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University · Brussels · Belgium

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

In research, Vrije Universiteit Brussel stands highest in Social Sciences (#428 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#336 of 6,365 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#664 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Linguistics and Language and Communication — Linguistics and Language is 3.6× its share of world research.

vub.ac.be/enROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#652
of 28,054 · #544 all time
Rank in Belgium
#4
of 138
Research works
45k
▲ 8% vs 2013–17
Citations
804k
17.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
27%
world 28%

What is Vrije Universiteit Brussel 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 #428 of 10,521 29.5%1,703 #360
Social SciencesField #336 of 6,365 34.2%942 #280
Health SciencesDomain #664 of 11,982 22.8%1,030 #510
Physical SciencesDomain #762 of 12,888 19.1%2,097 #692
MedicineField #661 of 10,443 22.1%841 #550
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #81 of 1,201 36.5%196 #151
Life SciencesDomain #624 of 7,800 25.8%497 #515
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #212 of 2,578 33.0%300 #312
EngineeringField #691 of 6,636 17.1%877 #544
PsychologyField #309 of 2,181 23.6%197 #423

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Vrije Universiteit Brussel 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#360 #428
  2. Social Sciences#280 #336
  3. Health Sciences#510 #664
  4. Physical Sciences#692 #762
  5. Medicine#550 #661
  6. Political Science and International Relations#151 #81
  7. Life Sciences#515 #624
  8. Sociology and Political Science#312 #212
  9. Engineering#544 #691
  10. Psychology#423 #309
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 Brussel specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Linguistics and Language takes 3.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Linguistics and LanguageSubfield · 22.2 works3.6×
  2. CommunicationSubfield · 46.0 works3.2×
← 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: 0.40× its world share, 102 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.87× its world share, 248 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.78× its world share, 42 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.09× its world share, 95 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.59× its world share, 11 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.03× its world share, 19 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.03× its world share, 86 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.00× its world share, 416 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.04× its world share, 87 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.55× its world share, 27 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.10× its world share, 877 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.85× its world share, 224 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.51× its world share, 95 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.33× its world share, 83 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.54× its world share, 182 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.24× its world share, 6 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.12× its world share, 158 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.82× its world share, 841 worksMedicineNursing: 0.79× its world share, 21 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.52× its world share, 4 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.41× its world share, 217 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.83× its world share, 142 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.16× its world share, 60 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.27× its world share, 145 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.21× its world share, 196 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.40× its world share, 942 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 1.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Vrije Universiteit Brussel?

Ranked on the composite score, Ivan Bautmans, Jean‐Pierre Baeyens and Daniël Pipeleers lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

  1. 1 Ivan Bautmans · #2,010 worldwide 1.6k citations · 83 works
  2. 2 Jean‐Pierre Baeyens · #5,342 worldwide 1.6k citations · 59 works
  3. 3 Daniël Pipeleers · #31,202 worldwide 496 citations · 81 works
  4. 4 Ronny Lesthaeghe · #33,573 worldwide 223 citations · 40 works
  5. 5 Paul Devroey · #34,087 worldwide 567 citations · 141 works
  6. 6 Wim Thiery · #37,098 worldwide 646 citations · 65 works
  7. 7 Johan Smitz · #43,710 worldwide 339 citations · 87 works
  8. 8 Jacques De Keyser · #46,778 worldwide 268 citations · 53 works
  9. 9 D.L. Massart · #47,575 worldwide 770 citations · 147 works
  10. 10 Patrick Haentjens · #53,501 worldwide 195 citations · 47 works
All ranked researchers at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Which keywords describe research at Vrije Universiteit Brussel?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, European Union, Human Rights, Epidemiology, Sustainability and Climate Change.

