Science Explorer Interactive view Map
University · Plymouth · United Kingdom

University of Plymouth

In research, University of Plymouth stands highest in Health Sciences (#668 of 11,982 worldwide), Social Sciences (#1,151 of 10,521 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#1,547 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Earth-Surface Processes, Oceanography and Pollution — Earth-Surface Processes is 8.0× its share of world research.

plymouth.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,336
of 28,054 · #908 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#55
of 1,094
Research works
17k
▼ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
514k
30.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
38%
world 28%

What is University of Plymouth 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
Health SciencesDomain #668 of 11,982 18.5%578 #576
Social SciencesDomain #1,151 of 10,521 26.0%707 #361
Physical SciencesDomain #1,547 of 12,888 25.4%910 #998
MedicineField #1,361 of 10,443 17.7%367 #1565
Environmental ScienceField #508 of 3,551 24.9%297 #222
EngineeringField #1,255 of 6,636 27.8%246 #1020
Social SciencesField #1,225 of 6,365 27.2%355 #414
Life SciencesDomain #1,739 of 7,800 23.8%210 #1550
Health ProfessionsField #476 of 1,928 22.3%153 #369
Business, Management and AccountingField #801 of 2,578 39.5%68 #267

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Plymouth 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. Health Sciences#576 #668
  2. Social Sciences#361 #1,151
  3. Physical Sciences#998 #1,547
  4. Medicine#1,565 #1,361
  5. Environmental Science#222 #508
  6. Engineering#1,020 #1,255
  7. Social Sciences#414 #1,225
  8. Life Sciences#1,550 #1,739
  9. Health Professions#369 #476
  10. Business, Management and Accounting#267 #801
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 Plymouth specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Earth-Surface Processes takes 8.0× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Earth-Surface ProcessesSubfield · 22.9 works8.0×
  2. OceanographySubfield · 46.1 works6.8×
  3. PollutionSubfield · 44.1 works4.7×
← 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: 0.62× its world share, 71 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.52× its world share, 67 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.40× its world share, 10 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.53× its world share, 60 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.32× its world share, 3 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.16× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.23× its world share, 9 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.78× its world share, 145 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 3.25× its world share, 123 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.64× its world share, 14 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.68× its world share, 246 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.48× its world share, 297 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.30× its world share, 25 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.56× its world share, 16 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.62× its world share, 33 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 3.86× its world share, 45 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 2.41× its world share, 153 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.79× its world share, 366 worksMedicineNursing: 0.91× its world share, 11 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.75× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.99× its world share, 68 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.87× its world share, 68 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.71× its world share, 16 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.71× its world share, 37 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.22× its world share, 162 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.17× its world share, 355 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Dentistry, 3.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Plymouth?

Ranked on the composite score, Richard C. Thompson, Jonathan St. B. T. Evans and John Dixon lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Plymouth.

  1. 1 Richard C. Thompson United Kingdom · #4,782 worldwide 1.3k citations · 108 works
  2. 2 Jonathan St. B. T. Evans United Kingdom · #16,356 worldwide 741 citations · 59 works
  3. 3 John Dixon United Kingdom · #32,222 worldwide 497 citations · 92 works
  4. 4 John Summerscales United Kingdom · #41,891 worldwide 432 citations · 50 works
  5. 5 Andrew Turner United Kingdom · #43,097 worldwide 367 citations · 38 works
  6. 6 Paul J. Worsfold United Kingdom · #68,112 worldwide 576 citations · 96 works
  7. 7 Gerd Masselink United Kingdom · #68,849 worldwide 591 citations · 77 works
  8. 8 Gregório Iglesias United Kingdom · #70,015 worldwide 630 citations · 83 works
  9. 9 Michael H. Depledge United Kingdom · #71,819 worldwide 455 citations · 62 works
  10. 10 Garry Hornby United Kingdom · #83,194 worldwide 241 citations · 44 works
All ranked researchers at University of Plymouth

Which keywords describe research at University of Plymouth?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Environmental Impact, Recycling, Marine Environment, Waste Management, Pollution, Human Health and Microplastics.

