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University · Waterloo · Canada

Wilfrid Laurier University

In research, Wilfrid Laurier University stands highest in Social Sciences (#871 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#957 of 6,365 worldwide) and Business, Management and Accounting (#571 of 2,578 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Finance — Finance is 4.7× its share of world research.

wlu.caROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#2,790
of 28,054 · #1,622 all time
Rank in Canada
#58
of 403
Research works
13k
▼ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
262k
20.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.3%
record average 16.5%
Open access
35%
world 28%

What is Wilfrid Laurier 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 #871 of 10,521 23.8%989 #436
Social SciencesField #957 of 6,365 22.0%481 #505
Business, Management and AccountingField #571 of 2,578 33.7%111 #470
Physical SciencesDomain #3,305 of 12,888 16.8%404 #1664
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #753 of 2,578 22.5%202 #354
Health SciencesDomain #4,388 of 11,982 18.6%219 #3425
PsychologyField #882 of 2,181 22.1%166 #457
Life SciencesDomain #3,181 of 7,800 21.1%182 #2421
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField #726 of 1,775 30.5%96 #506
Environmental ScienceField #2,030 of 3,551 22.6%97 #1176

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Wilfrid Laurier 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#436 #871
  2. Social Sciences#505 #957
  3. Business, Management and Accounting#470 #571
  4. Physical Sciences#1,664 #3,305
  5. Sociology and Political Science#354 #753
  6. Health Sciences#3,425 #4,388
  7. Psychology#457 #882
  8. Life Sciences#2,421 #3,181
  9. Economics, Econometrics and Finance#506 #726
  10. Environmental Science#1,176 #2,030
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 Wilfrid Laurier University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Finance takes 4.7× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. FinanceSubfield · 25.5 works4.7×
← 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: 0.65× its world share, 55 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.58× its world share, 56 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.84× its world share, 15 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.88× its world share, 55 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.16× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.18× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.46× its world share, 13 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.81× its world share, 114 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.29× its world share, 36 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.31× its world share, 5 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.28× its world share, 74 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.09× its world share, 97 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.25× its world share, 16 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.43× its world share, 30 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.46× its world share, 18 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.64× its world share, 78 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.39× its world share, 133 worksMedicineNursing: 0.57× its world share, 5 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.68× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.10× its world share, 109 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.92× its world share, 111 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.56× its world share, 27 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.50× its world share, 96 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 3.03× its world share, 166 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.12× its world share, 481 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Psychology, 3.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Wilfrid Laurier University?

Ranked on the composite score, Margaret Walton‐Roberts, John W. Y. Lit and Erika Rummel lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Wilfrid Laurier University.

  1. 1 Margaret Walton‐Roberts Canada · #49,301 worldwide 218 citations · 38 works
  2. 2 John W. Y. Lit Canada · #55,339 worldwide 193 citations · 40 works
  3. 3 Erika Rummel Canada · #57,320 worldwide 126 citations · 34 works
  4. 4 Alison Mountz Canada · #70,465 worldwide 335 citations · 30 works
  5. 5 Kenneth Hewitt Canada · #71,933 worldwide 355 citations · 29 works
  6. 6 Ronald L. Grimes Canada · #85,594 worldwide 99 citations · 36 works
  7. 7 Jack Edmonds Canada · #107,041 worldwide 1.3k citations · 21 works
  8. 8 Jennifer L. Baltzer Canada · #109,636 worldwide 348 citations · 27 works
  9. 9 Oscar Cole-Arnal Canada · #140,997 worldwide 64 citations · 26 works
  10. 10 Susan James Canada · #154,898 worldwide 107 citations · 45 works
All ranked researchers at Wilfrid Laurier University

Which keywords describe research at Wilfrid Laurier University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Climate Change, Mental Health, Identity, Nationalism, Gender, Social Justice and Immigration.

