2022 Research Leaders: Leading academic institutions in Earth & environmental sciences

The 2022 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021.

Table criteria

Position Institution Share 2020 Share 2021 Count 2021 Change in Adjusted Share* 2020–2021
1 California Institute of Technology (Caltech), United States of America (USA) 73.08 68.35 258 -3.1% Decrease
2 University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), United States of America (USA) 47.80 62.46 187 35.5% Increase
3 Yale University, United States of America (USA) 48.69 57.37 184 22.2% Increase
4 Stanford University, United States of America (USA) 58.20 56.06 173 -0.1% Decrease
5 University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), United States of America (USA) 53.13 55.74 210 8.8% Increase
6 University of Washington (UW), United States of America (USA) 55.25 53.64 209 0.7% Increase
7 University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder), United States of America (USA) 51.54 52.10 241 4.8% Increase
8 Columbia University in the City of New York (CU), United States of America (USA) 63.33 48.02 181 -21.4% Decrease
9 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States of America (USA) 48.31 46.52 161 -0.2% Decrease
10 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), United States of America (USA) 45.79 45.41 166 2.8% Increase
11 The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), United States of America (USA) 45.53 43.76 135 -0.4% Decrease
12 The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), United States of America (USA) 46.23 42.01 152 -5.8% Decrease
13 Harvard University, United States of America (USA) 39.51 41.75 154 9.5% Increase
14 Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), United States of America (USA) 24.52 39.03 125 65.0% Increase
15 Colorado State University, United States of America (USA) 35.71 38.24 127 11.0% Increase
16 University of California, Irvine (UCI), United States of America (USA) 28.53 35.48 107 28.9% Increase
17 Texas A&M University (TAMU), United States of America (USA) 25.39 34.80 116 42.1% Increase
18 University of Hawai'i at Manoa (UH Mānoa), United States of America (USA) 27.79 33.02 134 23.2% Increase
19 University of Michigan (U-M), United States of America (USA) 42.40 32.33 110 -20.9% Decrease
20 University of California, Davis (UC Davis), United States of America (USA) 27.22 31.21 108 18.9% Increase
21 Princeton University, United States of America (USA) 33.55 31.19 115 -3.6% Decrease
22 The University of Arizona (Arizona), United States of America (USA) 36.48 30.93 128 -12.1% Decrease
23 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), United States of America (USA) 31.25 29.44 97 -2.3% Decrease
24 University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), United States of America (USA) 19.04 28.63 87 55.9% Increase
25 University of Minnesota (UMN), United States of America (USA) 36.77 25.44 118 -28.3% Decrease
26 Cornell University, United States of America (USA) 21.05 25.15 97 23.8% Increase
27 Rice University, United States of America (USA) 21.20 25.08 81 22.6% Increase
28 Arizona State University (ASU), United States of America (USA) 40.74 23.25 92 -40.9% Decrease
29 University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), United States of America (USA) 28.17 22.97 105 -15.5% Decrease
30 University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), United States of America (USA) 26.69 22.92 120 -11.0% Decrease
31 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), United States of America (USA) 14.46 22.69 76 62.7% Increase
32 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (RU), United States of America (USA) 15.40 21.03 93 41.6% Increase
33 Brown University, United States of America (USA) 25.05 19.86 77 -17.8% Decrease
34 Johns Hopkins University (JHU), United States of America (USA) 23.00 19.39 98 -12.6% Decrease
35 University of Oregon (UO), United States of America (USA) 16.19 19.34 46 23.8% Increase
36 University of California, Riverside (UCR), United States of America (USA) 17.37 19.30 62 15.2% Increase
37 University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), United States of America (USA) 21.32 18.80 79 -8.6% Decrease
38 The University of Oklahoma (OU), United States of America (USA) 19.72 18.56 90 -2.4% Decrease
39 Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), United States of America (USA) 19.47 17.84 48 -5.0% Decrease
40 Duke University, United States of America (USA) 20.32 17.59 75 -10.3% Decrease
41 University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst), United States of America (USA) 14.01 16.86 53 24.8% Increase
42 Indiana University (IU), United States of America (USA) 13.87 15.47 56 15.6% Increase
43 State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY Stony Brook), United States of America (USA) 8.82 15.06 52 76.9% Increase
44 The University of New Mexico (UNM), United States of America (USA) 11.55 14.80 51 32.8% Increase
45 The University of Utah (Utah), United States of America (USA) 23.91 14.69 58 -36.3% Decrease
46 Purdue University, United States of America (USA) 15.30 14.21 54 -3.7% Decrease
47 Oregon State University, United States of America (USA) 15.44 14.16 77 -5.0% Decrease
48 University of Southern California (USC), United States of America (USA) 23.63 13.85 40 -39.2% Decrease