▲ 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 Change161▲ 2.5×79 topics
  2. Environmental Impact104▲ 2.5×52 topics
  3. Epidemiology92◆ 0.96×107 topics
  4. Sustainability68▲ 1.16×63 topics
  5. Quality of Life64▲ 1.86×50 topics
  6. Mental Health63▲ 1.79×35 topics
  7. Renewable Energy57▲ 1.65×35 topics
  8. Globalization56▲ 1.19×55 topics
  9. Recycling54▲ 5.8×8 topics
  10. Public Health53▲ 1.52×48 topics
  11. Waste Management53▲ 5.4×9 topics
  12. Marine Environment46▲ 13×3 topics
  13. Remote Sensing41▲ 1.39×25 topics
  14. Pollution39▲ 8.3×3 topics
  15. Human Health36▲ 9.3×2 topics
  16. Microplastics33▲ 14×1 topic
  17. Terrestrial Ecosystems33▲ 14×1 topic
  18. Ocean Acidification32▲ 18×3 topics
  19. Reflective Practice30▲ 6.8×7 topics
  20. Ecosystem Services29▲ 3.1×7 topics
  21. Gender Differences28▲ 3.1×14 topics
  22. Sea-Level Rise28▲ 10×5 topics
  23. Well-being27▲ 3.0×14 topics
  24. Climate Change Impacts27▲ 9.6×5 topics
  25. Primary Care26▲ 2.9×14 topics
  26. Ethical Considerations26▲ 3.2×14 topics
  27. Social Cognition23▲ 5.6×9 topics
  28. Fisheries Sustainability22▲ 10×2 topics
  29. Sediment Transport22▲ 5.7×5 topics
  30. Wave Modeling21▲ 17×2 topics
  31. Stakeholder Engagement21▲ 9.8×3 topics
  32. Coastal Protection21▲ 14×2 topics
  33. Evidence-Based Practice20▲ 6.6×7 topics
  34. Control Strategies20▲ 5.9×4 topics
  35. Benthic Communities20▲ 14×2 topics
  36. Marine Biodiversity20▲ 14×2 topics
  37. Power Take-Off19▲ 42×1 topic
  38. Wave Energy19▲ 42×1 topic
  39. Marine Ecosystems18▲ 14×2 topics
  40. Trophic Cascades18▲ 7.9×2 topics

Which research topics does University of Plymouth publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Microplastics and Plastic Pollution, Wave and Wind Energy Systems, Marine and fisheries research and Recycling and Waste Management Techniques.

Microplastics and Plastic Pollution: 33 fractional worksWave and Wind Energy Systems: 19 fractional worksMarine and fisheries research: 16 fractional worksRecycling and Waste Management Techniques: 15 fractional worksCoral and Marine Ecosystems Studies: 15 fractional worksCoastal and Marine Dynamics: 15 fractional worksDental Education, Practi…15Dental Education, Practice, Research: 15 fractional worksCoastal and Marine Management: 13 fractional worksMarine and coastal plant biology: 12 fractional worksInnovations in Medical E…11Innovations in Medical Education: 11 fractional works
PollutionOcean EngineeringGlobal and Planetary ChangeIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering6 others

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

  1. 1 Microplastics and Plastic Pollution Pollution 33 works
  2. 2 Wave and Wind Energy Systems Ocean Engineering 19 works
  3. 3 Marine and fisheries research Global and Planetary Change 16 works
  4. 4 Recycling and Waste Management Techniques Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering 15 works
  5. 5 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Ecology 15 works
  6. 6 Coastal and Marine Dynamics Earth-Surface Processes 15 works
  7. 7 Dental Education, Practice, Research General Health Professions 15 works
  8. 8 Coastal and Marine Management Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law 13 works
  9. 9 Marine and coastal plant biology Oceanography 12 works
  10. 10 Innovations in Medical Education Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 11 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 available37.7%not open62.3%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors24.4%domestic only75.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Plymouth's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% 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 Plymouth

All research institutions in Plymouth

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.