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University · Pretoria · South Africa

University of South Africa

In research, University of South Africa stands highest in Arts and Humanities (#3 of 1,998 worldwide), Social Sciences (#23 of 10,521 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#29 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Religious studies, Public Administration and Safety Research — Religious studies is 15.8× its share of world research.

unisa.ac.za/default.htmlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#470
of 28,054 · #1,064 all time
Rank in South Africa
#3
of 87
Research works
31k
▲ 11% vs 2013–17
Citations
276k
8.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
54%
world 28%

What is University of South Africa 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 #3 of 1,998 29.6%577 #7
Social SciencesDomain #23 of 10,521 26.1%5,037 #146
Social SciencesField #29 of 6,365 27.6%2,803 #123
EducationSubfield #30 of 1,892 34.7%904 #98
LawSubfield #14 of 431 25.5%176 #23
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #103 of 2,578 25.3%765 #255
Religious studiesSubfield #3 of 70 34.2%237 #3
Business, Management and AccountingField #119 of 2,578 21.8%682 #485
Physical SciencesDomain #631 of 12,888 20.0%2,677 #1432
Information SystemsSubfield #99 of 1,291 29.8%265 #143

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of South Africa 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#7 #3
  2. Social Sciences#146 #23
  3. Social Sciences#123 #29
  4. Education#98 #30
  5. Law#23 #14
  6. Sociology and Political Science#255 #103
  7. Religious studies#3 #3
  8. Business, Management and Accounting#485 #119
  9. Physical Sciences#1,432 #631
  10. Information Systems#143 #99
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 South Africa specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Religious studies takes 15.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Religious studiesSubfield · 237.0 works16×
  2. Public AdministrationSubfield · 27.9 works5.8×
  3. Safety ResearchSubfield · 137.2 works5.5×
  4. Computer Science ApplicationsSubfield · 113.8 works5.2×
  5. Business and International ManagementSubfield · 44.4 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: 0.85× its world share, 363 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.22× its world share, 107 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.27× its world share, 25 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.17× its world share, 25 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.41× its world share, 13 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.04× its world share, 32 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.84× its world share, 117 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.84× its world share, 588 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.26× its world share, 37 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.57× its world share, 129 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.59× its world share, 791 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.12× its world share, 497 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.95× its world share, 298 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.97× its world share, 102 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.43× its world share, 85 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.07× its world share, 3 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.17× its world share, 275 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.22× its world share, 376 worksMedicineNursing: 1.06× its world share, 47 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.64× its world share, 8 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.23× its world share, 577 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2.36× its world share, 682 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.11× its world share, 183 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.04× its world share, 390 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.48× its world share, 403 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.47× its world share, 2,803 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Social Sciences, 2.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of South Africa?

Ranked on the composite score, Aristotle , Sabelo J. Ndlovu‐Gatsheni and Abebe Zegeye lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of South Africa.

  1. 1 Aristotle  South Africa · #590 worldwide 659 citations · 155 works
  2. 2 Sabelo J. Ndlovu‐Gatsheni South Africa · #26,999 worldwide 193 citations · 54 works
  3. 3 Abebe Zegeye South Africa · #53,240 worldwide 3.6k citations · 27 works
  4. 4 Moeketsi Letseka South Africa · #127,258 worldwide 157 citations · 26 works
  5. 5 Deirdre Byrne South Africa · #132,988 worldwide 81 citations · 40 works
  6. 6 Dante Alighieri South Africa · #160,077 worldwide 20 citations · 38 works
  7. 7 Bhekie B. Mamba South Africa · #176,385 worldwide 976 citations · 112 works
  8. 8 Paul Prinsloo South Africa · #178,918 worldwide 145 citations · 46 works
  9. 9 Titus A.M. Msagati South Africa · #179,254 worldwide 510 citations · 68 works
  10. 10 Madipoane Masenya South Africa · #221,375 worldwide 34 citations · 35 works
All ranked researchers at University of South Africa

Which keywords describe research at University of South Africa?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Higher Education, Colonialism, Globalization, Human Rights, Social Justice, Postcolonialism, Development and Technology Integration.

▲ 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. Globalization446▲ 2.5×117 topics
  2. Higher Education351▲ 7.3×27 topics
  3. Sustainability322▲ 1.47×95 topics
  4. Human Rights314▲ 3.4×58 topics
  5. Colonialism298▲ 7.0×29 topics
  6. Social Justice260▲ 5.0×41 topics
  7. Education256▲ 1.67×88 topics
  8. Mental Health237▲ 1.81×43 topics
  9. Educational Technology237▲ 2.2×35 topics
  10. Online Learning215▲ 2.9×22 topics
  11. Economic Growth204▲ 2.7×29 topics
  12. Social Capital201▲ 4.2×18 topics
  13. Development180▲ 5.8×14 topics
  14. Religion170▲ 4.0×31 topics
  15. Technology Integration170▲ 6.2×11 topics
  16. Postcolonialism161▲ 14×14 topics
  17. African Christianity151▲ 76×2 topics
  18. Nationalism150▲ 3.6×20 topics
  19. Inequality149▲ 7.3×11 topics
  20. Environmental Governance139▲ 24×5 topics
  21. South Africa134▲ 55×4 topics
  22. Decolonization132▲ 18×6 topics
  23. Lifelong Learning131▲ 7.2×10 topics
  24. Equality131▲ 24×4 topics
  25. Public Participation131▲ 65×3 topics
  26. Judicial Review128▲ 16×4 topics
  27. Constitutionalism126▲ 15×2 topics
  28. Professional Development126▲ 7.1×15 topics
  29. NGOs126▲ 14×5 topics
  30. Consumer Protection125▲ 32×3 topics
  31. Legal Research125▲ 11×3 topics
  32. Developmental Local Government124▲ 126×1 topic
  33. Socio-Economic Rights124▲ 126×1 topic
  34. Poverty Reduction124▲ 10×5 topics
  35. Indigenous Knowledge Systems122▲ 44×3 topics
  36. Race119▲ 12×15 topics
  37. African Philosophy118▲ 121×1 topic
  38. Ubuntu118▲ 121×1 topic
  39. Student Satisfaction115▲ 6.7×3 topics
  40. Gender-based Violence107▲ 21×3 topics

Which research topics does University of South Africa publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Legal Issues in South Africa, African cultural and philosophical studies, Christian Theology and Mission and Religion, Society, and Development.

Legal Issues in South Af…124Legal Issues in South Africa: 124 fractional worksAfrican cultural and phi…118African cultural and philosophical studies: 118 fractional worksChristian Theology and M…94Christian Theology and Mission: 94 fractional worksReligion, Society, and D…92Religion, Society, and Development: 92 fractional worksSouth African History and Culture: 86 fractional worksOnline and Blended Learning: 84 fractional worksAfrican studies and soci…69African studies and sociopolitical issues: 69 fractional worksOnline Learning and Analytics: 62 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Interpretation: 60 fractional worksPentecostalism and Chris…57Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies: 57 fractional works
LawEducationReligious studiesSociology and Political Science1 others

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

  1. 1 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 124 works
  2. 2 African cultural and philosophical studies Education 118 works
  3. 3 Christian Theology and Mission Religious studies 94 works
  4. 4 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 92 works
  5. 5 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 86 works
  6. 6 Online and Blended Learning Education 84 works
  7. 7 African studies and sociopolitical issues Sociology and Political Science 69 works
  8. 8 Online Learning and Analytics Computer Science Applications 62 works
  9. 9 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 60 works
  10. 10 Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies Religious studies 57 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 available54.4%not open45.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors15.1%domestic only84.9%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of South Africa's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 11% 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.