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University · Cape Town · South Africa

University of the Western Cape

In research, University of the Western Cape stands highest in Social Sciences (#598 of 10,521 worldwide), Arts and Humanities (#114 of 1,998 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#998 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Linguistics and Language, Law and Religious studies — Linguistics and Language is 5.8× its share of world research.

uwc.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,519
of 28,054 · #2,135 all time
Rank in South Africa
#10
of 87
Research works
13k
▲ 22% vs 2013–17
Citations
187k
14.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
22.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
52%
world 28%

What is University of the Western Cape 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 #598 of 10,521 25.8%1,467 #523
Arts and HumanitiesField #114 of 1,998 29.4%149 #202
Health SciencesDomain #998 of 11,982 20.1%618 #1623
Social SciencesField #544 of 6,365 25.9%867 #360
Physical SciencesDomain #1,660 of 12,888 19.1%758 #2856
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #395 of 2,578 23.4%278 #510
MedicineField #2,168 of 10,443 19.7%350 #2535
Life SciencesDomain #1,898 of 7,800 22.4%248 #2897
General Health ProfessionsSubfield #229 of 916 22.6%148 #446
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #921 of 3,409 28.0%130 #813

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of the Western Cape 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#523 #598
  2. Arts and Humanities#202 #114
  3. Health Sciences#1,623 #998
  4. Social Sciences#360 #544
  5. Physical Sciences#2,856 #1,660
  6. Sociology and Political Science#510 #395
  7. Medicine#2,535 #2,168
  8. Life Sciences#2,897 #1,898
  9. General Health Professions#446 #229
  10. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#813 #921
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 Western Cape specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Linguistics and Language takes 5.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Linguistics and LanguageSubfield · 20.4 works5.8×
  2. LawSubfield · 94.8 works5.3×
  3. Religious studiesSubfield · 26.0 works5.0×
← 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: 0.89× its world share, 130 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.48× its world share, 80 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.64× its world share, 20 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.17× its world share, 9 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.84× its world share, 9 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.47× its world share, 5 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.54× its world share, 26 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.58× its world share, 140 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.82× its world share, 40 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.80× its world share, 23 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.34× its world share, 158 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.15× its world share, 176 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.62× its world share, 67 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.12× its world share, 41 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.20× its world share, 82 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 2.99× its world share, 45 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 2.44× its world share, 198 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.59× its world share, 350 worksMedicineNursing: 1.62× its world share, 24 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.67× its world share, 149 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.23× its world share, 122 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.37× its world share, 41 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.77× its world share, 117 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.81× its world share, 170 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.22× its world share, 867 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Dentistry, 3.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of the Western Cape?

Ranked on the composite score, Romeel Davé, Ralf Henkel and Mykhaylo Lototskyy lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of the Western Cape.

  1. 1 Romeel Davé South Africa · #41,421 worldwide 1.2k citations · 120 works
  2. 2 Ralf Henkel South Africa · #53,745 worldwide 358 citations · 55 works
  3. 3 Mykhaylo Lototskyy South Africa · #59,731 worldwide 742 citations · 32 works
  4. 4 Vivienne Bozalek South Africa · #111,224 worldwide 196 citations · 55 works
  5. 5 Christopher Stroud South Africa · #116,984 worldwide 211 citations · 36 works
  6. 6 Kailash C. Patidar South Africa · #140,795 worldwide 149 citations · 46 works
  7. 7 Ben Cousins South Africa · #153,137 worldwide 170 citations · 49 works
  8. 8 Mário G. Santos South Africa · #168,266 worldwide 310 citations · 41 works
  9. 9 Andries du Toit South Africa · #177,589 worldwide 152 citations · 23 works
  10. 10 Ernst M. Conradie South Africa · #196,815 worldwide 49 citations · 63 works
All ranked researchers at University of the Western Cape

Which keywords describe research at University of the Western Cape?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Human Rights, Globalization, Colonialism, Mental Health, Environmental Governance, Equality, Higher Education and Judicial Review.

▲ 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. Human Rights174▲ 5.5×51 topics
  2. Globalization151▲ 2.5×81 topics
  3. Mental Health123▲ 2.7×38 topics
  4. Climate Change112▲ 1.34×78 topics
  5. Epidemiology104▼ 0.85×91 topics
  6. Sustainability100▲ 1.33×64 topics
  7. Colonialism86▲ 5.9×28 topics
  8. Higher Education83▲ 5.0×24 topics
  9. COVID-1975▲ 1.77×24 topics
  10. Public Health73▲ 1.62×48 topics
  11. Environmental Governance69▲ 34×4 topics
  12. Social Justice69▲ 3.8×36 topics
  13. Equality68▲ 36×7 topics
  14. Judicial Review64▲ 23×4 topics
  15. Constitutionalism62▲ 21×2 topics
  16. Legal Research61▲ 15×2 topics
  17. Consumer Protection61▲ 45×2 topics
  18. Public Participation60▲ 87×2 topics
  19. Developmental Local Government60▲ 177×1 topic
  20. Socio-Economic Rights60▲ 177×1 topic
  21. Social Capital59▲ 3.6×14 topics
  22. Development57▲ 5.3×16 topics
  23. South Africa57▲ 68×4 topics
  24. Economic Growth54▲ 2.1×23 topics
  25. Inequality50▲ 7.1×13 topics
  26. Nationalism49▲ 3.5×19 topics
  27. Race46▲ 13×11 topics
  28. Global Governance44▲ 6.2×15 topics
  29. Social Movements43▲ 4.7×8 topics
  30. Gender-based Violence42▲ 24×3 topics
  31. Neoliberalism40▲ 3.6×17 topics
  32. Poverty Reduction38▲ 9.4×4 topics
  33. economic empowerment37▲ 75×1 topic
  34. protests37▲ 153×1 topic
  35. Postcolonialism36▲ 9.4×13 topics
  36. Gender Inequality35▲ 8.1×6 topics
  37. Antiretroviral Therapy34▲ 6.7×6 topics
  38. Student Perceptions33▲ 5.9×7 topics
  39. Adolescent Health30▲ 11×3 topics
  40. Bilingual Education28▲ 7.6×2 topics

Which research topics does University of the Western Cape publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Legal Issues in South Africa, South African History and Culture, Human Rights and Development and COVID-19 and Mental Health.

Legal Issues in South Af…60Legal Issues in South Africa: 60 fractional worksSouth African History and Culture: 37 fractional worksHuman Rights and Development: 23 fractional worksCOVID-19 and Mental Health: 21 fractional worksAdolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: 21 fractional worksGlobal Maternal and Child Health: 21 fractional worksHIV/AIDS Research and In…21HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions: 21 fractional worksPoverty, Education, and Child Welfare: 18 fractional worksAfrican cultural and philosophical studies: 18 fractional worksCOVID-19 Pandemic Impacts18COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts: 18 fractional works
LawSociology and Political ScienceClinical PsychologyGeneral Health Professions5 others

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

  1. 1 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 60 works
  2. 2 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 37 works
  3. 3 Human Rights and Development Sociology and Political Science 23 works
  4. 4 COVID-19 and Mental Health Clinical Psychology 21 works
  5. 5 Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health General Health Professions 21 works
  6. 6 Global Maternal and Child Health Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health 21 works
  7. 7 HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Infectious Diseases 21 works
  8. 8 Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare Safety Research 18 works
  9. 9 African cultural and philosophical studies Education 18 works
  10. 10 COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Economics and Econometrics 18 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 available51.9%not open48.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors21.3%domestic only78.7%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of the Western Cape'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 Cape Town

All research institutions in Cape Town

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.