BU Social Scientists Among 2025 Highly Cited Scholars Rankings
Stanford University recently released their 2025 annual list of the top 2% of highly-cited scholars worldwide, including prominent Boston University social scientists. The report identifies the top 100,000 scientists worldwide based on several metrics, including number of papers authored, total citations and impact of published research, among other indicators.
Rankings were based on career-long and single-year data for calendar year 2024, with scientists classified into 22 fields and 174 sub-fields. This prestigious list highlights the world’s leading scientists who have made a substantial impact in their respective fields through their citation influence.
Top-ranked BU social scientists and CISS affiliates for career citations.
Acevedo-García, Dolores (SSW/Human Behavior, Research & Policy)
Ammerman, Nancy (CAS/Sociology emerita)
Bessen, James E. (LAW/Technology & Policy Research)
Borrelli, Belinda (BU DENTAL/Health Policy & Health Services Research)
Brown, Timothy A. (CAS/Psychological & Brain Sciences)
Caldwell-Harris, Catherine L. (CAS/Psychological & Brain Sciences)
Carr, Deborah (CAS/Sociology)
Cleveland, Cutler (CAS/Earth & Environment).
Collins, Mary Elizabeth (SSW/Human Behavior, Research & Policy)
Cronin-Golomb, Alice (CAS/Psychological & Brain Sciences)
Ellis, Randall P. (CAS/Economics)
Fewsmith, Joseph (CAS/History)
Fisman, Raymond J. (CAS/Economics)
Frankfurter, David T.M. (CAS/Religion)
Hefner, Robert W. (CAS/Anthropology)
Katz, James (COM/Emerging Media Studies)
Kelemen, Deborah A. (CAS/Psychological & Brain Sciences)
King, Robert (CAS/Economics)
Kiran, Swathi (Sargent/Health & Rehabilitation Sciences)
Klawans, Jonathan (CAS/Religion)
Lang, Kevin (CAS/Economics)
Lees, Loretta (CAS/Sociology and IOC)
Mookherjee, Dilip (CAS/Economics) 
Najam, Adil (Pardee/International Relations)
Outterson, Kevin (LAW/Social Innovation & Drug Resistance)
Perron, Pierre (CAS/Economics)
Salvucci, Guido Daniel (CAS/Earth & Environment)
Schmidt, Vivien A. (CAS/History)
Shipton, Parker M. (CAS/Anthropology)
Sovacool, Benjamin (Institute for Global Sustainability)
Steketee, Gail S. (SSW)
Sue Wing, Ian (CAS/Earth & Environment)
Tager-Flusberg, Helen B. (CAS/Psychological & Brain Sciences)
Thornton, John Kelly (CAS/History)
Weller, Robert P. (CAS/Anthropology)
Zaman, Muhammad (ENG/SPH and Center for Forced Displacement)
Top-ranked BU social scientists and CISS affiliates for single year (2024) publications
Acevedo-García, Dolores (SSW/Human Behavior, Research & Policy)
Amazeen, Michelle A. (COM/Mass Communication)
Ammerman, Nancy (CAS/Sociology emerita)
Bessen, James E. (LAW/Technology & Policy Research)
Borrelli, Belinda (BU DENTAL/Health Policy & Health Services Research)
Caldwell-Harris, Catherine L. (CAS/Psychological & Brain Sciences)
Carballo, David M. (CAS/Anthropology)
Carr, Deborah S. (CAS/Sociology)
Ellis, Randall P. (CAS/Economics)
Fisman, Raymond J. (CAS/Economics)
Frankfurter, David T.M. (CAS/Religion)
Gallagher, Kevin P. (Pardee/Global Development Policy)
Glowacki, Luke (CAS/Anthropology).
Green, Jennifer Greif (Wheelock/Special Education)
Hefner, Robert W. (CAS/Anthropology)
Kelemen, Deborah A. (CAS/Psychological & Brain Sciences)
Kiran, Swathi (Sargent/Health & Rehabilitation Sciences)
Klawans, Jonathan (CAS/Religion)
Lang, Kevin (CAS/Economics)
Lees, Loretta (CAS/Sociology and Initiative on Cities)
Marston, John (CAS/Anthropology)
Mijs, Jonathan J.B. (CAS/Sociology)
Mody, Makarand (SHA/Hospitality Marketing)
Mookherjee, Dilip (CAS/Economics)
Perron, Pierre (CAS/Economics)
Rodima-Taylor, Daivi (CAS/African Studies Center)
Rysman, Marc S. (CAS/Economics)
Schmidt, Vivien A. (CAS/History)
Slobodian, Quinn (CAS/History and Pardee)
Steketee, Gail S. (SSW)
Sovacool, Benjamin (IGS)
Sue Wing, Ian (CAS/Earth & Environment)
Tager-Flusberg, Helen B. (CAS/Psychological & Brain Sciences)
Thornton, John Kelly (CAS/History)
CAS Dean Stan Sclaroff and BU President Melissa Gilliam also were recognized for both career and single-year impact. Congratulations to our colleagues on their influential work!
If you believe you or a colleague are omitted from this article, please inform Deborah Carr (carrds@bu.edu) and we will promptly update. You can confirm the data in Tables 1 here.