Stanford U.

Rankings

Data year Earned doctorates Full-time graduate students Total R&D expenditures
Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked
2023 5 99.1 459 11 98.5 679 40 93.6 602 10 99 914
2022 2 99.8 457 14 98.1 680 10 99 900
2021 2 99.8 447 13 98.3 691 38 93.7 583 9 99.1 908
2020 7 98.7 450 9 98.9 698 10 99 916
2019 6 98.9 447 7 99.2 697 33 94.6 589 11 98.9 914
2018 11 97.7 428 7 99.2 700 11 98.9 911
2017 6 98.8 425 7 99.1 684 36 94 575 10 99 898
2016 6 98.8 430 6 99.3 697 9 99.1 896
2015 14 97 426 5 99.4 693 35 94.1 570 8 99.2 898
2014 10 97.9 422 5 99.4 688 9 99.1 889
NOTES:
  • 1. See TableBuilder for the prior year data.
  • 2. Blank white cells indicate data not available, not applicable, or institution not eligible for survey.
  • 3. Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

Data

Number of earned doctorates, by trend major field of study of recipients: 2023–14
Fields 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All fields 799 836 815 769 770 726 758 763 689 729
  Science and engineering 688 726 712 656 643 616 600 644 550 608
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 9 8 9 4 8 11 11 9 6 11
      Agricultural sciences 1 . 4 . . . 1 . . 7
      Natural resources and conservation 8 8 5 4 8 11 10 9 6 4
    Biological and biomedical sciences 127 140 150 123 98 116 101 110 104 102
      Biochemistry and biophysics 15 16 9 15 17 15 11 10 13 15
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 15 15 19 15 14 15 14 13 12 8
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 12 14 16 2 9 7 12 7 9 4
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy 8 11 17 18 15 9 4 11 9 10
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 13 9 12 5 6 4 13 2 7 8
      Genetics and genomics 15 13 12 15 6 14 14 12 6 9
      Microbiology and immunology 14 18 19 12 11 15 14 18 13 10
      Molecular biology 6 8 8 4 . 5 2 4 4 2
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 14 18 17 22 12 21 9 15 16 15
      Pharmacology and toxicology . . . . . . . . . 2
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 12 16 14 11 7 10 6 14 9 12
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 3 2 7 4 1 1 2 4 6 7
    Computer and information sciences 60 49 44 39 44 29 34 29 36 36
      Computer science 53 42 41 37 37 28 33 27 34 36
      Computer and information sciences, other 7 7 3 2 7 1 1 2 2 .
    Engineering 235 281 257 260 242 229 201 255 229 248
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 20 16 19 14 26 16 10 21 8 12
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 26 38 22 31 26 18 13 20 11 19
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 22 27 32 27 21 28 19 20 27 23
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 21 33 24 30 25 18 28 19 25 24
      Electrical and computer engineering 64 56 59 73 63 59 58 80 73 98
      Industrial engineering and operations research 3 4 6 1 3 2 4 8 5 7
      Materials and mining engineering 19 27 21 17 23 29 25 27 22 15
      Mechanical engineering 29 49 41 53 39 42 34 47 43 28
      Engineering, other 31 31 33 14 16 17 10 13 15 22
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 19 31 28 26 29 34 33 20 25 25
      Geological sciences 14 27 25 22 21 31 31 16 22 20
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 5 4 3 4 8 3 2 4 3 5
    Health sciences . . 5 . 1 . 2 1 . .
      Pharmaceutical sciences . . 1 . . . . . . .
      Public health . . 3 . . . 1 . . .
      Health sciences, other . . 1 . 1 . 1 1 . .
    Mathematics and statistics 38 41 39 29 24 26 50 36 18 31
      Applied mathematics 6 5 11 5 1 . 6 8 2 7
      Mathematics 6 3 3 4 7 8 5 3 4 10
      Statistics 11 13 11 11 9 6 21 5 4 10
      Mathematics and statistics, other 15 20 14 9 7 12 18 20 8 4
    Physical sciences 109 96 90 98 107 87 106 82 60 86
      Astronomy and astrophysics 7 5 4 6 2 1 3 2 3 8
      Chemistry 42 29 40 33 55 46 42 34 24 29
      Physics 60 62 46 59 50 40 61 46 33 49
    Psychology 12 11 10 14 16 17 5 23 9 17
      Counseling and applied psychology . . . 1 . 3 . 1 . 1
      Research and experimental psychology 7 10 6 6 12 5 4 13 2 15
      Psychology, other 5 1 4 7 4 9 1 9 7 1
    Social sciences 79 69 80 63 74 67 57 79 63 52
      Anthropology 4 9 10 8 12 9 7 14 6 4
      Economics 28 26 28 17 31 30 25 25 31 24
      Political science and government 17 12 19 17 11 14 8 17 10 7
      Public policy analysis 1 2 1 3 1 . . . . .
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 12 5 10 7 8 5 9 12 10 9
      Social sciences, other 17 15 12 11 11 9 8 11 6 8
  Non-science and engineering 111 110 103 113 127 110 158 119 139 121
    Business 21 27 27 22 23 23 33 24 20 14
      Business 21 27 27 22 23 23 33 24 20 14
    Education 26 21 16 25 25 20 29 27 40 27
      Education leadership and administration . . . . . . . . . 1
      Education research 11 9 9 10 10 13 11 8 19 12
      Teacher education and teaching fields 5 4 3 6 4 2 3 8 4 7
      Education, other 10 8 4 9 11 5 15 11 17 7
    Humanities and arts 54 51 52 56 70 54 64 63 70 73
      Letters 11 13 10 19 18 10 9 18 20 19
      Foreign languages and literature 7 9 7 7 13 9 18 8 12 11
      History 14 8 15 10 14 12 9 11 13 12
      Philosophy and religious studies 11 5 10 8 6 9 11 6 10 12
      Music and performing arts 8 7 9 7 6 9 8 11 8 14
      Humanities and arts, other 3 9 1 5 13 5 9 9 7 5
    Other non-science and engineering 10 11 8 10 9 13 32 5 9 7
      Communication 7 5 2 4 6 10 7 4 4 2
      Non-science and engineering, other 3 6 6 6 3 3 25 1 5 5

