Science Explorer Interactive view Map
University · Williamsburg · United States

William & Mary

In research, William & Mary stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,465 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#2,406 of 12,888 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#1,439 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Environmental Chemistry, Geophysics and Oceanography — Environmental Chemistry is 9.3× its share of world research.

wm.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#3,036
of 28,054 · #1,216 all time
Rank in United States
#434
of 4,192
Research works
15k
▼ 8% vs 2013–17
Citations
349k
23.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
16.3%
record average 16.5%
Open access
36%
world 28%

What is William & Mary 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 #1,465 of 10,521 16.3%860 #640
Physical SciencesDomain #2,406 of 12,888 17.2%731 #978
Social SciencesField #1,439 of 6,365 18.1%457 #631
Computer ScienceField #1,330 of 4,667 24.2%147 #293
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,010 of 2,578 16.6%147 #582
Environmental ScienceField #1,475 of 3,551 17.0%202 #506
Arts and HumanitiesField #926 of 1,998 9.4%154 #716
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #559 of 1,201 17.7%94 #322
PsychologyField #1,327 of 2,181 17.2%111 #571
Physics and AstronomyField #1,050 of 1,646 20.4%115 #755

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where William & Mary 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#640 #1,465
  2. Physical Sciences#978 #2,406
  3. Social Sciences#631 #1,439
  4. Computer Science#293 #1,330
  5. Sociology and Political Science#582 #1,010
  6. Environmental Science#506 #1,475
  7. Arts and Humanities#716 #926
  8. Political Science and International Relations#322 #559
  9. Psychology#571 #1,327
  10. Physics and Astronomy#755 #1,050
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 William & Mary specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Environmental Chemistry takes 9.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Environmental ChemistrySubfield · 36.8 works9.3×
  2. GeophysicsSubfield · 55.1 works8.7×
  3. OceanographySubfield · 34.3 works6.7×
← 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: 0.39× its world share, 33 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.50× its world share, 48 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.35× its world share, 6 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.90× its world share, 26 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.22× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.13× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.75× its world share, 21 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.04× its world share, 147 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 4.81× its world share, 137 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.13× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.23× its world share, 63 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.24× its world share, 202 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.26× its world share, 16 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.26× its world share, 27 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 2.85× its world share, 115 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.08× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.53× its world share, 25 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.22× its world share, 77 worksMedicineNursing: 0.42× its world share, 4 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.50× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.94× its world share, 154 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.82× its world share, 48 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.53× its world share, 27 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.63× its world share, 63 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.01× its world share, 111 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.99× its world share, 457 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 4.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at William & Mary?

Ranked on the composite score, Robert J. Orth, Gianfranco Ciardo and T. Averett lead among researchers whose main affiliation is William & Mary.

  1. 1 Robert J. Orth United States · #17,838 worldwide 718 citations · 54 works
  2. 2 Gianfranco Ciardo United States · #22,656 worldwide 600 citations · 53 works
  3. 3 T. Averett United States · #29,282 worldwide 622 citations · 41 works
  4. 4 Junping Shi United States · #31,386 worldwide 557 citations · 59 works
  5. 5 Enrico Rossi United States · #33,262 worldwide 814 citations · 55 works
  6. 6 Denys Poshyvanyk United States · #34,506 worldwide 817 citations · 80 works
  7. 7 Henry Krakauer United States · #36,693 worldwide 843 citations · 77 works
  8. 8 Richard Price United States · #39,514 worldwide 170 citations · 117 works
  9. 9 John M. Hoenig United States · #44,580 worldwide 385 citations · 54 works
  10. 10 Ira L. Reiss United States · #53,790 worldwide 359 citations · 32 works
All ranked researchers at William & Mary

Which keywords describe research at William & Mary?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Tomography, Seismic Noise, Surface Wave, Human Rights, Globalization, Gender and Anaerobic.

▲ 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 Change122▲ 2.5×71 topics
  2. Globalization70▲ 1.96×74 topics
  3. Human Rights58▲ 3.1×41 topics
  4. Tomography50▲ 15×5 topics
  5. Seismic Noise50▲ 57×1 topic
  6. Surface Wave50▲ 57×1 topic
  7. Gender44▲ 4.5×39 topics
  8. Mental Health43▲ 1.63×28 topics
  9. Identity41▲ 3.1×45 topics
  10. Colonialism40▲ 4.7×35 topics
  11. Nationalism39▲ 4.6×23 topics
  12. History38▲ 3.0×31 topics
  13. Microbial Communities36▲ 4.6×8 topics
  14. Religion33▲ 3.9×28 topics
  15. Anaerobic33▲ 26×1 topic
  16. Methane Oxidation33▲ 22×1 topic
  17. Ecosystem Services32▲ 4.6×8 topics
  18. Electron Acceleration32▲ 26×2 topics
  19. Culture32▲ 3.3×19 topics
  20. Literature32▲ 3.2×28 topics
  21. Solar Wind31▲ 18×2 topics
  22. Social Inequality31▲ 6.4×10 topics
  23. Ionosphere31▲ 30×1 topic
  24. Magnetosphere31▲ 30×1 topic
  25. Criminal Justice30▲ 7.5×5 topics
  26. Fisheries Sustainability30▲ 18×2 topics
  27. Public Opinion26▲ 11×6 topics
  28. Sea-Level Rise24▲ 12×5 topics
  29. Trophic Cascades23▲ 13×2 topics
  30. Racial Disparities22▲ 24×3 topics
  31. Prison System20▲ 20×2 topics
  32. Ecosystem Management20▲ 19×1 topic
  33. Marine Fisheries20▲ 27×1 topic
  34. Race20▲ 10×13 topics
  35. Society20▲ 5.8×8 topics
  36. Incarceration Effects20▲ 38×1 topic
  37. Mass Incarceration20▲ 38×1 topic
  38. Intersectionality20▲ 5.9×9 topics
  39. Coastal Protection19▲ 17×2 topics
  40. Political Philosophy17▲ 16×3 topics

Which research topics does William & Mary publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Seismic Waves and Analysis, Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena, Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics and Marine and fisheries research.

Seismic Waves and Analysis50Seismic Waves and Analysis: 50 fractional worksMethane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 33 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 31 fractional worksMarine and fisheries research: 20 fractional worksCriminal Justice and Corrections Analysis: 20 fractional worksAmerican Constitutional …15American Constitutional Law and Politics: 15 fractional worksCoastal wetland ecosystem dynamics: 15 fractional worksMarine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies: 11 fractional worksMarine and coastal ecosystems: 10 fractional worksParticle physics theoretical and experimental studies: 10 fractional works
GeophysicsEnvironmental ChemistryAstronomy and AstrophysicsGlobal and Planetary Change5 others

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

  1. 1 Seismic Waves and Analysis Geophysics 50 works
  2. 2 Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena Environmental Chemistry 33 works
  3. 3 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 31 works
  4. 4 Marine and fisheries research Global and Planetary Change 20 works
  5. 5 Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis Sociology and Political Science 20 works
  6. 6 American Constitutional Law and Politics Political Science and International Relations 15 works
  7. 7 Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics Ecology 15 works
  8. 8 Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies Global and Planetary Change 11 works
  9. 9 Marine and coastal ecosystems Oceanography 10 works
  10. 10 Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies Nuclear and High Energy Physics 10 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 available36.1%not open63.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors10.8%domestic only89.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has William & Mary's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 8% 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 Williamsburg

All research institutions in Williamsburg

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.