #222,812 worldwide 202 citations · 29 works
  5. 5 Cetin Ciner United States · #259,601 worldwide 167 citations · 23 works
  6. 6 Ron Vetter United States · #277,431 worldwide 60 citations · 29 works
  7. 7 Karl Ricanek United States · #281,095 worldwide 145 citations · 37 works
  8. 8 Xaver Neumeyer United States · #294,324 worldwide 179 citations · 17 works
  9. 9 Paul J. Hearty United States · #334,981 worldwide 193 citations · 35 works
  10. 10 Bruce L. Kinzer United States · #355,989 worldwide 27 citations · 20 works
All ranked researchers at University of North Carolina Wilmington

Which keywords describe research at University of North Carolina Wilmington?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Mental Health, Evidence-Based Practice, Depression, Ocean Acidification, Special Education, Machine Learning and Behavioral Interventions.

▲ 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 Change75▲ 2.3×62 topics
  2. Mental Health54▲ 3.0×36 topics
  3. Machine Learning46▲ 1.16×50 topics
  4. Epidemiology35▼ 0.74×55 topics
  5. Depression28▲ 2.7×19 topics
  6. Globalization27◆ 1.13×41 topics
  7. Education25▲ 1.21×36 topics
  8. Social Justice22▲ 3.0×20 topics
  9. Gender21▲ 3.2×30 topics
  10. Evidence-Based Practice19▲ 12×7 topics
  11. Identity18▲ 2.0×31 topics
  12. Resilience18▲ 3.0×12 topics
  13. Conservation18▲ 3.4×18 topics
  14. Well-being17▲ 3.6×14 topics
  15. Anxiety17▲ 2.9×10 topics
  16. Job Satisfaction16▲ 3.2×10 topics
  17. Meta-Analysis16▲ 2.3×12 topics
  18. Ocean Acidification16▲ 19×3 topics
  19. Special Education16▲ 23×3 topics
  20. Ecosystem Services16▲ 3.4×10 topics
  21. Invasive Species16▲ 3.1×15 topics
  22. Behavioral Interventions15▲ 15×2 topics
  23. Primary Care14▲ 3.1×9 topics
  24. Adolescents14▲ 3.1×7 topics
  25. Intersectionality14▲ 6.3×9 topics
  26. Academic Achievement14▲ 6.6×9 topics
  27. Population Dynamics13▲ 4.4×10 topics
  28. Feminism13▲ 3.7×9 topics
  29. Functional Analysis12▲ 31×2 topics
  30. Positive Behavior Support12▲ 61×1 topic
  31. Single-Subject Research12▲ 61×1 topic
  32. Self-Regulation12▲ 5.7×6 topics
  33. Psychological Distress12▲ 4.0×4 topics
  34. Climate Change Impacts12▲ 8.1×5 topics
  35. Executive Functioning12▲ 7.4×3 topics
  36. Marine Ecosystems11▲ 17×2 topics
  37. Sea-Level Rise11▲ 7.8×4 topics
  38. Benthic Communities10▲ 15×2 topics
  39. Marine Biodiversity10▲ 15×2 topics
  40. Coastal Protection10▲ 14×2 topics

Which research topics does University of North Carolina Wilmington publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Behavioral and Psychological Studies, Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies, COVID-19 and Mental Health and Marine and coastal plant biology.

Behavioral and Psycholog…12Behavioral and Psychological Studies: 12 fractional worksCoral and Marine Ecosyst…9Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies: 9 fractional worksCOVID-19 and Mental Health: 8 fractional worksMarine and coastal plant…6Marine and coastal plant biology: 6 fractional worksCognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills: 6 fractional worksSimulation-Based Education in Healthcare: 6 fractional worksRace, History, and Ameri…6Race, History, and American Society: 6 fractional worksMarine animal studies overview: 5 fractional worksStatistical Distribution Estimation and Applications: 5 fractional worksAuditing, Earnings Manag…5Auditing, Earnings Management, Governance: 5 fractional works
Developmental and Educational PsychologyEcologyClinical PsychologyOceanography4 others

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

  1. 1 Behavioral and Psychological Studies Developmental and Educational Psychology 12 works
  2. 2 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Ecology 9 works
  3. 3 COVID-19 and Mental Health Clinical Psychology 8 works
  4. 4 Marine and coastal plant biology Oceanography 6 works
  5. 5 Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills Statistics and Probability 6 works
  6. 6 Simulation-Based Education in Healthcare Physiology 6 works
  7. 7 Race, History, and American Society Sociology and Political Science 6 works
  8. 8 Marine animal studies overview Ecology 5 works
  9. 9 Statistical Distribution Estimation and Applications Statistics and Probability 5 works
  10. 10 Auditing, Earnings Management, Governance Accounting 5 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 available27.8%not open72.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors9.4%domestic only90.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of North Carolina Wilmington's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 18% 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 Wilmington

All research institutions in Wilmington

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.