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University · Thohoyandou · South Africa

University of Venda

In research, University of Venda stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,016 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#791 of 6,365 worldwide) and Arts and Humanities (#416 of 1,998 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Safety Research — Safety Research is 6.3× its share of world research.

univen.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#2,904
of 28,054 · #6,073 all time
Rank in South Africa
#18
of 87
Research works
4.3k
▲ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
39k
9.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
18.3%
record average 16.5%
Open access
65%
world 28%

What is University of Venda 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 #1,016 of 10,521 21.3%643 #1805
Social SciencesField #791 of 6,365 23.8%365 #1176
Arts and HumanitiesField #416 of 1,998 26.0%60 #1158
MedicineField #2,845 of 10,443 13.4%126 #8421
Physical SciencesDomain #3,910 of 12,888 16.4%308 #6492
Health SciencesDomain #3,648 of 11,982 13.4%223 #5776
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #818 of 2,578 23.7%93 #1598
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #1,114 of 3,409 20.8%138 #1279
Life SciencesDomain #3,667 of 7,800 16.9%207 #5678
EducationSubfield #940 of 1,892 22.6%99 #1367

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Venda 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#1,805 #1,016
  2. Social Sciences#1,176 #791
  3. Arts and Humanities#1,158 #416
  4. Medicine#8,421 #2,845
  5. Physical Sciences#6,492 #3,910
  6. Health Sciences#5,776 #3,648
  7. Sociology and Political Science#1,598 #818
  8. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#1,279 #1,114
  9. Life Sciences#5,678 #3,667
  10. Education#1,367 #940
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 Venda specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Safety Research takes 6.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Safety ResearchSubfield · 24.1 works6.3×
← 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: 2.10× its world share, 138 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.76× its world share, 56 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.57× its world share, 8 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.12× its world share, 3 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.51× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.35× its world share, 6 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.57× its world share, 34 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.33× its world share, 35 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.57× its world share, 12 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.92× its world share, 12 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.24× its world share, 49 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.72× its world share, 118 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.39× its world share, 19 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.98× its world share, 16 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.22× its world share, 7 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.66× its world share, 60 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.48× its world share, 126 worksMedicineNursing: 4.86× its world share, 33 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.41× its world share, 3 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.51× its world share, 60 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.77× its world share, 79 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.99× its world share, 13 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.81× its world share, 54 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.71× its world share, 72 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.09× its world share, 365 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Nursing, 4.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Venda?

Ranked on the composite score, Pascal Bessong, Amidou Samie and Peter J. Taylor lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Venda.

  1. 1 Pascal Bessong South Africa · #97,410 worldwide 225 citations · 35 works
  2. 2 Amidou Samie South Africa · #125,556 worldwide 178 citations · 26 works
  3. 3 Peter J. Taylor South Africa · #204,545 worldwide 154 citations · 44 works
  4. 4 Natasha Potgieter South Africa · #436,321 worldwide 41 citations · 23 works
  5. 5 Dhesigen Naidoo South Africa · #439,423 worldwide 41 citations · 20 works
  6. 6 Taban lo Liyong South Africa · #498,816 worldwide 21 citations · 17 works
  7. 7 Marizvikuru Mwale South Africa · #541,605 worldwide 36 citations · 18 works
  8. 8 John O. Odiyo South Africa · #549,111 worldwide 81 citations · 18 works
  9. 9 M.P. Tshisikhawe South Africa · #553,820 worldwide 40 citations · 23 works
  10. 10 Joshua N. Edokpayi South Africa · #632,533 worldwide 80 citations · 15 works
All ranked researchers at University of Venda

Which keywords describe research at University of Venda?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Higher Education, Human Rights, South Africa, Sustainable Development, Sustainability, Student Perceptions, Globalization 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. Sustainability58▲ 1.71×53 topics
  2. Climate Change56▲ 1.49×71 topics
  3. Globalization52▲ 1.93×50 topics
  4. Human Rights49▲ 3.5×25 topics
  5. Sustainable Development49▲ 2.2×40 topics
  6. Mental Health47▲ 2.3×28 topics
  7. Environmental Impact44▲ 1.87×39 topics
  8. Higher Education42▲ 5.6×17 topics
  9. Economic Growth34▲ 2.9×21 topics
  10. Social Justice33▲ 4.0×23 topics
  11. South Africa33▲ 87×4 topics
  12. Student Perceptions26▲ 10×6 topics
  13. Colonialism26▲ 3.9×9 topics
  14. Development25▲ 5.3×12 topics
  15. Environmental Governance25▲ 28×4 topics
  16. Social Capital24▲ 3.4×10 topics
  17. Equality24▲ 29×3 topics
  18. Public Participation24▲ 77×2 topics
  19. DNA Barcoding23▲ 10×9 topics
  20. Legal Research23▲ 13×2 topics
  21. Constitutionalism22▲ 17×1 topic
  22. Developmental Local Government22▲ 148×1 topic
  23. Policy22▲ 7.2×10 topics
  24. Poverty Reduction20▲ 11×5 topics
  25. Biogeography19▲ 5.2×14 topics
  26. Maternal Mortality19▲ 6.2×4 topics
  27. Evolution18▲ 5.4×12 topics
  28. Poverty18▲ 14×6 topics
  29. Community Health Workers18▲ 15×2 topics
  30. Multilingualism18▲ 7.6×4 topics
  31. Bilingual Education17▲ 10×2 topics
  32. Health Inequalities17▲ 10×2 topics
  33. Language Policy17▲ 8.7×2 topics
  34. Socio-economic Factors16▲ 11×2 topics
  35. Child Mortality16▲ 17×1 topic
  36. Health Systems16▲ 17×1 topic
  37. Gender Inequality16▲ 8.4×6 topics
  38. Employment16▲ 34×3 topics
  39. Phylogeny16▲ 7.6×10 topics
  40. Urban16▲ 17×2 topics

Which research topics does University of Venda publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Legal Issues in South Africa, Global Maternal and Child Health, Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences and Local Economic Development and Planning.

Legal Issues in South Af…22Legal Issues in South Africa: 22 fractional worksGlobal Maternal and Chil…16Global Maternal and Child Health: 16 fractional worksEntrepreneurship Studies and Influences: 15 fractional worksLocal Economic Development and Planning: 14 fractional worksAdolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: 13 fractional worksChild Nutrition and Water Access: 13 fractional worksPoverty, Education, and Child Welfare: 12 fractional worksSpider Taxonomy and Beha…11Spider Taxonomy and Behavior Studies: 11 fractional worksSecond Language Learning and Teaching: 10 fractional worksHigher Education and Employability: 10 fractional works
LawPediatrics, Perinatology and Child HealthManagement of Technology and InnovationPolitical Science and International Relations6 others

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

  1. 1 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 22 works
  2. 2 Global Maternal and Child Health Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health 16 works
  3. 3 Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences Management of Technology and Innovation 15 works
  4. 4 Local Economic Development and Planning Political Science and International Relations 14 works
  5. 5 Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health General Health Professions 13 works
  6. 6 Child Nutrition and Water Access Nutrition and Dietetics 13 works
  7. 7 Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare Safety Research 12 works
  8. 8 Spider Taxonomy and Behavior Studies Genetics 11 works
  9. 9 Second Language Learning and Teaching Literature and Literary Theory 10 works
  10. 10 Higher Education and Employability Education 10 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 available65.4%not open34.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors15.0%domestic only85.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Venda's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% 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 Thohoyandou

All research institutions in Thohoyandou

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.