▲ 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. Globalization185▲ 1.77×102 topics
  2. Machine Learning172◆ 0.99×78 topics
  3. Deep Learning158◆ 0.87×74 topics
  4. Epidemiology158▼ 0.75×117 topics
  5. Climate Change132◆ 0.92×92 topics
  6. Sustainability129◆ 0.99×82 topics
  7. Mental Health95▲ 1.22×39 topics
  8. Human Rights94▲ 1.71×60 topics
  9. Social Media90▲ 1.19×33 topics
  10. Artificial Intelligence86▲ 1.18×37 topics
  11. Public Health81◆ 1.05×53 topics
  12. Neural Networks79◆ 0.96×34 topics
  13. Renewable Energy77◆ 1.01×40 topics
  14. Quality of Life76◆ 0.99×53 topics
  15. Big Data63▲ 1.30×23 topics
  16. Identity59▲ 1.52×55 topics
  17. Neoliberalism56▲ 3.0×23 topics
  18. European Union55▲ 4.6×22 topics
  19. Ethical Considerations54▲ 3.0×19 topics
  20. Surveillance53▲ 3.7×6 topics
  21. Ethics52▲ 2.0×38 topics
  22. Gender51▲ 1.77×39 topics
  23. Electric Vehicles49▲ 3.1×4 topics
  24. Ethnicity48▲ 2.4×19 topics
  25. Labor Market43▲ 2.7×11 topics
  26. International Law43▲ 2.6×27 topics
  27. Global Governance42▲ 3.5×16 topics
  28. Discrimination39▲ 3.8×8 topics
  29. 3D Printing38▲ 3.1×5 topics
  30. Immigration34▲ 5.7×8 topics
  31. Accountability33▲ 5.7×4 topics
  32. Citizenship32▲ 4.9×9 topics
  33. Cosmopolitanism30▲ 5.3×6 topics
  34. End-of-Life30▲ 6.3×3 topics
  35. Political Communication28▲ 9.4×2 topics
  36. Health Care Costs27▲ 6.2×2 topics
  37. Privacy Concerns27▲ 6.5×3 topics
  38. Advance Care Planning25▲ 8.0×1 topic
  39. Family Perspectives25▲ 8.0×1 topic
  40. European Integration25▲ 8.3×6 topics

Which research topics does Vrije Universiteit Brussel publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Advanced Battery Technologies Research, Photonic and Optical Devices, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues and Ethics and Social Impacts of AI.

Advanced Battery Technol…27Advanced Battery Technologies Research: 27 fractional worksPhotonic and Optical Dev…25Photonic and Optical Devices: 25 fractional worksPalliative Care and End-of-Life Issues: 25 fractional worksEthics and Social Impacts of AI: 22 fractional worksSocial Media and Politics: 21 fractional worksMigration, Refugees, and Integration: 21 fractional worksPrivacy, Security, and Data Protection: 20 fractional worksEuropean Union Policy an…19European Union Policy and Governance: 19 fractional worksReproductive Biology and Fertility: 18 fractional worksUrban Transport and Accessibility: 18 fractional works
Automotive EngineeringElectrical and Electronic EngineeringPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthSafety Research4 others

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

  1. 1 Advanced Battery Technologies ResearchAutomotive Engineering 27 works
  2. 2 Photonic and Optical DevicesElectrical and Electronic Engineering 25 works
  3. 3 Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 25 works
  4. 4 Ethics and Social Impacts of AISafety Research 22 works
  5. 5 Social Media and PoliticsCommunication 21 works
  6. 6 Migration, Refugees, and IntegrationSociology and Political Science 21 works
  7. 7 Privacy, Security, and Data ProtectionSociology and Political Science 20 works
  8. 8 European Union Policy and GovernancePolitical Science and International Relations 19 works
  9. 9 Reproductive Biology and FertilityPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 18 works
  10. 10 Urban Transport and AccessibilityTransportation 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 available26.9%not open73.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors21.9%domestic only78.1%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Vrije Universiteit Brussel's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 8% 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 Brussels

All research institutions in Brussels

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.