Oberlin College

Rankings
Data year | Earned doctorates | Full-time graduate students | Total federal obligations | Total R&D expenditures | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Percentile | Institutions ranked | Rank | Percentile | Institutions ranked | Rank | Percentile | Institutions ranked | Rank | Percentile | Institutions ranked | |
2017 | 525 | 58.6 | 902 | |||||||||
2016 | 540 | 54.8 | 992 | 592 | 66.4 | 896 | ||||||
2015 | 501 | 50.1 | 1,010 | 519 | 58.2 | 898 | ||||||
2014 | 515 | 52.1 | 997 | 532 | 60.3 | 888 | ||||||
2013 | 517 | 52.5 | 993 | 548 | 62.3 | 885 | ||||||
2012 | 448 | 42.4 | 1,069 | 548 | 61.7 | 893 | ||||||
2011 | 451 | 40.5 | 1,128 | 553 | 61 | 911 | ||||||
2010 | 439 | 36.8 | 1,212 | 491 | 66.5 | 742 | ||||||
2009 | 526 | 45.2 | 1,178 | 572 | 81 | 708 | ||||||
2008 | 600 | 52.8 | 1,146 | 589 | 85.5 | 690 | ||||||
2007 | 652 | 54.2 | 1,213 | |||||||||
2006 |
NOTES:
- 1. Grayed cells indicate data not yet available or data outside the 10-year span for these rankings. See TableBuilder for the prior year data.
- 2. Blank white cells indicate data not available, not applicable, or institution not eligible for survey.
Data

Agency | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All agencies | . | 1,043 | 845 | 856 | 1,389 | 1,507 | 2,142 | 1,330 | 646 | 443 |
Departments | . | . | 7 | 13 | 277 | 345 | 50 | 50 | 54 | 43 |
Department of Agriculture | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Department of Commerce | . | . | 7 | 13 | 9 | . | 50 | 50 | 54 | 7 |
Department of Defense | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Department of Education | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Department of Energy | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Department of Health and Human Services | . | . | . | . | 268 | 345 | . | . | . | . |
Department of Homeland Security | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Department of Housing and Urban Development | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Department of the Interior | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 36 |
Department of Labor | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Department of Transportation | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Other agencies | . | 1,043 | 838 | 844 | 1,113 | 1,162 | 2,092 | 1,280 | 592 | 400 |
Agency for International Development | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Appalachian Regional Commission | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Environmental Protection Agency | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | . | . | . | . | . | 31 | 32 | 21 | 25 | . |
National Science Foundation | . | 1,043 | 838 | 844 | 1,113 | 1,131 | 2,060 | 1,259 | 567 | 400 |
Nuclear Regulatory Commission | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Office of Justice Programs | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Social Security Administration | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Type of activity | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All federal obligations | . | 1,043 | 845 | 856 | 1,389 | 1,507 | 2,142 | 1,330 | 646 | 443 |
Research and development | . | 1,043 | 352 | 693 | 1,380 | 1,375 | 1,119 | 920 | 582 | 436 |
R&D plant | . | 0 | 486 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 886 | 280 | 0 | 0 |
Facilities for instruction in S&E | . | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fellowships, traineeships, and training grants | . | 0 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
General support for S&E | . | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other S&E activities | . | 0 | 0 | 150 | 0 | 132 | 137 | 130 | 60 | 0 |
Field | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All R&D fields | 1,887 | 1,305 | 1,932 | 1,819 | 1,670 | 1,856 | 1,710 | 1,985 | 869 | 726 | ||||||||||
Science | 1,832 | 1,223 | 1,801 | 1,755 | 1,599 | 1,778 | 1,652 | 1,940 | 869 | 726 | ||||||||||
Computer and information sciences | 10 | 30 | 147 | 159 | 127 | 206 | 138 | 163 | 9 | 0 | ||||||||||
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | 500 | 219 | 241 | 325 | 306 | 301 | 278 | 292 | 96 | 154 | ||||||||||
Atmospheric science and meteorology | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Geological and earth sciences | 500 | 219 | 145 | 178 | 167 | 225 | 105 | 292 | 39 | 149 | ||||||||||
Ocean sciences and marine sciences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 96 | 147 | 139 | 76 | 173 | 0 | 57 | 5 | ||||||||||
Life sciences | 297 | 196 | 766 | 674 | 394 | 328 | 447 | 342 | 107 | 89 | ||||||||||
Agricultural sciences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Biological and biomedical sciences | 205 | 196 | 633 | 408 | 258 | 251 | 411 | 259 | 96 | 64 | ||||||||||
Health sciences | 92 | 0 | 133 | 266 | 136 | 77 | 36 | 83 | 11 | 25 | ||||||||||
Natural resources and conservation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | . | . | ||||||||||
Life sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Mathematics and statistics | 21 | 44 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Physical sciences | 800 | 551 | 532 | 534 | 670 | 852 | 660 | 1,049 | 526 | 402 | ||||||||||
Astronomy and astrophysics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Chemistry | 497 | 356 | 309 | 322 | 343 | 423 | 411 | 730 | 341 | 253 | ||||||||||
Materials science | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | . | . | ||||||||||
Physics | 303 | 195 | 223 | 212 | 327 | 429 | 249 | 319 | 185 | 149 | ||||||||||
Physical sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Psychology | 164 | 150 | 71 | 28 | 28 | 21 | 13 | 40 | 85 | 43 | ||||||||||
Social sciences | 40 | 33 | 38 | 28 | 74 | 63 | 110 | 52 | 46 | 38 | ||||||||||
Anthropology | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | . | . | ||||||||||
Economics | 12 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 43 | 44 | 24 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Political science and government | 23 | 10 | 17 | 13 | 40 | 8 | 56 | 16 | 29 | 0 | ||||||||||
Sociology, demography, and population studies | 5 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 17 | 38 | ||||||||||
Social sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Chemical engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Civil engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Industrial and manufacturing engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | . | . | ||||||||||
