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University · Bloemfontein · South Africa

University of the Free State

In research, University of the Free State stands highest in Arts and Humanities (#13 of 1,998 worldwide), Social Sciences (#260 of 10,521 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#300 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Religious studies, Anthropology and Development — Religious studies is 19.4× its share of world research.

ufs.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,158
of 28,054 · #1,423 all time
Rank in South Africa
#9
of 87
Research works
21k
▲ 22% vs 2013–17
Citations
242k
11.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
22.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
53%
world 28%

What is University of the Free State 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 #13 of 1,998 24.0%433 #40
Social SciencesDomain #260 of 10,521 26.2%2,518 #337
Social SciencesField #300 of 6,365 26.6%1,500 #352
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #179 of 3,409 29.5%368 #341
EducationSubfield #119 of 1,892 35.9%423 #304
Physical SciencesDomain #1,318 of 12,888 18.3%1,178 #1591
Health SciencesDomain #1,689 of 11,982 16.1%621 #2459
Religious studiesSubfield #12 of 70 25.4%159 #10
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #452 of 2,578 20.2%470 #466
Life SciencesDomain #1,438 of 7,800 24.7%569 #2256

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of the Free State 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#40 #13
  2. Social Sciences#337 #260
  3. Social Sciences#352 #300
  4. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#341 #179
  5. Education#304 #119
  6. Physical Sciences#1,591 #1,318
  7. Health Sciences#2,459 #1,689
  8. Religious studies#10 #12
  9. Sociology and Political Science#466 #452
  10. Life Sciences#2,256 #1,438
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 the Free State specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Religious studies takes 19.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Religious studiesSubfield · 158.5 works19×
  2. AnthropologySubfield · 76.9 works5.6×
  3. DevelopmentSubfield · 20.1 works4.1×
  4. Linguistics and LanguageSubfield · 22.4 works4.0×
  5. Soil ScienceSubfield · 56.6 works3.9×
  6. Modeling and SimulationSubfield · 24.4 works3.6×
← 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: 1.58× its world share, 368 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.58× its world share, 150 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.43× its world share, 21 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.25× its world share, 20 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.58× its world share, 10 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.83× its world share, 14 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.12× its world share, 86 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.41× its world share, 155 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.72× its world share, 55 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.73× its world share, 33 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.33× its world share, 239 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.23× its world share, 298 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.90× its world share, 154 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.44× its world share, 83 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.56× its world share, 61 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.11× its world share, 3 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.15× its world share, 148 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.46× its world share, 434 worksMedicineNursing: 1.34× its world share, 32 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.74× its world share, 5 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 3.07× its world share, 434 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.84× its world share, 132 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.36× its world share, 64 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.34× its world share, 140 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.67× its world share, 248 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.43× its world share, 1,500 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 3.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of the Free State?

Ranked on the composite score, Donald Meltzer, Steve Twomlow and Johan U. Grobbelaar lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of the Free State.

  1. 1 Donald Meltzer South Africa · #34,443 worldwide 239 citations · 40 works
  2. 2 Steve Twomlow South Africa · #96,978 worldwide 235 citations · 25 works
  3. 3 Johan U. Grobbelaar South Africa · #113,667 worldwide 199 citations · 31 works
  4. 4 Abdon Atangana South Africa · #122,547 worldwide 648 citations · 121 works
  5. 5 Alessandra Riccardi South Africa · #131,802 worldwide 93 citations · 26 works
  6. 6 Bernard A. Prior South Africa · #134,636 worldwide 186 citations · 33 works
  7. 7 David E. Motaung South Africa · #137,935 worldwide 186 citations · 32 works
  8. 8 Gustav Visser South Africa · #144,025 worldwide 123 citations · 53 works
  9. 9 Michael M. Gorman South Africa · #149,757 worldwide 64 citations · 27 works
  10. 10 O.M. Ntwaeaborwa South Africa · #199,756 worldwide 298 citations · 63 works
All ranked researchers at University of the Free State

Which keywords describe research at University of the Free State?

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

▲ 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. Globalization265▲ 2.8×104 topics
  2. Colonialism232▲ 10×30 topics
  3. Climate Change211▲ 1.60×96 topics
  4. Human Rights186▲ 3.7×54 topics
  5. Higher Education174▲ 6.6×24 topics
  6. Social Justice168▲ 5.9×38 topics
  7. Nationalism163▲ 7.2×24 topics
  8. Mental Health131▲ 1.83×40 topics
  9. History105▲ 3.1×29 topics
  10. Religion103▲ 4.4×25 topics
  11. Development91▲ 5.3×14 topics
  12. Political Economy85▲ 6.7×15 topics
  13. Postcolonialism82▲ 14×14 topics
  14. Cultural Studies82▲ 4.4×26 topics
  15. Land Reform81▲ 37×3 topics
  16. African Christianity78▲ 72×2 topics
  17. Social Impact78▲ 4.0×12 topics
  18. Technology Integration74▲ 5.0×9 topics
  19. South Africa72▲ 54×4 topics
  20. Decolonization72▲ 18×7 topics
  21. NGOs67▲ 14×5 topics
  22. Agrarian Relations67▲ 158×1 topic
  23. Zimbabwe67▲ 158×1 topic
  24. Environmental Governance67▲ 21×4 topics
  25. Theology64▲ 14×5 topics
  26. Reflective Practice64▲ 7.0×7 topics
  27. Equality63▲ 21×4 topics
  28. Race63▲ 12×13 topics
  29. Gender-based Violence61▲ 22×3 topics
  30. Gender Dynamics61▲ 12×6 topics
  31. Judicial Review60▲ 13×4 topics
  32. Indigenous Knowledge Systems59▲ 39×3 topics
  33. Public Participation59▲ 54×2 topics
  34. Constitutionalism59▲ 13×4 topics
  35. African Philosophy59▲ 110×1 topic
  36. Ubuntu59▲ 110×1 topic
  37. Poverty Reduction58▲ 9.0×5 topics
  38. Consumer Protection57▲ 27×3 topics
  39. Legal Research57▲ 9.0×2 topics
  40. Developmental Local Government57▲ 105×1 topic

Which research topics does University of the Free State publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: African studies and sociopolitical issues, African cultural and philosophical studies, Legal Issues in South Africa and Biblical Studies and Interpretation.

African studies and soci…67African studies and sociopolitical issues: 67 fractional worksAfrican cultural and phi…59African cultural and philosophical studies: 59 fractional worksLegal Issues in South Africa: 57 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Int…55Biblical Studies and Interpretation: 55 fractional worksChristian Theology and M…54Christian Theology and Mission: 54 fractional worksAfrican history and culture studies: 53 fractional worksSouth African History and Culture: 48 fractional worksReligion, Society, and D…41Religion, Society, and Development: 41 fractional worksLuminescence Properties of Advanced Materials: 34 fractional worksUrban and Rural Development Challenges: 31 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceEducationLawReligious studies3 others

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

  1. 1 African studies and sociopolitical issues Sociology and Political Science 67 works
  2. 2 African cultural and philosophical studies Education 59 works
  3. 3 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 57 works
  4. 4 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 55 works
  5. 5 Christian Theology and Mission Religious studies 54 works
  6. 6 African history and culture studies Anthropology 53 works
  7. 7 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 48 works
  8. 8 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 41 works
  9. 9 Luminescence Properties of Advanced Materials Materials Chemistry 34 works
  10. 10 Urban and Rural Development Challenges Urban Studies 31 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 available52.6%not open47.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors19.4%domestic only80.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of the Free State's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 22% 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 Bloemfontein

All research institutions in Bloemfontein

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.