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University · Utrecht · Netherlands

Utrecht University

In research, Utrecht University stands highest in Social Sciences (#42 of 10,521 worldwide), Sociology and Political Science (#16 of 2,578 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#42 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Veterinary, Small Animals and Classics — Veterinary is 5.4× its share of world research.

uu.nlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#115
of 28,054 · #78 all time
Rank in Netherlands
#1
of 237
Research works
88k
▲ 17% vs 2013–17
Citations
3.5M
40.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
28.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
51%
world 28%

What is Utrecht University 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 #42 of 10,521 31.3%4,245 #56
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #16 of 2,578 35.5%741 #38
Social SciencesField #42 of 6,365 34.0%2,114 #57
Environmental ScienceField #24 of 3,551 34.1%775 #28
Physical SciencesDomain #138 of 12,888 26.9%3,334 #88
Health SciencesDomain #190 of 11,982 25.3%1,847 #103
Life SciencesDomain #128 of 7,800 30.1%1,360 #87
MedicineField #236 of 10,443 25.4%1,509 #148
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #28 of 1,209 31.8%397 #47
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #30 of 1,201 25.7%391 #42

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Utrecht University 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#56 #42
  2. Sociology and Political Science#38 #16
  3. Social Sciences#57 #42
  4. Environmental Science#28 #24
  5. Physical Sciences#88 #138
  6. Health Sciences#103 #190
  7. Life Sciences#87 #128
  8. Medicine#148 #236
  9. Earth and Planetary Sciences#47 #28
  10. Political Science and International Relations#42 #30
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 Utrecht University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Veterinary takes 5.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. VeterinaryField · 79.7 works5.4×
  2. Small AnimalsSubfield · 65.6 works5.0×
  3. ClassicsSubfield · 30.9 works4.8×
  4. Public AdministrationSubfield · 25.7 works4.4×
  5. HistorySubfield · 132.0 works3.8×
← 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: 0.68× its world share, 349 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.98× its world share, 565 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.16× its world share, 126 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.68× its world share, 295 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.66× its world share, 25 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.08× its world share, 41 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.74× its world share, 126 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.84× its world share, 707 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.35× its world share, 397 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.79× its world share, 78 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.33× its world share, 540 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.45× its world share, 775 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.53× its world share, 200 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.57× its world share, 200 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.13× its world share, 270 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.13× its world share, 7 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.79× its world share, 225 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.73× its world share, 1,509 worksMedicineNursing: 0.50× its world share, 27 worksNursingVeterinary: 5.44× its world share, 80 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.96× its world share, 611 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.03× its world share, 358 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.51× its world share, 157 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.47× its world share, 338 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.02× its world share, 665 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.55× its world share, 2,114 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Veterinary, 5.4×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Utrecht University?

Ranked on the composite score, Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Gerard ’t Hooft and Jan J. Koenderink lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Utrecht University.

  1. 1 Wilmar B. Schaufeli · #130 worldwide 5.3k citations · 157 works
  2. 2 Gerard ’t Hooft · #2,600 worldwide 2.7k citations · 119 works
  3. 3 Jan J. Koenderink · #2,893 worldwide 1.7k citations · 109 works
  4. 4 Rosi Braidotti · #3,641 worldwide 425 citations · 85 works
  5. 5 Bert Brunekreef · #4,093 worldwide 2.2k citations · 190 works
  6. 6 L.L.M. Van Deenen · #5,728 worldwide 1.4k citations · 81 works
  7. 7 Joop J. Hox · #6,354 worldwide 1.2k citations · 63 works
  8. 8 Stef van Buuren · #7,693 worldwide 1k citations · 56 works
  9. 9 André Faaij · #9,463 worldwide 1.7k citations · 110 works
  10. 10 Theo Wubbels · #9,712 worldwide 526 citations · 65 works
All ranked researchers at Utrecht University

Which keywords describe research at Utrecht University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Globalization, Human Rights, Ethics, Epidemiology, Mental Health, Sustainability and Global Warming.