Mechanical engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Metallurgical and materials engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Engineering, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Non-S&E | 55 | 82 | 131 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 58 | 45 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Business management and business administration | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Communication and communications technologies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Humanities | 37 | 58 | 62 | 38 | 47 | 42 | 41 | 28 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Law | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Social work | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Visual and performing arts | 18 | 24 | 69 | 26 | 24 | 36 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Non-S&E, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
NOTE:
- . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
- Prior to FY 2016, expenditures for natural resources and conservation, materials science, anthropology, and industrial and manufacturing engineering were not collected separately. R&D expenditures in agricultural sciences decreased in FY 2016 because a number of disciplines previously reported in that field are now reported separately under natural resources and conservation.
Field | All R&D expenditures | Federal government | State and local government | Institution funds | Business | Nonprofit organizations | All other sources | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All R&D fields | 1,887 | 1,558 | 0 | 287 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |||||||
Science | 1,832 | 1,558 | 0 | 232 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |||||||
Computer and information sciences | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | 500 | 488 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Atmospheric science and meteorology | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Geological and earth sciences | 500 | 488 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Ocean sciences and marine sciences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Life sciences | 297 | 197 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Agricultural sciences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Biological and biomedical sciences | 205 | 197 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Health sciences | 92 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Natural resources and conservation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Life sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Mathematics and statistics | 21 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Physical sciences | 800 | 730 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |||||||
Astronomy and astrophysics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Chemistry | 497 | 435 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |||||||
Materials science | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Physics | 303 | 295 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||||||
Physical sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Psychology | 164 | 134 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Social sciences | 40 | 9 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Anthropology | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Economics | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Political science and government | 23 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Sociology, demography, and population studies | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Social sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Sciences, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Chemical engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Civil engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Industrial and manufacturing engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Mechanical engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Metallurgical and materials engineering | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Engineering, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Non-S&E | 55 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Business management and business administration | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Communication and communications technologies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Humanities | 37 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Law | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Social work | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Visual and performing arts | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Non-S&E, nec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
NOTE:
- . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
- Prior to FY 2016, expenditures for natural resources and conservation, materials science, anthropology, and industrial and manufacturing engineering were not collected separately. R&D expenditures in agricultural sciences decreased in FY 2016 because a number of disciplines previously reported in that field are now reported separately under natural resources and conservation.
Source of funds | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All agencies | 1,558 | 962 | 1,364 | 1,204 | 1,204 | 1,330 | 1,183 | 1,359 | 683 | 585 | ||||||||||
Department of Agriculture | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Department of Defense | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Department of Energy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Department of Health and Human Services (including NIH) | 72 | 70 | 124 | 163 | 119 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 67 | 55 | 138 | 38 | 16 | ||||||||||
National Science Foundation | 1,338 | 779 | 1,154 | 982 | 982 | 1,095 | 1,047 | 1,125 | 576 | 527 | ||||||||||
Other Agencies | 148 | 83 | 86 | 59 | 73 | 103 | 81 | 96 | 69 | 42 |
NOTE:
- . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
Year | Total | Principal investigators | Other personnel | Postdocs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 93 | 18 | 75 | . | ||||
2016 | 96 | 16 | 80 | . | ||||
2015 | 100 | 19 | 81 | 0 | ||||
2014 | 92 | 15 | 77 | 0 | ||||
2013 | 109 | 19 | 90 | 0 | ||||
2012 | 109 | 27 | 82 | 0 | ||||
2011 | 133 | 29 | 104 | 0 |