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University · Brighton · United Kingdom

University of Sussex

In research, University of Sussex stands highest in Social Sciences (#185 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#135 of 6,365 worldwide) and Sociology and Political Science (#61 of 2,578 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Finance, Cognitive Neuroscience and Nuclear and High Energy Physics — Finance is 4.4× its share of world research.

sussex.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#773
of 28,054 · #236 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#34
of 1,094
Research works
44k
◆ 1% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.6M
35.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
28.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
41%
world 28%

What is University of Sussex 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 #185 of 10,521 31.1%2,111 #104
Social SciencesField #135 of 6,365 31.8%1,121 #72
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #61 of 2,578 33.0%464 #43
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #38 of 1,201 31.3%238 #36
PsychologyField #164 of 2,181 28.4%275 #214
Strategy and ManagementSubfield #52 of 635 43.1%84 #22
Physical SciencesDomain #1,080 of 12,888 24.6%1,035 #237
Business, Management and AccountingField #316 of 2,578 39.2%228 #105
Life SciencesDomain #979 of 7,800 28.6%471 #336
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField #260 of 1,775 31.7%221 #55

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Sussex 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#104 #185
  2. Social Sciences#72 #135
  3. Sociology and Political Science#43 #61
  4. Political Science and International Relations#36 #38
  5. Psychology#214 #164
  6. Strategy and Management#22 #52
  7. Physical Sciences#237 #1,080
  8. Business, Management and Accounting#105 #316
  9. Life Sciences#336 #979
  10. Economics, Econometrics and Finance#55 #260
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 Sussex specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Finance takes 4.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. FinanceSubfield · 53.6 works4.4×
  2. Cognitive NeuroscienceSubfield · 123.5 works4.2×
  3. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 51.3 works4.1×
  4. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 237.9 works4.0×
← 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: 0.69× its world share, 132 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.69× its world share, 147 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.28× its world share, 11 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 2.62× its world share, 170 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.83× its world share, 12 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.15× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.43× its world share, 27 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.74× its world share, 230 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.38× its world share, 24 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.87× its world share, 32 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.51× its world share, 306 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.82× its world share, 164 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.28× its world share, 40 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.10× its world share, 52 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.80× its world share, 160 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.09× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.02× its world share, 108 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.34× its world share, 258 worksMedicineNursing: 0.45× its world share, 9 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.46× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.90× its world share, 220 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.77× its world share, 228 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.22× its world share, 47 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.59× its world share, 221 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.25× its world share, 275 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.22× its world share, 1,121 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 2.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Sussex?

Ranked on the composite score, John Maynard Smith, Gerard Delanty and Ian Scoones lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Sussex.

  1. 1 John Maynard Smith United Kingdom · #1,820 worldwide 2.2k citations · 83 works
  2. 2 Gerard Delanty United Kingdom · #2,026 worldwide 933 citations · 82 works
  3. 3 Ian Scoones United Kingdom · #2,957 worldwide 864 citations · 88 works
  4. 4 Andrew R. Liddle United Kingdom · #4,177 worldwide 2.4k citations · 106 works
  5. 5 Johan Schot United Kingdom · #5,707 worldwide 1.1k citations · 59 works
  6. 6 Lesley Fallowfield United Kingdom · #6,520 worldwide 720 citations · 89 works
  7. 7 Colin Eaborn United Kingdom · #7,112 worldwide 2.7k citations · 255 works
  8. 8 Andy Stirling United Kingdom · #8,103 worldwide 830 citations · 83 works
  9. 9 Peter Newell United Kingdom · #8,452 worldwide 726 citations · 84 works
  10. 10 Ben R. Martin United Kingdom · #8,588 worldwide 768 citations · 61 works
All ranked researchers at University of Sussex

Which keywords describe research at University of Sussex?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Neoliberalism, Human Rights, Colonialism, Nationalism, Identity, Gender and Politics.