49 North Carolina State University (NCSU), United States of America (USA) 13.02 13.32 55 6.0% Increase
50 The University of Chicago (UChicago), United States of America (USA) 14.11 13.23 73 -2.8% Decrease
51 Boston University (BU), United States of America (USA) 15.18 12.42 46 -15.2% Decrease
52 The University of Iowa (UI), United States of America (USA) 18.79 12.31 55 -32.1% Decrease
53 University of Wyoming, United States of America (USA) 9.87 12.16 56 27.7% Increase
54 University of Florida (UF), United States of America (USA) 15.26 11.94 72 -18.9% Decrease
55 Colorado School of Mines, United States of America (USA) 15.86 11.81 36 -22.8% Decrease
56 University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), United States of America (USA) 13.71 11.68 74 -11.7% Decrease
57 University of Miami (UM), United States of America (USA) 13.01 11.61 55 -7.5% Decrease
58 Michigan State University (MSU), United States of America (USA) 17.73 11.32 65 -33.8% Decrease
59 University of South Florida (USF), United States of America (USA) 7.62 10.99 37 49.4% Increase
60 Utah State University (USU), United States of America (USA) 7.02 10.93 50 61.3% Increase
61 University of Houston (UH), United States of America (USA) 12.43 9.95 46 -17.1% Decrease
62 University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), United States of America (USA) 8.38 9.88 35 22.3% Increase
63 Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), United States of America (USA) 8.63 9.56 28 14.9% Increase
64 State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany), United States of America (USA) 4.69 9.55 42 111.2% Increase
65 Florida State University (FSU), United States of America (USA) 11.36 9.10 83 -17.0% Decrease
66 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), United States of America (USA) 12.43 9.07 41 -24.3% Decrease
67 Clemson University, United States of America (USA) 18.95 8.51 15 -53.4% Decrease
68 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT), United States of America (USA) 6.23 8.39 36 39.6% Increase
69 University of Delaware (UD), United States of America (USA) 9.52 8.39 44 -8.7% Decrease
70 Louisiana State University (LSU), United States of America (USA) 10.05 8.34 37 -14.0% Decrease
71 Dartmouth College, United States of America (USA) 10.83 7.99 47 -23.5% Decrease
72 Northern Arizona University (NAU), United States of America (USA) 6.86 7.69 36 16.3% Increase
73 The Ohio State University (OSU), United States of America (USA) 13.31 7.51 51 -41.5% Decrease
74 University of South Carolina - Columbia (SC), United States of America (USA) 4.23 7.45 18 82.5% Increase
75 University of Rhode Island (URI), United States of America (USA) 6.25 7.18 34 19.1% Increase
76 University of New Hampshire (UNH), United States of America (USA) 9.07 6.93 48 -20.8% Decrease
77 Northwestern University (NU), United States of America (USA) 8.20 6.80 21 -14.0% Decrease
78 University of Notre Dame (ND), United States of America (USA) 12.47 6.60 27 -45.2% Decrease
79 The University of Maine (UMaine), United States of America (USA) 4.89 6.57 29 39.3% Increase
80 Washington State University (WSU), United States of America (USA) 8.03 6.15 33 -20.7% Decrease
81 New York University (NYU), United States of America (USA) 6.75 6.07 37 -6.7% Decrease
82 University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), United States of America (USA) 6.44 5.96 33 -3.9% Decrease
83 Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST), United States of America (USA) 4.13 5.89 16 47.8% Increase
84 The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas), United States of America (USA) 14.78 5.87 19 -58.8% Decrease
85 University of Connecticut (UConn), United States of America (USA) 4.77 5.79 29 25.9% Increase
86 The City University of New York (CUNY), United States of America (USA) 7.16 5.66 30 -18.0% Decrease
87 Texas Tech University (TTU), United States of America (USA) 4.31 5.63 32 35.2% Increase
88 The University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK), United States of America (USA) 4.68 5.49 27 21.8% Increase
89 Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), United States of America (USA) 3.06 5.48 34 86.0% Increase
90 University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), United States of America (USA) 6.75 5.43 29 -16.7% Decrease
91 University of Montana (UMT), United States of America (USA) 5.11 5.26 22 6.6% Increase
92 University of Pennsylvania (Penn), United States of America (USA) 5.22 5.19 13 2.9% Increase
93 The College of William & Mary (W&M), United States of America (USA) 1.43 4.95 14 258.8% Increase
94 Old Dominion University (ODU), United States of America (USA) 1.43 4.83 27 250.4% Increase
95 George Mason University (GMU), United States of America (USA) 6.66 4.68 36 -27.2% Decrease
96 USN Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), United States of America (USA) 0.79 4.60 20 501.1% Increase
97 The University of Georgia (UGA), United States of America (USA) 4.70 4.58 36 1.2% Increase
98 Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech), United States of America (USA) 3.59 4.58 15 32.0% Increase
99 The University of Kansas (KU), United States of America (USA) 3.36 4.47 26 37.9% Increase
100 University of Virginia (UVA), United States of America (USA) 3.59 4.34 28 25.3% 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.