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University · Stirling · United Kingdom

University of Stirling

In research, University of Stirling stands highest in Social Sciences (#489 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#557 of 6,365 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#1,503 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Aquatic Science and History — Aquatic Science is 7.5× its share of world research.

stir.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,563
of 28,054 · #792 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#62
of 1,094
Research works
19k
▼ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
534k
28.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
26.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
33%
world 28%

What is University of Stirling 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 #489 of 10,521 26.6%989 #227
Social SciencesField #557 of 6,365 26.4%495 #243
Health SciencesDomain #1,503 of 11,982 25.6%301 #809
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #479 of 2,578 25.0%200 #260
Life SciencesDomain #1,495 of 7,800 29.6%200 #451
MedicineField #2,201 of 10,443 24.3%195 #1419
Business, Management and AccountingField #574 of 2,578 42.8%76 #240
Environmental ScienceField #921 of 3,551 27.0%189 #462
Physical SciencesDomain #3,765 of 12,888 23.0%390 #1963
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #378 of 1,201 18.7%81 #174

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Stirling 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#227 #489
  2. Social Sciences#243 #557
  3. Health Sciences#809 #1,503
  4. Sociology and Political Science#260 #479
  5. Life Sciences#451 #1,495
  6. Medicine#1,419 #2,201
  7. Business, Management and Accounting#240 #574
  8. Environmental Science#462 #921
  9. Physical Sciences#1,963 #3,765
  10. Political Science and International Relations#174 #378
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 Stirling specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Aquatic Science takes 7.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Aquatic ScienceSubfield · 25.6 works7.5×
  2. HistorySubfield · 40.0 works6.6×
← 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: 0.89× its world share, 79 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.42× its world share, 42 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.09× its world share, 21 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.84× its world share, 56 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.29× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.24× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.10× its world share, 3 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.60× its world share, 87 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.08× its world share, 32 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.32× its world share, 6 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.15× its world share, 43 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.02× its world share, 189 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.04× its world share, 3 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.51× its world share, 11 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.36× its world share, 15 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.07× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.85× its world share, 92 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.54× its world share, 195 worksMedicineNursing: 0.99× its world share, 9 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.91× its world share, 5 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.57× its world share, 140 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.25× its world share, 76 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.23× its world share, 22 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.46× its world share, 99 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.74× its world share, 157 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.08× its world share, 495 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Psychology, 2.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Stirling?

Ranked on the composite score, Philip Schlesinger, Brian J. Loasby and Sally Brown lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Stirling.

  1. 1 Philip Schlesinger United Kingdom · #11,696 worldwide 282 citations · 64 works
  2. 2 Brian J. Loasby United Kingdom · #15,193 worldwide 632 citations · 48 works
  3. 3 Sally Brown United Kingdom · #23,602 worldwide 446 citations · 55 works
  4. 4 David Bebbington United Kingdom · #27,058 worldwide 146 citations · 56 works
  5. 5 John R. Woodward United Kingdom · #27,735 worldwide 505 citations · 47 works
  6. 6 Richard Edwards United Kingdom · #27,857 worldwide 544 citations · 36 works
  7. 7 John Proctor United Kingdom · #28,211 worldwide 544 citations · 87 works
  8. 8 John R. Beaumont United Kingdom · #29,550 worldwide 428 citations · 37 works
  9. 9 Pat Hoddinott United Kingdom · #37,724 worldwide 337 citations · 46 works
  10. 10 Amir Hussain United Kingdom · #38,989 worldwide 1.5k citations · 229 works
All ranked researchers at University of Stirling

Which keywords describe research at University of Stirling?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Gender, Climate Change, Aquaculture, Identity, Mental Health, Colonialism and Nationalism.

▲ 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. Globalization98▲ 2.6×77 topics
  2. Climate Change98▲ 1.93×80 topics
  3. Mental Health67▲ 2.4×38 topics
  4. Public Health59▲ 2.2×40 topics
  5. Gender58▲ 5.7×33 topics
  6. Identity55▲ 4.0×41 topics
  7. Social Media52▲ 1.92×27 topics
  8. Sustainability51◆ 1.11×66 topics
  9. Environmental Impact50▲ 1.58×44 topics
  10. History47▲ 3.6×30 topics
  11. Aquaculture46▲ 9.3×8 topics
  12. Colonialism45▲ 5.0×30 topics
  13. Nationalism44▲ 5.1×25 topics
  14. Biodiversity42▲ 3.0×28 topics
  15. Literature40▲ 3.9×30 topics
  16. Human Rights39▲ 2.0×37 topics
  17. Neoliberalism34▲ 5.1×19 topics
  18. Invasive Species32▲ 4.0×18 topics
  19. Culture32▲ 3.2×18 topics
  20. Ecosystem Services30▲ 4.2×12 topics
  21. Religion30▲ 3.4×24 topics
  22. Ethics28▲ 3.1×30 topics
  23. Psychiatric Disorders28▲ 11×4 topics
  24. Monetary Policy26▲ 5.8×9 topics
  25. Conservation26▲ 3.1×20 topics
  26. Well-being25▲ 3.4×12 topics
  27. Social Cognition23▲ 7.3×8 topics
  28. Adaptation22▲ 4.2×13 topics
  29. Global Burden of Disease22▲ 4.8×3 topics
  30. Neuroscience22▲ 4.0×13 topics
  31. Income Inequality20▲ 7.6×5 topics
  32. National Identity19▲ 8.9×9 topics
  33. Marine Environment19▲ 7.0×3 topics
  34. Fatty Acids18▲ 9.3×2 topics
  35. Omega-3 Fatty Acids18▲ 13×2 topics
  36. Substance Use Disorders18▲ 13×2 topics
  37. Fish Feed18▲ 18×1 topic
  38. Sustainable Feeds18▲ 18×1 topic
  39. Financialization17▲ 9.2×2 topics
  40. Impulsivity17▲ 18×2 topics

Which research topics does University of Stirling publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth, Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes, Sport and Mega-Event Impacts and Sports, Gender, and Society.

Aquaculture Nutrition an…18Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth: 18 fractional worksSubstance Abuse Treatmen…15Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes: 15 fractional worksSport and Mega-Event Impacts: 15 fractional worksSports, Gender, and Soci…14Sports, Gender, and Society: 14 fractional worksAquaculture disease mana…12Aquaculture disease management and microbiota: 12 fractional worksHousing, Finance, and Neoliberalism: 10 fractional worksSport Psychology and Performance: 10 fractional worksMicroplastics and Plasti…10Microplastics and Plastic Pollution: 10 fractional worksScottish History and National Identity: 10 fractional worksSmoking Behavior and Cessation: 9 fractional works
Aquatic ScienceEpidemiologySociology and Political ScienceGender Studies6 others

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

  1. 1 Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth Aquatic Science 18 works
  2. 2 Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes Epidemiology 15 works
  3. 3 Sport and Mega-Event Impacts Sociology and Political Science 15 works
  4. 4 Sports, Gender, and Society Gender Studies 14 works
  5. 5 Aquaculture disease management and microbiota Immunology 12 works
  6. 6 Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism Finance 10 works
  7. 7 Sport Psychology and Performance Developmental and Educational Psychology 10 works
  8. 8 Microplastics and Plastic Pollution Pollution 10 works
  9. 9 Scottish History and National Identity History 10 works
  10. 10 Smoking Behavior and Cessation Physiology 9 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 available33.0%not open67.0%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors18.2%domestic only81.8%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Stirling'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 Stirling

All research institutions in Stirling

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.