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates

Full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health, by selected characteristics: 2023–14
All races 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
    Male 3,657 3,621 3,501 3,423 3,670 3,672 3,596 3,881 3,967 3,882
    Female 2,792 2,655 2,498 2,275 2,324 2,212 2,017 2,063 2,050 1,998
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 4,129 3,990 3,845 3,693 3,777 3,760 3,539 3,635 3,652 3,559
    Hispanic or Latino 550 527 485 431 443 416 390 317 330 321
    Not Hispanic or Latino 3,501 3,384 3,293 3,191 3,268 3,291 2,908 3,071 3,040 2,983
      American Indian or Alaska Native 10 9 8 7 4 2 6 20 23 24
      Asian 1,303 1,179 1,084 1,011 995 930 855 867 871 823
      Black or African American 229 207 174 144 97 95 85 114 94 107
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 4 4 3 1 1 3 12 10 8 14
      White 1,619 1,671 1,747 1,782 1,926 2,016 1,904 2,059 2,041 2,009
      More than one race 336 314 277 246 245 245 46 1 3 6
    Unknown ethnicity and race 78 79 67 71 66 53 241 247 282 255
  Temporary visa holders 2,320 2,286 2,154 2,005 2,217 2,124 2,074 2,309 2,365 2,321
  Science and engineering 6,257 6,099 5,843 5,559 5,857 5,761 5,540 5,939 5,971 5,859
    Science 3,948 3,752 3,593 3,426 3,435 3,214 3,021 3,259 3,048 2,990
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 920 886 863 866 845 844 813 740 687 660
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 66 50 62
      Computer and information sciences 1,106 974 855 722 705 395 394 586 506 473
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 213 187 186 192 198 169 195 251 265 269
      Mathematics and statistics 350 362 359 352 373 350 355 394 408 381
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 27 14 17 12 15 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 108 114 107 100 99 93 86 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 603 604 592 574 587 791 583 550 445 408
      Psychology 74 70 64 66 61 67 71 76 78 74
      Social sciences 547 541 550 542 552 505 524 504 519 578
    Engineering 2,309 2,347 2,250 2,133 2,422 2,547 2,519 2,680 2,923 2,869
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 215 211 184 190 226 229 211 194 209 188
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 196 173 179 176 184 198 188 199 242 115
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 128 129 134 140 155 183 192 259 245 252
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 430 471 465 357 436 452 435 461 449 424
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 510 511 513 512 589 624 679 641 667 752
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 243 262 310
      Mechanical engineering 517 516 452 450 537 576 526 462 505 514
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 218 221 216 203 184 181 200 221 209 184
      Other engineering 95 115 107 105 111 104 88 0 135 130
  Health 192 177 156 139 137 123 73 5 46 21
    Clinical medicine 82 82 58 61 60 49 10 5 38 21
    Other health 110 95 98 78 77 74 63 0 8 0

