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University · Pretoria · South Africa

University of Pretoria

In research, University of Pretoria stands highest in Arts and Humanities (#10 of 1,998 worldwide), Social Sciences (#90 of 10,521 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#88 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Religious studies, Development and Music — Religious studies is 13.1× its share of world research.

up.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#691
of 28,054 · #648 all time
Rank in South Africa
#6
of 87
Research works
49k
▲ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
719k
14.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
20.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
50%
world 28%

What is University of Pretoria 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
Arts and HumanitiesField #10 of 1,998 23.0%539 #1
Social SciencesDomain #90 of 10,521 23.2%3,815 #78
Social SciencesField #88 of 6,365 22.6%1,923 #141
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #196 of 3,409 25.1%632 #189
Health SciencesDomain #689 of 11,982 15.9%1,499 #923
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField #114 of 1,775 33.7%309 #223
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #178 of 2,578 20.4%648 #224
EducationSubfield #142 of 1,892 30.3%359 #266
Life SciencesDomain #658 of 7,800 21.7%1,169 #887
Economics and EconometricsSubfield #115 of 1,272 36.8%214 #219

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Pretoria 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. Arts and Humanities#1 #10
  2. Social Sciences#78 #90
  3. Social Sciences#141 #88
  4. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#189 #196
  5. Health Sciences#923 #689
  6. Economics, Econometrics and Finance#223 #114
  7. Sociology and Political Science#224 #178
  8. Education#266 #142
  9. Life Sciences#887 #658
  10. Economics and Econometrics#219 #115
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 Pretoria specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Religious studies takes 13.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Religious studiesSubfield · 191.1 works13×
  2. DevelopmentSubfield · 49.0 works5.6×
  3. MusicSubfield · 27.1 works3.8×
  4. AnthropologySubfield · 85.7 works3.5×
← 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: 1.53× its world share, 632 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.76× its world share, 352 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.90× its world share, 79 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.64× its world share, 91 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.51× its world share, 16 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.36× its world share, 11 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.44× its world share, 60 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.60× its world share, 404 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.58× its world share, 80 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.06× its world share, 85 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.60× its world share, 786 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.19× its world share, 517 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.47× its world share, 143 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.98× its world share, 101 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.26× its world share, 50 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.30× its world share, 55 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.36× its world share, 312 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.61× its world share, 1,023 worksMedicineNursing: 1.65× its world share, 70 worksNursingVeterinary: 3.27× its world share, 39 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.14× its world share, 539 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.87× its world share, 526 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.57× its world share, 132 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.66× its world share, 309 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.45× its world share, 385 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.74× its world share, 1,924 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Veterinary, 3.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Pretoria?

Ranked on the composite score, Gerhard P. Hancke, Jean Allain and Rashid Hassan lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Pretoria.

  1. 1 Gerhard P. Hancke South Africa · #14,286 worldwide 559 citations · 51 works
  2. 2 Jean Allain South Africa · #20,365 worldwide 175 citations · 61 works
  3. 3 Rashid Hassan South Africa · #22,692 worldwide 555 citations · 46 works
  4. 4 Xiaohua Xia South Africa · #39,522 worldwide 1.2k citations · 117 works
  5. 5 Reza Malekian South Africa · #42,472 worldwide 420 citations · 59 works
  6. 6 Robert Vleggaar South Africa · #47,634 worldwide 343 citations · 47 works
  7. 7 Geoffrey Falkson South Africa · #52,132 worldwide 311 citations · 71 works
  8. 8 Michael S. Pepper South Africa · #55,779 worldwide 346 citations · 43 works
  9. 9 Nicola J. Bidwell South Africa · #65,086 worldwide 180 citations · 43 works
  10. 10 Stella M. Nkomo South Africa · #71,849 worldwide 245 citations · 28 works
All ranked researchers at University of Pretoria

Which keywords describe research at University of Pretoria?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Colonialism, Human Rights, Globalization, Development, NGOs, Climate Change, Sustainability and Religion.

▲ 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. Epidemiology355◆ 1.03×122 topics
  2. Climate Change333▲ 1.42×105 topics
  3. Globalization332▲ 1.94×118 topics
  4. Sustainability316▲ 1.49×95 topics
  5. Human Rights286▲ 3.2×58 topics
  6. Colonialism229▲ 5.5×27 topics
  7. Mental Health199▲ 1.55×40 topics
  8. Economic Growth183▲ 2.5×28 topics
  9. Development170▲ 5.6×20 topics
  10. Social Justice169▲ 3.3×34 topics
  11. Religion166▲ 4.0×33 topics
  12. Higher Education147▲ 3.1×24 topics
  13. Nationalism137▲ 3.4×23 topics
  14. NGOs135▲ 16×4 topics
  15. Social Capital129▲ 2.8×18 topics
  16. South Africa113▲ 48×4 topics
  17. Humanitarianism98▲ 18×3 topics
  18. Race97▲ 9.9×13 topics
  19. International Aid96▲ 23×2 topics
  20. Equality96▲ 18×4 topics
  21. Environmental Governance95▲ 17×5 topics
  22. Postcolonialism93▲ 8.6×14 topics
  23. Poverty Reduction92▲ 8.0×6 topics
  24. African Christianity90▲ 47×2 topics
  25. Decolonization88▲ 13×8 topics
  26. Constitutionalism85▲ 10×3 topics
  27. Judicial Review85▲ 11×4 topics
  28. Public Participation85▲ 43×2 topics
  29. Legal Research84▲ 7.3×3 topics
  30. Consumer Protection84▲ 22×2 topics
  31. Civil Society83▲ 8.5×8 topics
  32. Developmental Local Government82▲ 86×1 topic
  33. Socio-Economic Rights82▲ 86×1 topic
  34. Theology82▲ 9.8×4 topics
  35. Welfare82▲ 18×3 topics
  36. Gender-based Violence80▲ 16×3 topics
  37. Faith-Based Organizations77▲ 28×1 topic
  38. Social Services77▲ 20×1 topic
  39. Biblical Monotheism75▲ 32×1 topic
  40. Jewish Society75▲ 32×1 topic

Which research topics does University of Pretoria publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Legal Issues in South Africa, Religion, Society, and Development, Biblical Studies and Interpretation and South African History and Culture.

Legal Issues in South Af…82Legal Issues in South Africa: 82 fractional worksReligion, Society, and D…77Religion, Society, and Development: 77 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Int…75Biblical Studies and Interpretation: 75 fractional worksSouth African History an…70South African History and Culture: 70 fractional worksChristian Theology and Mission: 64 fractional worksAfrican cultural and philosophical studies: 62 fractional worksAfrican studies and soci…51African studies and sociopolitical issues: 51 fractional worksGlobal Peace and Security Dynamics: 43 fractional worksAfrican history and culture studies: 39 fractional worksInternational Development and Aid: 38 fractional works
LawSociology and Political ScienceReligious studiesEducation3 others

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

  1. 1 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 82 works
  2. 2 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 77 works
  3. 3 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 75 works
  4. 4 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 70 works
  5. 5 Christian Theology and Mission Religious studies 64 works
  6. 6 African cultural and philosophical studies Education 62 works
  7. 7 African studies and sociopolitical issues Sociology and Political Science 51 works
  8. 8 Global Peace and Security Dynamics Political Science and International Relations 43 works
  9. 9 African history and culture studies Anthropology 39 works
  10. 10 International Development and Aid Development 38 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 available50.1%not open49.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors19.8%domestic only80.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Pretoria's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% 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 Pretoria

All research institutions in Pretoria

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.