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University · Lexington · United States

Washington and Lee University

In research, Washington and Lee University stands highest in Social Sciences (#2,428 of 9,585 worldwide), Social Sciences (#3,291 of 5,988 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#9,058 of 10,670 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Law (Law is 7.6× its share of world research).

wlu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#7,059
of 22,385 · #5,986 all time
Rank in United States
#943
of 3,332
Research works
4.5k
◆ 1% vs 2018-21
Citations
39k
8.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
9.2%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.87×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
26%
world 40%
International
6%
world 18%
Washington and Lee University

What is Washington and Lee University known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #2,428 of 9,585 10.1%279 #2416
Social SciencesField #3,291 of 5,988 8.9%166 #3337
Physical SciencesDomain #9,058 of 10,670 6.4%87 #15152

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Washington and Lee 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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022-now. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#2,416 #2,428
  2. Social Sciences#3,337 #3,291
  3. Physical Sciences#15,152 #9,058
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

Which fields of science does Washington and Lee University work in?

In 2022-now, 66% of research at Washington and Lee University is in Social Sciences, 21% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (39%), Arts and Humanities (10%), Business, Management and Accounting (7%). It does 2.6× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 302 fractional works · 66.2% of its workSocial Sciences: 176 fractional works · 38.7% of its workSociology and Political Science: 57 fractional works · 12.5% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 41 fractional works · 9.1% of its workLaw: 20 fractional works · 4.4% of its workEducation: 14 fractional works · 3.2% of its workCommunication: 8 fractional works · 1.7% of its workAnthropology: 8 fractional works · 1.7% of its workDemography: 5 fractional works · 1.1% of its workCultural Studies: 4 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSafety Research: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workGender Studies: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPublic Administration: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeneral Social Sciences: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workLinguistics and Language: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workArts and Humanities: 45 fractional works · 9.9% of its workHistory: 10 fractional works · 2.3% of its workPhilosophy: 10 fractional works · 2.2% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 5 fractional works · 1.1% of its workArcheology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workReligious studies: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMusic: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workVisual Arts and Performing Arts: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workClassics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 32 fractional works · 7.1% of its workAccounting: 10 fractional works · 2.3% of its workStrategy and Management: 9 fractional works · 2.0% of its workManagement Information Systems: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMarketing: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPsychology: 24 fractional works · 5.3% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 8 fractional works · 1.7% of its workClinical Psychology: 7 fractional works · 1.6% of its workSocial Psychology: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 19 fractional works · 4.2% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 13 fractional works · 2.9% of its workFinance: 4 fractional works · 1.0% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDecision Sciences: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysical Sciences: 95 fractional works · 20.8% of its workComputer Science: 22 fractional works · 4.8% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 10 fractional works · 2.1% of its workInformation Systems: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Science: 19 fractional works · 4.1% of its workEcology: 5 fractional works · 1.2% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workWater Science and Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 18 fractional works · 3.9% of its workGeochemistry and Petrology: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workGeology: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAtmospheric Science: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeophysics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workOceanography: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPaleontology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEngineering: 17 fractional works · 3.7% of its workComputational Mechanics: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBuilding and Construction: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMechanics of Materials: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMechanical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 1.0% of its workMathematics: 11 fractional works · 2.3% of its workStatistics and Probability: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMathematical