---
title: "List subfields"
method: GET
path: "/subfields"
tags: ["Subfields"]
---

# List subfields

`GET /subfields`

Get a list of subfields (third-level topic categories). There are 254 subfields spread across 26 fields.

## Query parameters

- `filter` string
- `sort` string
- `group_by` string
- `search` string
- `per_page` integer
- `page` integer
- `cursor` string
- `sample` integer
- `select` string
- `api_key` string, required

## Response `200`

Successful response

- SubfieldsListResponse
  - `meta` Meta — Metadata about the query results
    - `count` integer — Total number of results matching the query
    - `db_response_time_ms` integer — Database response time in milliseconds
    - `page` integer — Current page number
    - `per_page` integer — Number of results per page
    - `next_cursor` string — Cursor for the next page (when using cursor pagination)
    - `groups_count` integer, nullable — Number of groups when using group_by
    - `cost_usd` number — Cost of this request in USD
  - `results` Subfield[]
    - `id` string — The OpenAlex ID for this subfield.
    - `display_name` string — The English-language label of the subfield.
    - `description` string — A description of this subfield.
    - `display_name_alternatives` string[] — Alternate names for this subfield.
    - `field` object — The field containing this subfield (parent level).
      - `id` string
      - `display_name` string
    - `domain` object — The domain containing this subfield (top level of hierarchy).
      - `id` string
      - `display_name` string
    - `topics` object[] — The topics within this subfield. Each object has `id` and `display_name`.
      - `id` string
      - `display_name` string
    - `siblings` object[] — Other subfields at the same level (across all fields). Each object has `id` and `display_name`.
      - `id` string
      - `display_name` string
    - `ids` object — External identifiers:
      - `openalex` string
      - `wikidata` string
      - `wikipedia` string
    - `works_count` integer — The number of works tagged with topics in this subfield.
    - `cited_by_count` integer — Total citations to works in this subfield.
    - `works_api_url` string — A URL that returns all works tagged with this subfield.
    - `created_date` string, date — When this subfield was added to OpenAlex (ISO 8601 date).
    - `updated_date` string, date-time — When this subfield was last updated (ISO 8601 datetime).

## Other responses

- `400` — Bad request - invalid parameters
- `429` — Rate limit exceeded

---

[API](https://skmtc.net/openalex/apis/openalex-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.net/openalex/apis/openalex-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc-service-staging.skmtc.workers.dev/v1/apis/openalex/openalex-api/revisions/60b6c8bd0799/schema)