▲ 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. Climate Change527▲ 1.81×109 topics
  2. Globalization386▲ 1.82×130 topics
  3. Epidemiology356▼ 0.83×133 topics
  4. Machine Learning272▼ 0.77×78 topics
  5. Sustainability258◆ 0.98×97 topics
  6. Human Rights231▲ 2.1×69 topics
  7. Mental Health230▲ 1.45×39 topics
  8. Public Health171◆ 1.09×64 topics
  9. Renewable Energy168◆ 1.08×42 topics
  10. Environmental Impact165◆ 0.90×57 topics
  11. Ethics159▲ 3.0×45 topics
  12. Social Media159◆ 1.03×31 topics
  13. Big Data131▲ 1.34×24 topics
  14. Religion128▲ 2.5×38 topics
  15. Colonialism127▲ 2.5×43 topics
  16. Global Warming127▲ 2.9×15 topics
  17. Gender125▲ 2.1×45 topics
  18. Nationalism122▲ 2.5×33 topics
  19. Identity119▲ 1.52×60 topics
  20. Health Effects118▲ 1.82×23 topics
  21. Resilience116▲ 2.2×16 topics
  22. Neoliberalism110▲ 2.9×25 topics
  23. Social Capital106▲ 1.86×19 topics
  24. Emotion99▲ 4.4×12 topics
  25. Democracy97▲ 2.5×28 topics
  26. Social Interaction92▲ 2.1×11 topics
  27. Emotion Regulation89▲ 2.6×9 topics
  28. Trust86▲ 2.9×10 topics
  29. European Union85▲ 3.5×24 topics
  30. Global Governance80▲ 3.2×19 topics
  31. Self-Regulation72▲ 3.7×6 topics
  32. Accountability68▲ 5.9×4 topics
  33. Social Cognition68▲ 3.7×9 topics
  34. Cosmopolitanism58▲ 5.0×7 topics
  35. Fairness57▲ 6.1×2 topics
  36. Social History56▲ 6.3×6 topics
  37. Paleoclimatology53▲ 5.9×2 topics
  38. Glacial Cycles50▲ 6.9×1 topic
  39. Monsoon Dynamics50▲ 6.9×1 topic
  40. Cultural Analysis47▲ 8.9×4 topics

Which research topics does Utrecht University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Geology and Paleoclimatology Research, Ethics and Social Impacts of AI, Sustainability and Climate Change Governance and Social and Intergroup Psychology.

Geology and Paleoclimato…50Geology and Paleoclimatology Research: 50 fractional worksEthics and Social Impact…42Ethics and Social Impacts of AI: 42 fractional worksSustainability and Climate Change Governance: 40 fractional worksSocial and Intergroup Psychology: 35 fractional worksReformation and Early Modern Christianity: 34 fractional worksUrban Transport and Accessibility: 33 fractional worksChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development: 33 fractional worksAir Quality and Health I…30Air Quality and Health Impacts: 30 fractional worksEuropean and International Law Studies: 28 fractional worksMental Health Research Topics: 28 fractional works
Atmospheric ScienceSafety ResearchGlobal and Planetary ChangeSociology and Political Science6 others

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

  1. 1 Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchAtmospheric Science 50 works
  2. 2 Ethics and Social Impacts of AISafety Research 42 works
  3. 3 Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceGlobal and Planetary Change 40 works
  4. 4 Social and Intergroup PsychologySociology and Political Science 35 works
  5. 5 Reformation and Early Modern ChristianityHistory 34 works
  6. 6 Urban Transport and AccessibilityTransportation 33 works
  7. 7 Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentClinical Psychology 33 works
  8. 8 Air Quality and Health ImpactsHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis 30 works
  9. 9 European and International Law StudiesPolitical Science and International Relations 28 works
  10. 10 Mental Health Research TopicsExperimental and Cognitive Psychology 28 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 available51.0%not open49.0%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors25.7%domestic only74.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Utrecht University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 17% 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 Utrecht

All research institutions in Utrecht

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.