▲ 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 Change105▲ 2.2×71 topics
  2. Globalization97▲ 2.8×81 topics
  3. Mental Health76▲ 2.9×37 topics
  4. Identity52▲ 4.0×40 topics
  5. Sustainability44◆ 1.02×57 topics
  6. Gender42▲ 4.3×36 topics
  7. Social Justice42▲ 4.0×30 topics
  8. Nationalism40▲ 4.8×24 topics
  9. Public Health40▲ 1.52×34 topics
  10. History37▲ 2.9×29 topics
  11. Social Media36▲ 1.42×24 topics
  12. Religion36▲ 4.2×26 topics
  13. Economic Growth35▲ 2.3×22 topics
  14. Corporate Governance34▲ 2.6×16 topics
  15. Colonialism33▲ 3.9×30 topics
  16. Social Support31▲ 3.1×13 topics
  17. Neoliberalism29▲ 4.6×20 topics
  18. Immigration28▲ 14×7 topics
  19. Social Capital26▲ 2.8×15 topics
  20. Well-being26▲ 3.8×13 topics
  21. Health25▲ 3.5×14 topics
  22. Labor Market25▲ 4.7×11 topics
  23. Resilience24▲ 2.8×15 topics
  24. Cultural Identity24▲ 2.6×18 topics
  25. Politics23▲ 4.7×13 topics
  26. Intersectionality23▲ 7.0×12 topics
  27. Community Engagement22▲ 3.6×11 topics
  28. Infectious Diseases21▲ 3.5×7 topics
  29. Feminism20▲ 3.9×17 topics
  30. Hydrology20▲ 8.8×4 topics
  31. Social Networks20▲ 4.1×9 topics
  32. Vulnerability20▲ 4.8×9 topics
  33. Population Dynamics19▲ 4.3×9 topics
  34. Monetary Policy19▲ 4.3×10 topics
  35. Emotion18▲ 5.0×10 topics
  36. Arctic17▲ 8.2×4 topics
  37. Cultural Competence17▲ 7.3×7 topics
  38. Mathematical Modeling15▲ 9.7×2 topics
  39. Predator-Prey Interactions14▲ 9.9×3 topics
  40. Social Policy14▲ 8.1×4 topics

Which research topics does Wilfrid Laurier University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models, Homelessness and Social Issues, Migration and Labor Dynamics and Corporate Finance and Governance.

Mathematical and Theoret…12Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models: 12 fractional worksHomelessness and Social …12Homelessness and Social Issues: 12 fractional worksMigration and Labor Dynamics: 11 fractional worksCorporate Finance and Go…11Corporate Finance and Governance: 11 fractional worksCanadian Identity and Hi…11Canadian Identity and History: 11 fractional worksClimate change and permafrost: 10 fractional worksIndigenous Health, Education, and Rights: 8 fractional worksVietnamese History and C…8Vietnamese History and Culture Studies: 8 fractional worksBlockchain Technology Applications and Security: 7 fractional worksNeurobiology of Language and Bilingualism: 7 fractional works
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthGeneral Health ProfessionsSociology and Political ScienceAccounting4 others

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

  1. 1 Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 12 works
  2. 2 Homelessness and Social Issues General Health Professions 12 works
  3. 3 Migration and Labor Dynamics Sociology and Political Science 11 works
  4. 4 Corporate Finance and Governance Accounting 11 works
  5. 5 Canadian Identity and History Sociology and Political Science 11 works
  6. 6 Climate change and permafrost Atmospheric Science 10 works
  7. 7 Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights Health 8 works
  8. 8 Vietnamese History and Culture Studies Sociology and Political Science 8 works
  9. 9 Blockchain Technology Applications and Security Information Systems 7 works
  10. 10 Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism Cognitive Neuroscience 7 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 available34.6%not open65.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors18.4%domestic only81.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Wilfrid Laurier University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% 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 Waterloo

All research institutions in Waterloo

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.