Physics: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAlgebra and Number Theory: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeometry and Topology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDiscrete Mathematics and Combinatorics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workApplied Mathematics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workChemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 31 fractional works · 6.8% of its workNeuroscience: 12 fractional works · 2.7% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workBehavioral Neuroscience: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEndocrine and Autonomic Systems: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeurology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 10 fractional works · 2.1% of its workMolecular Biology: 5 fractional works · 1.2% of its workGenetics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 8 fractional works · 1.7% of its workPlant Science: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSoil Science: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workHealth Sciences: 28 fractional works · 6.2% of its workMedicine: 23 fractional works · 5.0% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSurgery: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workReproductive Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysiology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGastroenterology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 7 fractional works · 1.4% of its workHealth Professions: 5 fractional works · 1.2% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKWashington andLee University456fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences7%Physical Sciences21%Health Sciences6%Social Sciences66%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 23 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences17638.7%
    2. Arts and Humanities459.9%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting327.1%
    4. Psychology245.3%
    5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance194.2%
    6. Decision Sciences40.9%
    1. Computer Science224.8%
    2. Environmental Science194.1%
    3. Earth and Planetary Sciences183.9%
    4. Engineering173.7%
    5. Mathematics112.3%
    6. Materials Science40.8%
    7. Physics and Astronomy30.6%
    8. Chemistry20.4%
    9. Energy00.1%
    1. Neuroscience122.7%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology102.1%
    3. Agricultural and Biological Sciences81.7%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology20.4%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.0%
    1. Medicine235.0%
    2. Health Professions51.2%
    3. Nursing00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Washington and Lee University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Law takes 7.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. LawSubfield · 20.2 works7.6×
← 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: 0.35× its world share, 8 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.40× its world share, 10 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.35× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.65× its world share, 12 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.24× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.62× its world share, 22 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.50× its world share, 18 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.25× its world share, 17 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.83× its world share, 19 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.23× its world share, 4 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.99× its world share, 11 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.27× its world share, 3 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.44× its world share, 5 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.26× its world share, 23 worksMedicineNursing: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 3.44× its world share, 45 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2.20× its world share, 32 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.93× its world share, 4 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.97× its world share, 19 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.76× its world share, 24 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 3.06× its world share, 176 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 3.4×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 23 fields, with their numbers
  1. Arts and Humanities3.44×45 works
  2. Social Sciences3.06×176 works
  3. Earth and Planetary Sciences2.50×18 works
  4. Business, Management and Accounting2.20×32 works
  5. Mathematics1.99×11 works
  6. Economics, Econometrics and Finance1.97×19 works
  7. Psychology1.76×24 works
  8. Neuroscience1.65×12 works
  9. Decision Sciences0.93×4 works
  10. Environmental Science0.83×19 works
  11. Computer Science0.62×22 works
  12. Health Professions0.44×5 works
  13. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.40×10 works
  14. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.35×8 works
  15. Immunology and Microbiology0.35×2 works
  16. Physics and Astronomy0.27×3 works
  17. Medicine0.26×23 works
  18. Engineering0.25×17 works
  19. Chemistry0.24×2 works
  20. Materials Science0.23×4 works
  21. Nursing0.12×0 works
  22. Energy0.10×0 works
  23. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.07×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Washington and Lee University?

