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University · Amsterdam · Netherlands

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

In research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands highest in Social Sciences (#58 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#97 of 6,365 worldwide) and Experimental and Cognitive Psychology (#5 of 275 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Cognitive Neuroscience, Applied Psychology and Experimental and Cognitive Psychology — Cognitive Neuroscience is 4.8× its share of world research.

vu.nlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#241
of 28,054 · #250 all time
Rank in Netherlands
#5
of 237
Research works
48k
▲ 38% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.7M
35.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
28.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
52%
world 28%

What is Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 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 #58 of 10,521 31.1%3,303 #109
Social SciencesField #97 of 6,365 31.1%1,476 #160
Experimental and Cognitive PsychologySubfield #5 of 275 35.2%141 —
Health SciencesDomain #218 of 11,982 28.3%1,690 #275
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #53 of 2,578 34.0%559 #87
Arts and HumanitiesField #44 of 1,998 24.3%396 #90
PsychologyField #54 of 2,181 33.7%650 #89
MedicineField #270 of 10,443 27.8%1,330 #316
Physical SciencesDomain #399 of 12,888 25.3%1,922 #290
Decision SciencesField #25 of 703 29.7%141 #92

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 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#109 #58
  2. Social Sciences#160 #97
  3. Health Sciences#275 #218
  4. Sociology and Political Science#87 #53
  5. Arts and Humanities#90 #44
  6. Psychology#89 #54
  7. Medicine#316 #270
  8. Physical Sciences#290 #399
  9. Decision Sciences#92 #25
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 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Cognitive Neuroscience takes 4.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Cognitive NeuroscienceSubfield · 277.5 works4.8×
  2. Applied PsychologySubfield · 53.7 works4.8×
  3. Experimental and Cognitive PsychologySubfield · 140.6 works3.8×
  4. Religious studiesSubfield · 45.9 works3.5×
← 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: 0.38× its world share, 141 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.94× its world share, 395 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.58× its world share, 46 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 2.88× its world share, 368 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.45× its world share, 13 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.15× its world share, 4 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.65× its world share, 81 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.01× its world share, 621 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.14× its world share, 141 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.34× its world share, 25 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.29× its world share, 342 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.98× its world share, 385 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.16× its world share, 43 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.03× its world share, 96 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.04× its world share, 183 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.58× its world share, 60 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.32× its world share, 273 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.88× its world share, 1,330 worksMedicineNursing: 0.58× its world share, 22 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.33× its world share, 4 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.74× its world share, 396 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.53× its world share, 388 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.85× its world share, 141 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.50× its world share, 252 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.71× its world share, 650 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.48× its world share, 1,476 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 2.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam?

Ranked on the composite score, Marjolein Visser, L.M. Bouter and Jouke‐Jan Hottenga lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

  1. 1 Marjolein Visser · #439 worldwide 2.1k citations · 154 works
  2. 2 L.M. Bouter · #2,286 worldwide 1.8k citations · 182 works
  3. 3 Jouke‐Jan Hottenga · #2,347 worldwide 1.8k citations · 109 works
  4. 4 Gonneke Willemsen · #2,937 worldwide 2.1k citations · 160 works
  5. 5 Brenda W.J.H. Penninx · #3,593 worldwide 4k citations · 291 works
  6. 6 Daniëlle Posthuma · #5,311 worldwide 1.3k citations · 112 works
  7. 7 Eco J. C. de Geus · #5,447 worldwide 2.2k citations · 206 works
  8. 8 Caroline B. Terwee · #5,512 worldwide 1.1k citations · 72 works
  9. 9 Frank van Harmelen · #5,640 worldwide 1.2k citations · 126 works
  10. 10 Peter H. Verburg · #6,225 worldwide 2.3k citations · 150 works
All ranked researchers at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Which keywords describe research at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam?

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

▲ 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. Epidemiology331◆ 1.06×124 topics
  2. Climate Change278▲ 1.31×91 topics
  3. Globalization257▲ 1.66×115 topics
  4. Mental Health224▲ 1.94×41 topics
  5. Machine Learning214▼ 0.83×75 topics
  6. Sustainability202◆ 1.05×92 topics
  7. Human Rights173▲ 2.1×66 topics
  8. Quality of Life157▲ 1.38×55 topics
  9. Depression156▲ 2.2×23 topics
  10. Public Health149▲ 1.30×58 topics
  11. Social Media148▲ 1.32×34 topics
  12. Ethics123▲ 3.2×43 topics
  13. Emotion Regulation112▲ 4.5×9 topics
  14. Big Data110▲ 1.54×25 topics
  15. Religion107▲ 2.9×37 topics
  16. Social Capital107▲ 2.6×17 topics
  17. Biomarkers95▲ 1.76×17 topics
  18. Aging94▲ 2.2×18 topics
  19. Resilience90▲ 2.4×16 topics
  20. Meta-Analysis86▲ 1.85×18 topics
  21. Global Warming86▲ 2.7×14 topics
  22. Social Support86▲ 1.95×17 topics
  23. Anxiety80▲ 2.1×11 topics
  24. Well-being80▲ 2.6×14 topics
  25. Emotion76▲ 4.7×12 topics
  26. Prevalence75▲ 2.3×14 topics
  27. Psychopathology70▲ 4.9×4 topics
  28. Neuroimaging68▲ 3.2×11 topics
  29. Neuroscience67▲ 2.9×17 topics
  30. Professionalism63▲ 4.7×6 topics
  31. Neural Mechanisms62▲ 8.5×4 topics
  32. Mental Disorders57▲ 6.3×3 topics
  33. Social Cognition54▲ 4.1×9 topics
  34. Inclusion51▲ 4.5×6 topics
  35. Prefrontal Cortex51▲ 8.0×3 topics
  36. Network Analysis48▲ 5.2×3 topics
  37. Institutional Theory47▲ 6.2×3 topics
  38. Cognitive Control46▲ 9.9×2 topics
  39. Neuroimaging Studies42▲ 10×3 topics
  40. Executive Functions42▲ 9.2×2 topics

Which research topics does Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research, Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies, Mental Health Research Topics and Functional Brain Connectivity Studies.

Dementia and Cognitive I…42Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research: 42 fractional worksNeural and Behavioral Ps…39Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies: 39 fractional worksMental Health Research Topics: 35 fractional worksFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies: 29 fractional worksDigital Mental Health Interventions: 28 fractional worksEthics and Social Impacts of AI: 28 fractional worksChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development: 28 fractional worksManagement and Organizat…28Management and Organizational Studies: 28 fractional worksVisual perception and processing mechanisms: 26 fractional worksAlzheimer's disease research and treatments: 26 fractional works
Psychiatry and Mental healthCognitive NeuroscienceExperimental and Cognitive PsychologyApplied Psychology4 others

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

  1. 1 Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchPsychiatry and Mental health 42 works
  2. 2 Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesCognitive Neuroscience 39 works
  3. 3 Mental Health Research TopicsExperimental and Cognitive Psychology 35 works
  4. 4 Functional Brain Connectivity StudiesCognitive Neuroscience 29 works
  5. 5 Digital Mental Health InterventionsApplied Psychology 28 works
  6. 6 Ethics and Social Impacts of AISafety Research 28 works
  7. 7 Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentClinical Psychology 28 works
  8. 8 Management and Organizational StudiesOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management 28 works
  9. 9 Visual perception and processing mechanismsCognitive Neuroscience 26 works
  10. 10 Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsPhysiology 26 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 available52.3%not open47.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors30.1%domestic only69.9%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 38% 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 Amsterdam

All research institutions in Amsterdam

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.