▲ 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. Globalization280▲ 3.6×103 topics
  2. Climate Change146▲ 1.35×77 topics
  3. Sustainability139▲ 1.43×76 topics
  4. Human Rights132▲ 3.2×56 topics
  5. Mental Health111▲ 1.90×37 topics
  6. Identity102▲ 3.5×50 topics
  7. Colonialism101▲ 5.3×37 topics
  8. Neoliberalism94▲ 6.6×21 topics
  9. Renewable Energy94▲ 1.64×36 topics
  10. Nationalism94▲ 5.1×30 topics
  11. Economic Growth89▲ 2.6×24 topics
  12. Gender88▲ 4.1×44 topics
  13. History70▲ 2.5×38 topics
  14. Ethics66▲ 3.4×36 topics
  15. Politics65▲ 6.0×16 topics
  16. Ethnicity64▲ 4.2×16 topics
  17. Political Economy61▲ 6.0×16 topics
  18. Global Governance59▲ 6.5×19 topics
  19. Democracy54▲ 3.8×20 topics
  20. Social Capital54▲ 2.6×17 topics
  21. Religion50▲ 2.7×29 topics
  22. Feminism49▲ 4.3×20 topics
  23. Labor Market48▲ 4.1×11 topics
  24. Immigration48▲ 11×7 topics
  25. Public Opinion47▲ 9.4×5 topics
  26. Emotion46▲ 5.6×12 topics
  27. Governance46▲ 3.5×16 topics
  28. International Law45▲ 3.6×22 topics
  29. Cosmopolitanism44▲ 10×7 topics
  30. Neuroscience44▲ 3.7×14 topics
  31. Monetary Policy40▲ 4.1×9 topics
  32. Social Cognition38▲ 5.7×8 topics
  33. National Identity38▲ 8.4×7 topics
  34. Income Inequality38▲ 6.7×6 topics
  35. Refugees38▲ 7.5×9 topics
  36. Imperialism38▲ 12×8 topics
  37. Citizenship37▲ 7.7×8 topics
  38. Multiculturalism37▲ 4.8×9 topics
  39. Conflict35▲ 5.4×9 topics
  40. NGOs31▲ 7.8×4 topics

Which research topics does University of Sussex publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Migration, Refugees, and Integration, Migration and Labor Dynamics, Sustainability and Climate Change Governance and Plant and animal studies.

Migration, Refugees, and…25Migration, Refugees, and Integration: 25 fractional worksMigration and Labor Dyna…20Migration and Labor Dynamics: 20 fractional worksSustainability and Climate Change Governance: 19 fractional worksPlant and animal studies18Plant and animal studies: 18 fractional worksPolitical Economy and Marxism: 18 fractional worksGlobal Peace and Security Dynamics: 17 fractional worksSocial Acceptance of Renewable Energy: 17 fractional worksNeural dynamics and brai…16Neural dynamics and brain function: 16 fractional worksEmployment and Welfare Studies: 16 fractional worksClimate Change Policy and Economics: 16 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceGlobal and Planetary ChangeEcology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsPolitical Science and International Relations3 others

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

  1. 1 Migration, Refugees, and Integration Sociology and Political Science 25 works
  2. 2 Migration and Labor Dynamics Sociology and Political Science 20 works
  3. 3 Sustainability and Climate Change Governance Global and Planetary Change 19 works
  4. 4 Plant and animal studies Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 18 works
  5. 5 Political Economy and Marxism Sociology and Political Science 18 works
  6. 6 Global Peace and Security Dynamics Political Science and International Relations 17 works
  7. 7 Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy Sociology and Political Science 17 works
  8. 8 Neural dynamics and brain function Cognitive Neuroscience 16 works
  9. 9 Employment and Welfare Studies General Health Professions 16 works
  10. 10 Climate Change Policy and Economics Economics and Econometrics 16 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 available41.4%not open58.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors18.0%domestic only82.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Sussex's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 1% 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 Brighton

All research institutions in Brighton

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.