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Higher Education in Latin America

Higher Education in Latin America is a research topic within Education. Science Explorer counts 2.4k research works in it since 1957. 9.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers covers a wide range of topics related to higher education, knowledge creation, and management models. It includes discussions on educational inequality, academic productivity at research universities, social inclusion in higher education, quality assurance, internationalization of education, and faculty work roles. The papers also address the challenges and policies associated with the modernization and reform of higher education systems.

  • Higher Education
  • Knowledge Management
  • Research Universities
  • Educational Inequality
  • Academic Productivity
  • Social Inclusion
  • Quality Assurance
  • Educational Policy
  • Internationalization
  • Faculty Work Roles
Research works
2.4k
fractional, since 1957
In the world top 10%
236
per year above
Top-10% rate
9.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+6%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
Mexico
52% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Higher Education in Latin America

Which countries lead Higher Education in Latin America research?

By volume, Mexico and Argentina publish the most (261 and 54 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Mexico 261 works
  2. 2 Argentina 54 works
  3. 3 Spain 54 works
  4. 4 Chile 43 works
  5. 5 Colombia 24 works
  6. 6 Peru 18 works
  7. 7 Ecuador 17 works
  8. 8 United States 13 works
  9. 9 Costa Rica 10 works
  10. 10 Brazil 8 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

Mexico: 52.0%Argentina: 10.8%Spain: 10.7%Chile: 8.6%6 others listed: 17.9%52%largest
Mexico261 · 52.0%Argentina54 · 10.8%Spain54 · 10.7%Chile43 · 8.6%6 others listed90 · 17.9%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Higher Education in Latin America research?

By volume in 2022-now, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México publishes the most Higher Education in Latin America research, followed by Universidad de Guadalajara and Universidad Veracruzana.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoMexico 28 works
  2. 2 Universidad de GuadalajaraMexico 23 works
  3. 3 Universidad VeracruzanaMexico 12 works
  4. 4 Tecnológico Nacional de MéxicoMexico 12 works
  5. 5 Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y TécnicasArgentina 11 works
  6. 6 Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo LeónMexico 11 works
  7. 7 National Pedagogic UniversityMexico 10 works
  8. 8 Universidad Autónoma del Estado de HidalgoMexico 8 works
  9. 9 Universidad Autónoma del Estado de MéxicoMexico 7 works
  10. 10 Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas "Francisco García Salinas"Mexico 6 works

What are the most cited papers in Higher Education in Latin America?

The most cited paper in Higher Education in Latin America is "The political economy of higher education in the era of neoliberal globalization: Latin America in comparative perspective" (Carlos Alberto Torres, Daniel Schugurensky, 2002), with 266 citations. Next come "Higher Education and the State in Latin America: Private Challenges to Public Dominance. By Daniel Levy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986. xvii, 434 p. $27.50)." (196) and "Latin American Universities: From an Original Revolution to an Uncertain Transition" (177).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 The political economy of higher education in the era of neoliberal globalization: Latin America in comparative perspective Carlos Alberto Torres, Daniel Schugurensky · Higher Education Open access Jun 2002 266
2 Higher Education and the State in Latin America: Private Challenges to Public Dominance. By Daniel Levy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986. xvii, 434 p. $27.50). Robert E. Scott · American Political Science Review Jun 1987 196
3 Latin American Universities: From an Original Revolution to an Uncertain Transition Rodrigo Arocena, Judith Sutz · Higher Education 4 Oct 2005 177
4 ANÁLISIS DE LOS MODELOS EXPLICATIVOS DE RETENCIÓN DE ESTUDIANTES EN LA UNIVERSIDAD: UNA VISIÓN DESDE LA DESIGUALDAD SOCIAL Sebastián Donoso, Ernesto Schiefelbein · Estudios pedagógicos Open access 2007 143
5 La educación superior en Colombia: situación actual y análisis de eficiencia Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra, Jorge Enrique Ramos-Forero, Pedro Oswaldo Hernández-Santamaría · Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad Open access Mar 2017 116
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Higher Education in Latin America research done?

The largest centres of Higher Education in Latin America research in 2022-now are Mexico City (Mexico), Santiago (Chile), Guadalajara (Mexico) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Guadalajara.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 Mexico CityMexico 76 works
  2. 2 SantiagoChile 25 works
  3. 3 GuadalajaraMexico 24 works
  4. 4 Buenos AiresArgentina 21 works
  5. 5 XalapaMexico 16 works
  6. 6 MadridSpain 15 works
  7. 7 San Nicolás de los GarzaMexico 11 works
  8. 8 BogotáColombia 10 works
  9. 9 TolucaMexico 9 works
  10. 10 Puebla CityMexico 9 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. GuadalajaraMX · 24.2 works113×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Higher Education in Latin America than the world average.

See Higher Education in Latin America on the map

Where is the best place to study Higher Education in Latin America?

Among universities, judged by research, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Universidad de Guadalajara and Universidad Veracruzana score highest, combining citation excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%mean 8.36667%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Universidad Nacional…Universidad de Guada…Universidad Veracruz…National Pedagogic U…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Citation excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoMexico 78.616.4%57.4×28 -43.4%
2Universidad de GuadalajaraMexico 70.910.3%160.1×23 +34.7%
3Universidad VeracruzanaMexico 40.79.1%129.4×12 -24.1%
4National Pedagogic UniversityMexico 36.08.3%297.6×10 +15.2%
5Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo LeónMexico 21.52.0%102.5×10 +235.0%
6Universidad Autónoma del Estado de HidalgoMexico 20.14.1%96.7×8 +66.7%

Universities only. The score blends citation excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Higher Education in Latin America, country by country

Is Higher Education in Latin America research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 6% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Higher Education in Latin America.

still counting19801990200020102020
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 Higher Education in Latin America as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0017% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%Higher Education in Latin America0.0034% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Higher Education in Latin America 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.

still counting5%10%15%Higher Education in Latin America9.8% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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