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Part-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health, by selected characteristics: 2023–14
All races 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
    Male 167 155 164 161 139 127 157 429 435 431
    Female 101 68 91 84 64 43 46 142 158 147
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 198 164 190 201 139 126 166 334 375 366
    Hispanic or Latino 26 18 15 25 15 9 10 27 24 27
    Not Hispanic or Latino 169 140 165 166 122 115 148 283 320 304
      American Indian or Alaska Native 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
      Asian 92 59 73 76 43 36 65 105 114 119
      Black or African American 6 4 5 4 2 4 4 12 13 8
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3
      White 59 69 76 74 70 67 73 166 191 170
      More than one race 11 8 10 12 7 8 5 0 0 1
    Unknown ethnicity and race 3 6 10 10 2 2 8 24 31 35
  Temporary visa holders 70 59 65 44 64 44 37 237 218 212
  Science and engineering 241 201 228 226 189 162 187 567 589 578
    Science 113 96 114 128 118 85 115 182 189 177
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 8 3 3 2 4 3 21 35 41 20
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 10 10
      Computer and information sciences 83 72 90 97 79 62 58 77 82 79
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 2 0 0 3 2 1 1 0 0 14
      Mathematics and statistics 14 11 11 13 17 7 23 41 32 30
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 0 2 0 4 1 1 2 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 1 2 3 4 3 1 1 1 0 0
      Psychology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social sciences 4 5 7 4 11 10 9 19 20 24
    Engineering 128 105 114 98 71 77 72 385 400 401
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 10 11 17 14 9 9 6 26 26 35
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 22 16 14 9 4 2 3 0 1 0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 20 7 8 13 7 2 6 41 45 43
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 50 45 45 41 41 53 43 150 141 153
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 69 70 62
      Mechanical engineering 20 21 24 18 9 10 11 96 114 107
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 5 5 3 1 1 1 3 3 2 1
      Other engineering 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Health 27 22 27 19 14 8 16 4 4 0
    Clinical medicine 1 2 6 1 1 2 2 4 3 0
    Other health 26 20 21 18 13 6 14 0 1 0

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health receiving primary support from federal sources, by field: 2023–14
Field 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All surveyed fields 1,406 1,428 1,511 1,565 1,582 1,331 1,389 1,512 1,470 1,488
  Science and engineering 1,370 1,392 1,468 1,524 1,549 1,292 1,355 1,512 1,455 1,485
    Science 810 860 915 906 948 851 792 896 771 779
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 253 296 293 323 362 391 370 337 295 304
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 134 148 147 130 130 20 18 124 106 105
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 27 25 25 27 29 18 25 18 22 29
      Mathematics and statistics 59 57 69 73 73 49 62 75 80 84
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 5 2 1 0 1 1 4 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 286 295 331 314 320 331 254 240 154 154
      Psychology 11 8 10 8 7 7 10 15 17 17
      Social sciences 35 29 39 31 26 34 49 36 44 34
    Engineering 560 532 553 618 601 441 563 616 684 706
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 69 62 64 60 45 49 48 53 47 34
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 65 60 59 70 69 66 68 77 79 46
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 60 51 43 56 55 45 44 59 53 61
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 30 37 50 52 52 41 40 37 39 47
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 102 105 123 149 158 121 173 173 181 233
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 22 25
      Mechanical engineering 138 129 127 139 143 58 142 143 142 135
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 90 81 81 82 70 45 44 47 49 53
      Other engineering 6 7 6 10 9 16 4 0 72 72
  Health 36 36 43 41 33 39 34 0 15 3
    Clinical medicine 10 9 10 5 5 8 4 0 13 3
    Other health 26 27 33 36 28 31 30 0 2 0

