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University · Johannesburg · South Africa

University of the Witwatersrand

In research, University of the Witwatersrand stands highest in Social Sciences (#12 of 6,365 worldwide), Social Sciences (#85 of 10,521 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#379 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Archeology, Paleontology and Virology — Archeology is 26.9× its share of world research.

wits.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#387
of 28,054 · #461 all time
Rank in South Africa
#2
of 87
Research works
50k
▲ 27% vs 2013–17
Citations
921k
18.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
39%
world 28%

What is University of the Witwatersrand 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 SciencesField #12 of 6,365 28.4%1,694 #9
Social SciencesDomain #85 of 10,521 28.0%3,107 #58
Health SciencesDomain #379 of 11,982 17.0%2,243 #381
AnthropologySubfield #5 of 153 34.1%130 #4
Physical SciencesDomain #454 of 12,888 18.0%2,440 #735
MedicineField #437 of 10,443 15.6%1,745 #444
PsychologyField #95 of 2,181 22.6%382 #393
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #175 of 2,578 26.0%492 #212
Life SciencesDomain #621 of 7,800 20.5%715 #689
EducationSubfield #171 of 1,892 33.8%319 #236

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of the Witwatersrand 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#9 #12
  2. Social Sciences#58 #85
  3. Health Sciences#381 #379
  4. Anthropology#4 #5
  5. Physical Sciences#735 #454
  6. Medicine#444 #437
  7. Psychology#393 #95
  8. Sociology and Political Science#212 #175
  9. Life Sciences#689 #621
  10. Education#236 #171
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 Witwatersrand specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Archeology takes 26.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. ArcheologySubfield · 35.0 works27×
  2. PaleontologySubfield · 66.9 works6.5×
  3. VirologySubfield · 27.4 works5.5×
  4. AnthropologySubfield · 130.4 works5.5×
← 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: 0.65× its world share, 263 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.55× its world share, 248 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.05× its world share, 90 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.65× its world share, 90 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.81× its world share, 24 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.68× its world share, 20 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.59× its world share, 78 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.48× its world share, 315 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.68× its world share, 224 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.82× its world share, 64 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.62× its world share, 790 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.13× its world share, 476 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.54× its world share, 162 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.38× its world share, 138 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.91× its world share, 172 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.79× its world share, 33 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.82× its world share, 408 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.07× its world share, 1,745 worksMedicineNursing: 1.24× its world share, 52 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.47× its world share, 5 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.05× its world share, 257 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.20× its world share, 330 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.38× its world share, 113 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.82× its world share, 332 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.47× its world share, 382 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.57× its world share, 1,694 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Health Professions, 1.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of the Witwatersrand?

Ranked on the composite score, Shabir A. Madhi, G Justus Hofmeyr and Cheryl Cohen lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of the Witwatersrand.

  1. 1 Shabir A. Madhi South Africa · #3,410 worldwide 1.5k citations · 126 works
  2. 2 G Justus Hofmeyr South Africa · #7,078 worldwide 683 citations · 67 works
  3. 3 Cheryl Cohen South Africa · #8,057 worldwide 789 citations · 76 works
  4. 4 Achille Mbembé South Africa · #27,686 worldwide 198 citations · 44 works
  5. 5 Michael C. Kew South Africa · #30,465 worldwide 348 citations · 51 works
  6. 6 Lyn Wadley South Africa · #33,085 worldwide 456 citations · 46 works
  7. 7 Michael Cross South Africa · #34,952 worldwide 427 citations · 45 works
  8. 8 Karen Hofman South Africa · #39,170 worldwide 308 citations · 51 works
  9. 9 Lynn Morris South Africa · #41,740 worldwide 462 citations · 55 works
  10. 10 Paul Ruff South Africa · #42,728 worldwide 440 citations · 34 works
All ranked researchers at University of the Witwatersrand

Which keywords describe research at University of the Witwatersrand?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Antiretroviral Therapy, Epidemiology, Human Rights, Colonialism, Globalization, South Africa, Climate Change and Mental Health.

