Questions and answers

Rankings by field and subfield

Which institutions have the most top-cited scientists in a field?

Open the Fields tab and pick a field. Its page has a box of its top institutions, and “See all … institutions →” under it ranks every institution with 3 or more listed authors in the field, with how many of them are in the global top 100,000 and its highest-ranked researcher. In Clinical Medicine, Harvard Medical School has the most (954), followed by Mayo Clinic (616) and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (451): see all 3,683.

And in a subfield?

The 174 subfields work the same way. On the Fields tab, each field is followed by its subfields; open one for its top countries and institutions. In Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing, Google DeepMind leads with 137, then Google LLC (122) and Tsinghua University (109): see all 878. A researcher counts in the field and subfield most of their papers are in.

Which are the leading institutions in my country for a field?

Pick your country in the menu on the Fields tab, or press “See all … fields and subfields →” on your country’s page. Each field and subfield in which a country has 100 or more listed authors opens a ranking of the country’s institutions in it. In Clinical Medicine in the United Kingdom, University College London has the most (295), followed by King's College London (287) and University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division (249). Its “Rank worldwide” column gives each one’s place among the world’s institutions in the field: University College London is 12th in the world.

Which countries lead a field?

On a field’s or subfield’s page, the box of top countries ends with “See all … countries →”: every country with listed authors in it, its share of the field and its top institution there. A country’s row opens its institutions in the field.

Can I see the scientists behind a number?

Yes. A row in these boxes and tables opens those scientists in the full list, ranked: Harvard Medical School’s 954 in Clinical Medicine, for example. From there, open anyone’s profile.

Comparing side by side

How do I compare institutions?

Press “Compare institutions →” on the Institutions tab, or “Compare with other institutions →” on an institution’s page, and add up to 6 with the search box. Each column shows its listed authors, how many of them are in the global top 100,000, its rank in the world and in its country, its highest-ranked scientist, and its largest fields and subfields, with its count in each. For example, Harvard Medical School, Tsinghua University and University of Oxford.

How do I read a comparison?

In the global top 100,000 and in each field and subfield, the figure under the count is its share of the institution’s own listed authors, and the bar shows that share. The crown marks the highest share, so a smaller institution can lead a row: it shows what each one is strongest in, not just which is biggest.

And countries?

The same, from “Compare countries →” on the Countries tab or a country’s page. For example, the United States, China and the United Kingdom. Its “Listed authors” row adds each one’s share of the world’s.

How do I compare scientists?

Open a profile and press “Compare scientists →” beside Ranking, then add others by name, up to 6. Side by side you see their ranks in the world, their subfield, country, institution and career stage, how they did in each yearly list, their composite score and its six parts, citations, h-index and retracted papers. For example, the list’s top three.

Can I share or print a comparison?

Yes. The address keeps who is in it, so you can bookmark it or send it. The icons at its top print it, with the names as its title, or share it on X, LinkedIn or Bluesky.

Finding scientists

How do I find a scientist?

Type a name in the search box on the home page, in any order: “Ioannidis” or “John Ioannidis”. The filters narrow the list by country, institution, field, subfield and career stage, and work together: an institution and a subfield give its researchers in that subfield. Press a column’s heading to sort by it.

What does a profile show?

A scientist’s rank in the world, in their subfield, country and institution, and among those who started publishing in the same period; how they did in each of the 2026, 2025 and 2024 lists; what their score is made of, how they compare with others in their subfield, and any retracted papers.

How are scientists ranked?

By a composite citation score (c) made of six citation indicators, such as total citations and h-index, excluding self-citations. The site ranks them by citations received in 2025; a profile also gives the career-long rank. More on Data & licence.

How can early-career scientists be compared fairly?

The Career stages tab groups scientists by the year of their first paper: before 1992, in 1992–2001, in 2002–2011 and in 2012 or later. Each stage has a page of its top countries, institutions and fields, and a profile gives the scientist’s rank within their stage.

Which countries and institutions have the most top-cited scientists?

The Countries tab ranks 169 countries and the Institutions tab 28,577 institutions by listed authors. Each country, and each institution with 10 or more, has a page of its top fields and researchers. The Institutions tab’s search box finds the smaller ones too.

Are Nobel laureates on the list?

411 are. The Nobel laureates tab lists them by country and prize, and a gold label marks them wherever they appear.

Can I see earlier lists?

A profile shows the scientist’s figures in the 2026, 2025 and 2024 lists. The year beside the logo opens an older list.

If you are on the list

How do I get my profile as a PDF?

Press the print icon at the top of your profile and save it as a PDF: two or three pages with your ranks and figures, for a CV, a grant application or a promotion file. It’s free, with no sign-up.

Something about me looks wrong. What can I do?

The figures come from your Scopus profile. Missing papers, work split across two profiles or a wrong institution are fixed in Scopus with its Author Feedback Wizard, and the next list picks up the change.

How do I hear about the next list?

A new list comes out once a year. Subscribe at the bottom of any page and we’ll email you when it’s here.

Is the site free?

Yes, and it needs no account. It is run independently and is not affiliated with Stanford University, Elsevier or the dataset’s authors.