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health, by type and primary source of support: 2023–14
Type and primary source of support 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All types and sources of support 6,449 6,276 5,999 5,698 5,994 5,884 5,613 5,944 6,017 5,880
  Fellowships 1,975 2,010 1,898 1,927 1,841 1,759 1,754 1,944 2,094 2,047
    Federal 627 665 652 721 736 700 732 729 761 717
    Institutional 1,264 1,279 1,198 1,174 1,070 978 887 1,098 1,196 1,161
    Nonfederal 84 66 48 32 35 81 135 117 137 169
  Research assistantships 1,910 1,846 1,821 1,815 1,889 2,030 1,950 1,907 1,869 1,838
    Federal 779 762 858 844 846 604 639 755 703 766
    Institutional 881 863 763 768 821 1,226 1,158 997 991 911
    Nonfederal 250 221 200 203 222 200 153 155 175 161
  Teaching assistantships 835 780 731 684 755 694 561 707 701 694
    Federal 0 1 1 0 0 1 5 0 0 0
    Institutional 835 779 729 684 755 693 555 693 701 694
    Nonfederal 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 14 0 0
  Other types of support 1,729 1,640 1,549 1,272 1,509 1,401 1,348 1,386 1,353 1,301
    Federal 0 0 0 0 0 26 13 28 6 5
    Institutional 0 0 0 0 0 116 110 72 39 2
    Nonfederal 0 0 0 0 0 23 28 10 17 9
    Personal resources 1,729 1,640 1,549 1,272 1,509 1,236 1,197 1,276 1,291 1,285

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Postdoctorates in science, engineering, and health, by selected characteristics: 2023–14
All races 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
  Science and engineering 1,531 1,464 1,444 1,531 1,509 1,407 1,413 1,362 1,361 1,202
    Science 1,143 1,088 1,089 1,174 1,213 1,104 1,094 996 1,010 881
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 8 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 651 652 658 706 691 630 634 589 582 560
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 44 47 44 37 48 40 44 31 30 25
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 52 43 42 61 56 47 52 52 52 50
      Mathematics and statistics 30 19 21 18 23 20 25 23 22 17
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 20 4 3 8 2 4 2 1 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 206 218 200 210 281 282 261 205 222 137
      Psychology 37 30 36 40 38 35 33 32 36 41
      Social sciences 95 66 76 85 74 46 43 44 50 32
    Engineering 388 376 355 357 296 303 319 366 351 321
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 17 15 14 15 14 8 6 9 9 8
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 74 79 75 81 71 84 81 61 58 55
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 82 85 75 53 77 77 88 73 83 67
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 49 52 68 83 22 28 27 26 23 25
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 65 54 53 56 56 53 64 57 31 28
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 0 2 5 3 6 5 5
      Mechanical engineering 64 51 38 39 54 48 50 49 57 41
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 85 44 40
      Other engineering 37 40 32 30 0 0 0 0 41 52
  Health 956 933 888 915 945 897 853 866 903 846
    Clinical medicine 948 927 883 911 934 885 842 853 889 834
    Other health 8 6 5 4 11 12 11 13 14 12