Ranked on the quality score, Mark Coddington, Leonard E. Jarrard and Dan Richard Johnson lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Washington and Lee University.

  1. 1 Mark Coddington United States · #516,822 worldwide 2.5k citations · 38 works
  2. 2 Leonard E. Jarrard United States · #644,036 worldwide 11k citations · 112 works
  3. 3 Dan Richard Johnson United States · #711,247 worldwide 2.5k citations · 78 works
  4. 4 Peter Grajzl United States · #878,023 worldwide 1.2k citations · 169 works
  5. 5 James G. Leyburn United States · #905,320 worldwide 770 citations · 71 works
  6. 6 Megan Fulcher United States · #1,166,452 worldwide 1.2k citations · 39 works
  7. 7 Julie A. Woodzicka United States · #1,199,592 worldwide 4.1k citations · 57 works
  8. 8 James R. Kahn United States · #1,229,171 worldwide 5.4k citations · 171 works
  9. 9 E. William Hamilton United States · #1,368,229 worldwide 2.1k citations · 20 works
  10. 10 Pooja Thakur–Wernz United States · #1,486,485 worldwide 460 citations · 18 works
All ranked researchers at Washington and Lee University

What are the most cited papers from Washington and Lee University?

The most cited paper from Washington and Lee University is "Impacts of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution and KPg Extinction on Mammal Diversification" (Robert W. Meredith et al., 2011), with 1,523 citations. Next come "A Series of Well‐Defined Metathesis Catalysts–Synthesis of [RuCl2(CHR′)(PR3)2] and Its Reactions" (1,482) and "Investigating Variation in Replicability" (1,279).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Impacts of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution and KPg Extinction on Mammal Diversification Robert W. Meredith et al. · Science 22 Sep 2011 1,523
2 A Series of Well‐Defined Metathesis Catalysts–Synthesis of [RuCl2(CHR′)(PR3)2] and Its Reactions Peter A. Schwab, Marcia B. France, Joseph W. Ziller et al. · Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English 2 Oct 1995 1,482
3 Investigating Variation in Replicability Richard Anthony Klein et al. · Social Psychology Open access May 2014 1,279
4 Privacy and Freedom Alan Furman Westin · CERN Document Server (European Organization for Nuclear Research) 1970 1,195
5 On the role of the hippocampus in learning and memory in the rat Leonard E. Jarrard · Behavioral and Neural Biology Jul 1993 1,146
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Washington and Lee University?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Human Rights, Globalization, History, Religion, Nationalism, Corporate Governance, Democracy 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-now 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. Human Rights35▲ 7.4×36 topics
  2. Globalization30▲ 3.4×56 topics
  3. History19▲ 5.9×29 topics
  4. Social Media15▲ 2.3×17 topics
  5. Corporate Governance14▲ 4.3×12 topics
  6. Religion13▲ 6.2×15 topics
  7. Nationalism13▲ 6.3×15 topics
  8. Education12▲ 1.56×23 topics
  9. Ethics12▲ 5.2×20 topics
  10. Democracy11▲ 6.7×14 topics
  11. Identity10▲ 3.2×23 topics
  12. Gender10▲ 4.1×19 topics
  13. International Law10▲ 7.0×10 topics
  14. Social Movements10▲ 7.4×8 topics
  15. Culture10▲ 4.1×14 topics
  16. Criminal Justice10▲ 9.3×7 topics
  17. Philosophy10▲ 4.7×13 topics
  18. Feminism9▲ 6.9×8 topics
  19. Literature9▲ 3.5×16 topics
  20. Public Opinion9▲ 16×5 topics
  21. Colonialism8▲ 3.9×19 topics
  22. Constitutional Law8▲ 13×4 topics
  23. Regulation8▲ 3.2×13 topics
  24. Social Capital8▲ 3.2×7 topics
  25. Society8▲ 8.8×10 topics
  26. Migration8▲ 4.9×12 topics
  27. Memory7▲ 6.3×9 topics
  28. Politics7▲ 5.6×9 topics
  29. Content Analysis6▲ 11×3 topics
  30. Privacy6▲ 4.9×4 topics
  31. Discrimination6▲ 6.6×5 topics
  32. Latin America6▲ 6.9×7 topics
  33. Transitional Justice6▲ 16×4 topics
  34. Environmental Law6▲ 6.1×3 topics
  35. Federalism6▲ 20×3 topics
  36. Political Philosophy6▲ 23×3 topics
  37. Intellectual Property5▲ 10×2 topics
  38. Reformation5▲ 41×2 topics
  39. Constitutionalism5▲ 13×4 topics
  40. Cultural Diplomacy5▲ 14×3 topics

Which research topics does Washington and Lee University publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: American Constitutional Law and Politics, Legal Systems and Judicial Processes, Law in Society and Culture and Race, History, and American Society.

American Constitutional …5American Constitutional Law and Politics: 5 fractional worksLegal Systems and Judici…5Legal Systems and Judicial Processes: 5 fractional worksLaw in Society and Culture: 4 fractional worksRace, History, and American Society: 4 fractional worksMedia Studies and Communication: 4 fractional worksDigital Games and Media: 3 fractional worksLabor Movements and Unions: 3 fractional worksSocial Media and Politics3Social Media and Politics: 3 fractional worksIslamic Studies and History: 3 fractional worksPolitical and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America: 3 fractional works
Political Science and International RelationsLawSociology and Political ScienceCommunication1 others

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

  1. 1 American Constitutional Law and Politics Political Science and International Relations 5 works
  2. 2 Legal Systems and Judicial Processes Political Science and International Relations 5 works
  3. 3 Law in Society and Culture Law 4 works
  4. 4 Race, History, and American Society Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  5. 5 Media Studies and Communication Communication 4 works
  6. 6 Digital Games and Media Sociology and Political Science 3 works
  7. 7 Labor Movements and Unions Public Administration 3 works
  8. 8 Social Media and Politics Communication 3 works
  9. 9 Islamic Studies and History Political Science and International Relations 3 works
  10. 10 Political and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America Sociology and Political Science 3 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 available26.2%not open73.8%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors5.7%domestic only94.3%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Washington and Lee University's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 1% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Washington and Lee University as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0019% in 2024.

still counting0.0050%0.010%Washington and Lee University0.0021% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Washington and Lee University over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%all institutions10.0% in 2025Washington and Lee University8.2% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 12.2% in 2020.

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Washington and Lee University on Science Explorer

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