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University · Lexington · United States

Washington and Lee University

In research, Washington and Lee University stands highest in Social Sciences (#3,722 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#3,226 of 6,365 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#9,935 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025.

wlu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#10,000
of 28,054 · #7,403 all time
Rank in United States
#1,335
of 4,192
Research works
4.5k
▼ 33% vs 2013–17
Citations
39k
8.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
14.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
26%
world 28%

What is Washington and Lee 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 #3,722 of 10,521 17.1%279 #2243
Social SciencesField #3,226 of 6,365 16.4%166 #2260
Physical SciencesDomain #9,935 of 12,888 7.1%87 #9786

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 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#2,243 #3,722
  2. Social Sciences#2,260 #3,226
  3. Physical Sciences#9,786 #9,935
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.

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, 7 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.39× its world share, 9 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.30× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.65× its world share, 11 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.59× its world share, 19 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.58× its world share, 17 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.25× its world share, 16 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.83× its world share, 17 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.24× its world share, 4 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 2.07× its world share, 10 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.28× its world share, 3 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.45× its world share, 5 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.25× its world share, 20 worksMedicineNursing: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 3.48× its world share, 42 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2.06× its world share, 28 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.85× its world share, 3 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.07× its world share, 18 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.66× its world share, 21 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 3.13× its world share, 166 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 3.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Washington and Lee University?

Ranked on the composite score, Mark A. Drumbl, David Millon and Herbert Wechsler lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Washington and Lee University.

  1. 1 Mark A. Drumbl United States · #122,693 worldwide 73 citations · 65 works
  2. 2 David Millon United States · #179,869 worldwide 54 citations · 26 works
  3. 3 Herbert Wechsler United States · #184,517 worldwide 261 citations · 18 works
  4. 4 F Lewis United States · #233,559 worldwide 17 citations · 59 works
  5. 5 Lewis F. Powell United States · #317,442 worldwide 12 citations · 41 works
  6. 6 Peter Grajzl United States · #337,834 worldwide 62 citations · 24 works
  7. 7 Pamela H. Simpson United States · #436,670 worldwide 16 citations · 25 works
  8. 8 Paul Bourdon United States · #452,741 worldwide 90 citations · 40 works
  9. 9 Timothy Stoltzfus Jost United States · #499,423 worldwide 20 citations · 38 works
  10. 10 Frederic L. Kirgis United States · #506,658 worldwide 22 citations · 25 works
All ranked researchers at Washington and Lee University

Which keywords describe research at Washington and Lee University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Human Rights, Globalization, History, Nationalism, Religion, Corporate Governance, Criminal Justice and International Law.

▲ 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. Human Rights32▲ 7.4×35 topics
  2. Globalization27▲ 3.3×47 topics
  3. History18▲ 6.2×28 topics
  4. Social Media13▲ 2.2×15 topics
  5. Corporate Governance13▲ 4.2×12 topics
  6. Nationalism13▲ 6.6×14 topics
  7. Religion13▲ 6.5×14 topics
  8. Gender10▲ 4.4×19 topics
  9. Culture10▲ 4.4×14 topics
  10. Identity10▲ 3.2×20 topics
  11. Criminal Justice10▲ 10×7 topics
  12. Democracy10▲ 6.4×13 topics
  13. Ethics10▲ 4.7×17 topics
  14. International Law9▲ 7.3×10 topics
  15. Social Movements9▲ 7.4×8 topics
  16. Philosophy9▲ 4.8×11 topics
  17. Feminism9▲ 7.4×6 topics
  18. Literature9▲ 3.8×15 topics
  19. Public Opinion9▲ 16×5 topics
  20. Constitutional Law8▲ 14×4 topics
  21. Society8▲ 9.5×10 topics
  22. Migration8▲ 5.4×12 topics
  23. Colonialism7▲ 3.7×16 topics
  24. Regulation7▲ 3.3×13 topics
  25. Politics7▲ 5.9×9 topics
  26. Content Analysis6▲ 12×3 topics
  27. Memory6▲ 6.0×9 topics
  28. Environmental Law6▲ 6.8×3 topics
  29. Federalism6▲ 21×3 topics
  30. Political Philosophy6▲ 23×3 topics
  31. Intellectual Property5▲ 11×2 topics
  32. Transitional Justice5▲ 16×4 topics
  33. Reformation5▲ 42×2 topics
  34. Constitutionalism5▲ 13×4 topics
  35. Legal History5▲ 42×4 topics
  36. News Media5▲ 25×2 topics
  37. Property Rights5▲ 18×5 topics
  38. American founding5▲ 37×1 topic
  39. Constitutional government5▲ 37×1 topic
  40. Cultural Diplomacy5▲ 14×3 topics

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

By volume in 2022–2025: 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 Ameri…4Race, History, and American Society: 4 fractional worksMedia Studies and Commun…4Media Studies and Communication: 4 fractional worksDigital Games and Media: 3 fractional worksSocial Media and Politics: 3 fractional worksLabor Movements and Unions3Labor Movements and Unions: 3 fractional worksIslamic Studies and History: 3 fractional worksStress Responses and Cortisol: 3 fractional works
Political Science and International RelationsLawSociology and Political ScienceCommunication2 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 Social Media and Politics Communication 3 works
  8. 8 Labor Movements and Unions Public Administration 3 works
  9. 9 Islamic Studies and History Political Science and International Relations 3 works
  10. 10 Stress Responses and Cortisol Behavioral Neuroscience 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: 28% of research is openly available.

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

World: 19% is written across borders.

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

Output in 2018–2022 was 33% lower 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 Lexington

All research institutions in Lexington

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.