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Federally supported science, engineering, and health postdoctorates, by field: 2023–14
Field 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All surveyed fields 1,226 1,143 1,065 1,195 1,132 1,012 987 1,002 1,015 942
  Science and engineering 774 718 679 749 694 547 551 571 607 545
    Science 580 559 512 577 580 437 439 431 455 425
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 359 381 335 371 334 316 317 304 311 298
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 17 17 18 14 18 11 12 21 14 12
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 22 13 16 28 27 16 18 10 14 20
      Mathematics and statistics 16 8 9 9 13 12 14 11 10 5
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 139 124 120 133 169 68 65 63 81 56
      Psychology 12 12 11 16 16 14 13 10 16 20
      Social sciences 12 3 2 5 3 0 0 6 3 5
    Engineering 194 159 167 172 114 110 112 140 152 120
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 8 4 5 9 4 3 2 6 7 7
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 28 28 22 28 25 36 34 22 27 24
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 45 41 35 25 23 9 10 13 17 11
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 24 28 37 40 5 9 8 11 7 8
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 34 21 29 34 32 26 30 34 20 20
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 1
      Mechanical engineering 31 17 20 19 23 27 28 29 35 19
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 11 8
      Other engineering 24 20 19 17 0 0 0 0 25 22
  Health 452 425 386 446 438 465 436 431 408 397
    Clinical medicine 448 420 381 442 433 459 431 424 401 390
    Other health 4 5 5 4 5 6 5 7 7 7

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Total R&D expenditures, by field: 2023–14
(Dollars in thousands)
Field 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
  All R&D fields 1,537,846 1,384,555 1,274,483 1,203,950 1,204,116 1,157,597 1,109,708 1,066,269 1,022,551 959,247
    Science 1,330,263 1,197,745 1,093,758 1,028,859 1,024,104 959,810 929,791 886,718 835,500 779,308
      Computer and information sciences 27,907 25,448 23,232 26,512 24,575 25,298 29,276 25,258 20,349 24,788
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 35,299 30,947 21,216 20,216 17,624 18,036 16,079 17,302 32,596 33,919
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 0 0 0 0 0 235 128 0 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 21,971 21,779 11,821 12,021 11,031 10,272 7,124 8,203 13,421 13,268
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 4,292 2,787 2,827 2,713 2,972 3,137 3,924 3,643 4,912 5,013
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 9,036 6,381 6,568 5,482 3,621 4,392 4,903 5,456 14,263 15,638
      Life sciences 1,119,445 999,214 905,150 836,401 837,068 780,090 745,123 700,514 647,800 591,034
        Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Biological and biomedical sciences 280,092 265,253 242,245 228,842 189,727 188,026 185,054 177,611 218,071 221,633
        Health sciences 795,985 695,772 622,630 572,268 614,159 553,597 518,631 490,594 411,364 356,908
        Natural resources and conservation 1,985 1,699 1,074 1,983 3,933 3,797 3,933 5,686 0 0
        Life sciences nec 41,383 36,490 39,201 33,308 29,249 34,670 37,505 26,623 18,365 12,493
      Mathematics and statistics 6,455 6,408 6,070 7,036 4,836 5,505 6,109 7,500 7,477 8,179
      Physical sciences 103,816 101,529 98,672 94,954 95,084 88,010 92,056 100,544 96,039 90,544
        Astronomy and astrophysics 4,028 4,101 4,776 6,031 4,428 8,649 8,045 0 0 0
        Chemistry 31,848 29,681 27,849 25,478 25,306 22,807 26,834 26,757 21,619 18,478
        Materials science 15,354 16,916 14,149 11,383 13,238 16,564 20,182 23,506 0 0
        Physics 49,870 48,088 47,667 48,826 49,051 35,411 33,393 39,290 8,271 7,283
        Physical sciences nec 2,716 2,743 4,231 3,236 3,061 4,579 3,602 10,991 66,149 64,783
      Psychology 14,151 15,648 16,587 18,866 20,091 18,099 17,832 17,215 15,128 14,067
      Social sciences 22,966 18,390 22,559 24,770 24,038 24,772 23,316 18,385 16,111 16,777
        Anthropology 371 230 53 291 1,231 2,936 2,281 1,376 0 0
        Economics 4,908 4,880 4,613 3,415 4,397 6,079 5,118 3,257 2,600 2,772
        Political science and government 10,270 5,731 5,153 7,490 9,763 890 1,173 1,840 223 154
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 239 547 173 334 594 291 345 337 11,016 11,281
        Social sciences nec 7,178 7,002 12,567 13,240 8,053 14,576 14,399 11,575 2,272 2,570
      Sciences nec 224 161 272 104 788 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 158,868 142,213 136,251 130,950 134,585 146,504 125,627 125,633 134,143 132,936
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 17,318 15,995 14,894 15,157 13,315 14,004 14,546 14,365 15,055 17,085
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 36,591 30,636 23,021 26,083 30,806 36,496 24,388 21,905 22,327 20,823
      Chemical engineering 18,629 15,593 19,090 17,176 18,597 20,348 13,060 12,528 9,032 9,790
      Civil engineering 13,823 14,092 12,950 15,130 14,868 15,041 12,496 11,053 12,537 14,528
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 25,789 22,074 25,665 18,285 17,840 19,145 21,781 24,636 31,339 31,494
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 7,259 6,685 6,338 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 26,550 25,314 23,900 24,302 26,845 29,512 28,174 28,404 28,590 25,357
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 11,489 10,185 8,947 9,972 8,078 5,498 4,537 5,308 5,875 5,970
      Engineering nec 1,420 1,639 1,446 4,845 4,236 6,460 6,645 7,434 9,388 7,889
    Non-S&E 48,715 44,597 44,474 44,141 45,427 51,283 54,290 53,918 52,908 47,003
      Business management and business administration 549 307 384 432 380 259 663 567 545 284
      Communication and communications technologies 831 865 1,595 890 1,118 1,233 1,624 1,342 1,732 809
      Education 44,601 40,158 40,020 41,378 41,889 45,487 46,797 48,318 46,925 43,722
      Humanities 629 307 351 957 1,108 773 794 537 2,188 1,390
      Law 1,778 2,646 1,602 433 624 1,752 2,464 1,841 1,220 620
      Social work 0 0 0 2 6 80 101 117 0 0
      Visual and performing arts 255 131 163 0 4 177 340 429 0 80
      Non-S&E nec 72 183 359 49 298 1,522 1,507 767 298 98

