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University · Bellingham · United States

Western Washington University

In research, Western Washington University stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,813 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#1,263 of 6,365 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#5,211 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025.

wwu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#5,488
of 28,054 · #2,814 all time
Rank in United States
#751
of 4,192
Research works
7.5k
▲ 22% vs 2013–17
Citations
163k
21.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
16.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
31%
world 28%

What is Western Washington 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 #1,813 of 10,521 21.5%433 #763
Social SciencesField #1,263 of 6,365 23.6%248 #670
Physical SciencesDomain #5,211 of 12,888 11.5%297 #2776
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,347 of 2,578 23.1%75 #650
PsychologyField #1,437 of 2,181 23.3%69 #539
Health SciencesDomain #9,498 of 11,982 18.7%61 #6699
Computer ScienceField #3,763 of 4,667 8.1%64 #2793
Arts and HumanitiesField #1,643 of 1,998 11.5%64 #788
Life SciencesDomain #6,438 of 7,800 10.7%89 #6106

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Western Washington 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#763 #1,813
  2. Social Sciences#670 #1,263
  3. Physical Sciences#2,776 #5,211
  4. Sociology and Political Science#650 #1,347
  5. Psychology#539 #1,437
  6. Health Sciences#6,699 #9,498
  7. Computer Science#2,793 #3,763
  8. Arts and Humanities#788 #1,643
  9. Life Sciences#6,106 #6,438
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: 0.46× its world share, 19 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.81× its world share, 38 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.38× its world share, 3 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.97× its world share, 28 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.21× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.61× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.16× its world share, 16 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.94× its world share, 64 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 4.29× its world share, 59 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.62× its world share, 5 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.45× its world share, 59 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.06× its world share, 46 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.48× its world share, 15 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.62× its world share, 17 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.72× its world share, 14 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.88× its world share, 20 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.24× its world share, 40 worksMedicineNursing: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 2.51× its world share, 64 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.94× its world share, 27 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.97× its world share, 8 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.90× its world share, 17 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.57× its world share, 69 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.23× its world share, 248 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 4.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Western Washington University?

Ranked on the composite score, Charles A. Ross, Todd Donovan and Jay D. Teachman lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Western Washington University.

  1. 1 Charles A. Ross United States · #16,627 worldwide 796 citations · 50 works
  2. 2 Todd Donovan United States · #64,501 worldwide 218 citations · 34 works
  3. 3 Jay D. Teachman United States · #67,120 worldwide 346 citations · 34 works
  4. 4 Steven Globerman United States · #88,086 worldwide 255 citations · 45 works
  5. 5 George F. Oertel United States · #90,939 worldwide 159 citations · 37 works
  6. 6 June R. P. Ross United States · #101,861 worldwide 715 citations · 22 works
  7. 7 Jennifer E. Purcell United States · #112,622 worldwide 283 citations · 29 works
  8. 8 M. S. Rice United States · #133,270 worldwide 222 citations · 46 works
  9. 9 Richard J. Gardner United States · #135,455 worldwide 164 citations · 39 works
  10. 10 Árpád Bényi United States · #147,702 worldwide 127 citations · 34 works
All ranked researchers at Western Washington University

Which keywords describe research at Western Washington University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Gender, Globalization, History, Climate Change, Identity, Colonialism, Intersectionality and Tectonics.

▲ 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 Change37▲ 1.58×50 topics
  2. Globalization36▲ 2.1×50 topics
  3. Gender28▲ 5.8×26 topics
  4. Machine Learning27◆ 0.92×45 topics
  5. Education26▲ 1.71×33 topics
  6. Mental Health25▲ 1.91×29 topics
  7. History24▲ 3.9×23 topics
  8. Identity22▲ 3.4×28 topics
  9. Colonialism19▲ 4.6×19 topics
  10. Culture17▲ 3.7×20 topics
  11. Social Justice16▲ 3.2×18 topics
  12. Nationalism16▲ 4.0×16 topics
  13. Literature15▲ 3.1×16 topics
  14. STEM Education14▲ 3.6×6 topics
  15. Intersectionality14▲ 9.0×5 topics
  16. Tectonics14▲ 13×3 topics
  17. Religion12▲ 2.8×16 topics
  18. Ethics12▲ 2.8×20 topics
  19. Student Engagement12▲ 3.3×12 topics
  20. Politics12▲ 4.8×12 topics
  21. Democracy11▲ 3.6×12 topics
  22. Teacher Preparation11▲ 18×4 topics
  23. Feminism11▲ 4.3×9 topics
  24. Neuroscience10▲ 3.9×10 topics
  25. Migration10▲ 3.4×10 topics
  26. Society10▲ 5.8×10 topics
  27. Social Movements10▲ 3.7×7 topics
  28. Emotion9▲ 5.0×9 topics
  29. Global Governance9▲ 4.4×9 topics
  30. Plate Tectonics9▲ 6.5×3 topics
  31. Self-Regulation9▲ 5.5×4 topics
  32. Academic Achievement9▲ 5.8×8 topics
  33. Race8▲ 8.6×10 topics
  34. Public Opinion8▲ 6.9×5 topics
  35. Sedimentation7▲ 15×2 topics
  36. Engineering Education7▲ 9.2×4 topics
  37. Holocene7▲ 7.0×3 topics
  38. Social Identity7▲ 8.6×4 topics
  39. Implicit Bias7▲ 17×2 topics
  40. Sea Level7▲ 7.8×2 topics

Which research topics does Western Washington University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Geological formations and processes, Geological and Geochemical Analysis, Geology and Paleoclimatology Research and Social and Intergroup Psychology.

Geological formations an…6Geological formations and processes: 6 fractional worksGeological and Geochemic…6Geological and Geochemical Analysis: 6 fractional worksGeology and Paleoclimatology Research: 6 fractional worksSocial and Intergroup Ps…5Social and Intergroup Psychology: 5 fractional worksScience Education and Pe…5Science Education and Pedagogy: 5 fractional worksHistorical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis: 5 fractional worksCritical Race Theory in Education: 4 fractional worksLGBTQ Health, Identity, …4LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy: 4 fractional worksGender Politics and Representation: 4 fractional worksBiochemical and Structural Characterization: 4 fractional works
Earth-Surface ProcessesGeophysicsAtmospheric ScienceSociology and Political Science5 others

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

  1. 1 Geological formations and processes Earth-Surface Processes 6 works
  2. 2 Geological and Geochemical Analysis Geophysics 6 works
  3. 3 Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Atmospheric Science 6 works
  4. 4 Social and Intergroup Psychology Sociology and Political Science 5 works
  5. 5 Science Education and Pedagogy Education 5 works
  6. 6 Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis History and Philosophy of Science 5 works
  7. 7 Critical Race Theory in Education Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  8. 8 LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy Social Psychology 4 works
  9. 9 Gender Politics and Representation Gender Studies 4 works
  10. 10 Biochemical and Structural Characterization Molecular Biology 4 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 available31.3%not open68.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors9.0%domestic only91.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Western Washington University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 22% 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 Bellingham

All research institutions in Bellingham

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.