2021 Research Leaders: Leading academic institutions in Earth & environmental sciences

The 2021 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020.

Table criteria

Request a badge Export CSV
# Institution Share 2019 Share 2020 Count 2020 Change in Adjusted Share* 2019–2020
1 Seoul National University (SNU), South Korea 16.07 16.93 39 0.7% Increase
2 Yonsei University, South Korea 4.59 6.87 22 43.2% Increase
3 Pusan National University (PNU), South Korea 5.04 6.16 19 16.7% Increase
4 Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), South Korea 4.11 6.15 20 43.2% Increase
5 Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), South Korea 0.94 5.95 14 503.1% Increase
6 Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea 1.90 4.74 12 138.9% Increase
7 Sejong University, South Korea 4.21 4.59 9 4.2% Increase
8 Korea University, South Korea 2.02 3.90 14 84.4% Increase
9 Kangwon National University, South Korea 1.57 3.00 7 83.0% Increase
10 Chungnam National University (CNU), South Korea 0.85 2.75 11 209.0% Increase
11 Hanyang University (HYU), South Korea 3.47 2.41 9 -33.5% Decrease
12 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea 1.98 2.41 5 15.9% Increase
13 University of Science and Technology (UST), South Korea 2.15 1.75 9 -22.1% Decrease
14 Kyungpook National University (KNU), South Korea 0.57 1.67 7 182.8% Increase
15 Ewha Womans University (Ewha), South Korea 0.79 1.61 5 94.8% Increase
16 Kyung Hee University (KHU), South Korea 0.96 1.61 5 59.5% Increase
17 Changwon National University, South Korea 0.00 1.17 3 0.0% Increase
18 Inha University, South Korea 0.92 1.08 2 12.3% Increase
19 Gyeongsang National University (GNU), South Korea 1.07 0.99 2 -11.8% Decrease
20 Pukyong National University (PKNU), South Korea 1.20 0.98 6 -21.6% Decrease
21 Chungbuk National University, South Korea 0.14 0.92 2 513.3% Increase
22 Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), South Korea 0.00 0.86 1 0.0% Increase
23 Chonnam National University, South Korea 2.13 0.85 5 -61.8% Decrease
24 Konkuk University, South Korea 0.33 0.75 3 119.0% Increase
25 Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), South Korea 1.74 0.72 2 -60.3% Decrease
26 Kwangwoon University, South Korea 0.00 0.55 1 0.0% Increase
27 Kongju National University, South Korea 1.29 0.50 2 -62.8% Decrease
28 Daegu University, South Korea 0.20 0.33 1 59.3% Increase
29 Jeju National University, South Korea 0.34 0.30 2 -14.9% Decrease
30 Jeonbuk National University (JBNU), South Korea 0.34 0.25 2 -30.6% Decrease
31 Gachon University (GCU), South Korea 0.00 0.22 1 0.0% Increase
31 Sangmyung University, South Korea 0.00 0.22 1 0.0% Increase
32 Hallym University, South Korea 0.37 0.21 1 -43.9% Decrease
33 Hongik University, South Korea 0.00 0.20 1 0.0% Increase
34 Incheon National University (INU), South Korea 0.00 0.17 2 0.0% Increase
35 Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), South Korea 0.08 0.17 1 107.1% Increase
36 Kyonggi University (KGU), South Korea 0.00 0.15 1 0.0% Increase
37 University of Seoul (UOS), South Korea 0.31 0.13 1 -61.4% Decrease
38 Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology (GNTECH), South Korea 0.00 0.11 1 0.0% Increase
38 Seoul Institute of Technology (SIT), South Korea 0.00 0.11 1 0.0% Increase
39 Kunsan National University, South Korea 0.00 0.10 1 0.0% Increase
39 Gangneung-Wonju National University (GWNU), South Korea 0.17 0.10 1 -42.6% Decrease
40 Sookmyung Women's University, South Korea 0.00 0.09 1 0.0% Increase
41 Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SeoulTech), South Korea 0.00 0.06 1 0.0% Increase

Footnote

Each year, the Nature Index publishes tables based on counts of high-quality research outputs in the previous calendar year. Users please note:

  1. The data behind the tables are based on a relatively small proportion of total research papers, they cover the natural sciences and health sciences only and outputs are non-normalized (that is, they don’t reflect the size of the country or institution, or its overall research output).
  2. The Nature Index is one indicator of institutional research performance. The metrics of Count and Share used to order Nature Index listings are based on an institution’s or country’s publication output in 145 natural-science and health-science journals. The journals were selected on reputation by an independent panel of leading scientists in their fields. The list is reviewed periodically and journals may be removed or added. Articles from eLife were no longer included in the Nature Index from 2023 after the journal changed its publishing model.
  3. Nature Index recognizes that many other factors must be taken into account when considering research quality and institutional performance; Nature Index metrics alone should not be used to assess institutions or individuals.
  4. Nature Index data and methods are transparent and available under a creative commons licence at nature.com/nature-index/.
  5. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The Nature Index database undergoes regular updating, corrections, adjustment of institutional hierarchies, and removal of retracted papers and thus the live website can differ from the frozen research leaders.


Numerical information only is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.