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: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Total R&D expenditures, by source of funds and R&D field: 2023
(Dollars in thousands)
Field All R&D expenditures Federal government State and local government Institution funds Business Nonprofit organizations All other sources
  All R&D fields 1,537,846 943,669 31,872 189,108 144,300 219,578 9,319
    Science 1,330,263 817,241 30,631 162,570 127,652 185,640 6,529
      Computer and information sciences 27,907 15,889 0 4,169 4,580 2,696 573
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 35,299 12,175 485 8,730 4,670 8,868 371
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 21,971 9,342 248 4,768 4,498 3,041 74
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 4,292 2,213 237 714 0 1,120 8
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 9,036 620 0 3,248 172 4,707 289
      Life sciences 1,119,445 689,915 29,559 135,024 110,700 148,938 5,309
        Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Biological and biomedical sciences 280,092 207,841 1,603 30,409 4,163 35,517 559
        Health sciences 795,985 449,167 27,876 100,336 103,869 110,008 4,729
        Natural resources and conservation 1,985 964 0 54 960 7 0
        Life sciences nec 41,383 31,943 80 4,225 1,708 3,406 21
      Mathematics and statistics 6,455 5,291 0 395 170 599 0
      Physical sciences 103,816 78,192 587 6,417 6,538 11,861 221
        Astronomy and astrophysics 4,028 3,437 0 56 0 420 115
        Chemistry 31,848 26,366 0 2,670 969 1,843 0
        Materials science 15,354 8,903 587 1,209 2,020 2,635 0
        Physics 49,870 37,003 0 2,432 3,420 6,909 106
        Physical sciences nec 2,716 2,483 0 50 129 54 0
      Psychology 14,151 10,153 0 1,884 312 1,802 0
      Social sciences 22,966 5,626 0 5,871 682 10,732 55
        Anthropology 371 78 0 110 0 183 0
        Economics 4,908 825 0 1,323 95 2,665 0
        Political science and government 10,270 1,894 0 2,605 0 5,771 0
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 239 114 0 116 0 9 0
        Social sciences nec 7,178 2,715 0 1,717 587 2,104 55
      Sciences nec 224 0 0 80 0 144 0
    Engineering 158,868 100,033 942 18,634 15,807 21,159 2,293
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 17,318 12,959 0 190 2,988 493 688
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 36,591 22,047 336 5,565 429 8,164 50
      Chemical engineering 18,629 9,117 19 3,486 2,724 3,163 120
      Civil engineering 13,823 7,401 457 2,587 928 1,759 691
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 25,789 16,355 0 1,998 3,518 3,372 546
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 7,259 6,089 0 773 29 368 0
      Mechanical engineering 26,550 18,304 130 2,205 4,291 1,422 198
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 11,489 6,355 0 1,823 900 2,411 0
      Engineering nec 1,420 1,406 0 7 0 7 0
    Non-S&E 48,715 26,395 299 7,904 841 12,779 497
      Business management and business administration 549 57 0 456 0 0 36
      Communication and communications technologies 831 540 0 125 0 166 0
      Education 44,601 25,611 299 6,079 75 12,091 446
      Humanities 629 43 0 486 0 85 15
      Law 1,778 136 0 636 766 240 0
      Social work 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Visual and performing arts 255 0 0 70 0 185 0
      Non-S&E nec 72 8 0 52 0 12 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: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Federally funded R&D expenditures, by federal agency: 2023–14
(Dollars in thousands)
Source of funds 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Federal Agencies 943,669 860,125 811,183 751,414 738,957 711,443 710,698 694,693 675,930 637,730
  DOD 87,775 75,608 76,467 69,428 69,469 70,691 85,205 82,737 83,093 86,549
  DOE 31,180 32,543 28,660 24,507 18,327 21,285 23,833 26,299 26,853 26,463
  HHS 712,159 643,308 599,239 551,284 544,763 509,214 493,259 468,993 444,739 406,581
  NASA 22,178 19,608 18,233 17,289 22,652 22,065 18,330 18,112 19,166 17,903
  NSF 79,757 79,477 79,576 78,681 75,886 76,885 76,874 83,761 86,631 86,219
  USDA 1,014 765 444 319 243 110 149 201 220 182
  Other 9,606 8,816 8,564 9,906 7,617 11,193 13,048 14,590 15,228 13,833