▲ 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. Epidemiology421▲ 1.25×128 topics
  2. Climate Change305▲ 1.33×96 topics
  3. Globalization291▲ 1.74×112 topics
  4. Human Rights239▲ 2.7×51 topics
  5. Mental Health228▲ 1.83×43 topics
  6. Sustainability212◆ 1.02×93 topics
  7. Public Health190▲ 1.54×57 topics
  8. Colonialism178▲ 4.4×34 topics
  9. Antiretroviral Therapy165▲ 12×6 topics
  10. Risk Factors154▲ 1.64×37 topics
  11. Economic Growth150▲ 2.1×28 topics
  12. Higher Education144▲ 3.1×23 topics
  13. South Africa121▲ 52×4 topics
  14. Inequality104▲ 5.3×11 topics
  15. Neoliberalism102▲ 3.4×22 topics
  16. Nationalism101▲ 2.6×22 topics
  17. Gender-based Violence94▲ 20×3 topics
  18. Social Movements90▲ 3.5×12 topics
  19. Race88▲ 9.3×15 topics
  20. Mortality Rates86▲ 11×2 topics
  21. HIV Transmission85▲ 14×2 topics
  22. Environmental Governance83▲ 15×5 topics
  23. Viral Load82▲ 12×2 topics
  24. Postcolonialism81▲ 7.6×16 topics
  25. Equality81▲ 16×4 topics
  26. Judicial Review77▲ 9.9×4 topics
  27. Preexposure Prophylaxis75▲ 18×1 topic
  28. Stigma and Discrimination75▲ 18×1 topic
  29. economic empowerment74▲ 55×2 topics
  30. post-apartheid74▲ 111×1 topic
  31. protests74▲ 111×1 topic
  32. Public Participation74▲ 38×2 topics
  33. Consumer Protection72▲ 19×2 topics
  34. Constitutionalism72▲ 8.8×2 topics
  35. Developmental Local Government71▲ 76×1 topic
  36. Legal Research71▲ 6.4×1 topic
  37. HIV Infection70▲ 8.0×4 topics
  38. Poverty Reduction67▲ 6.0×6 topics
  39. Decolonization59▲ 8.6×8 topics
  40. Adolescent Health58▲ 7.9×3 topics

Which research topics does University of the Witwatersrand publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions, South African History and Culture, Legal Issues in South Africa and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health.

HIV/AIDS Research and In…75HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions: 75 fractional worksSouth African History an…74South African History and Culture: 74 fractional worksLegal Issues in South Af…71Legal Issues in South Africa: 71 fractional worksAdolescent Sexual and Re…51Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: 51 fractional worksAfrican cultural and philosophical studies: 47 fractional worksGlobal Maternal and Child Health: 46 fractional worksPleistocene-Era Hominins…42Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology: 42 fractional worksAfrican history and cult…38African history and culture studies: 38 fractional worksArchaeology and Rock Art…35Archaeology and Rock Art Studies: 35 fractional worksUrban and Rural Developm…32Urban and Rural Development Challenges: 32 fractional works
Infectious DiseasesSociology and Political ScienceLawGeneral Health Professions5 others

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

  1. 1 HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Infectious Diseases 75 works
  2. 2 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 74 works
  3. 3 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 71 works
  4. 4 Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health General Health Professions 51 works
  5. 5 African cultural and philosophical studies Education 47 works
  6. 6 Global Maternal and Child Health Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health 46 works
  7. 7 Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology Anthropology 42 works
  8. 8 African history and culture studies Anthropology 38 works
  9. 9 Archaeology and Rock Art Studies Archeology 35 works
  10. 10 Urban and Rural Development Challenges Urban Studies 32 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 available39.3%not open60.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors20.8%domestic only79.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of the Witwatersrand's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 27% 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 Johannesburg

All research institutions in Johannesburg

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.