[Science and the university. Both need more attention].

Scientific output in Chile was studied examining the publications indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information during 1985 and 1986. Meeting abstracts were not considered. The articles were classified in different areas and tabulated according to the institution from which they originated. As in previous years, more than 80% of the papers were published by universities. The most productive subjects in these institutions were biology (33.2%), medical sciences (23.4%), and chemistry (16.9%). Outside universities the following fields were the most productive: medical sciences, astronomy, social sciences, biology and physics. To compare the overall output of chilean universities, in addition to their scientific publications, the number of degrees granted at the undergraduate and graduate levels was also evaluated. The proportion of governmental funds that each university received was used to standardize the indicators. Significant differences were observed which revealed that the chilean higher educational system is very heterogeneous. The indicators presented herein objective the overall output of each of the 24 chilean institutions of higher education funded by the government and provide the necessary insight to compare their contribution, and to respond to their urgent needs.