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Headcount of R&D personnel: 2023–17 [temporarily discontinued]
Year
2023 . . . .
2022 . . . .
2021 . . . .
2020 . . . .
2019 11,169 1,714 9,455 .
2018 10,767 1,560 9,207 .
2017 9,773 1,474 8,299 .

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field: 2023–14
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space 2023 2021 2019 2017 2015
  All research space 1,665 1,679 1,731 1,640 1,563
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 546 512 541 450 422
    Computer and information sciences 23 26 26 26 29
    Engineering 258 243 257 284 280
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 50 53 50 53 53
    Health sciences 487 512 508 499 465
    Mathematics and statistics 6 6 5 7 7
    Natural resources and conservation 7 8 7 0 0
    Physical sciences 242 268 272 265 256
    Psychology 16 21 22 22 19
    Social sciences 17 17 30 21 17
    Other 13 13 13 13 14

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

New construction of science and engineering research space, by field and time of construction: 2025–16
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space Planned to start in FY 2024 or FY 2025 Started in FY 2022 or FY 2023 Started in FY 2020 or FY 2021 Started in FY 2018 or FY 2019 Started in FY 2016 or FY 2017
  All research space . 14,763 . 57,947 249,812 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences . . . 0 174,153 0
    Computer and information sciences . 11,509 . 0 0 0
    Health sciences . . . 57,947 75,659 0
    Other . 3,254 . 0 0 0

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

Costs for repair and renovation of science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field and time of repair and renovation: 2025–16
(Dollars in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space Planned to start in FY 2024 or FY 2025 Started in FY 2022 or FY 2023 Started in FY 2020 or FY 2021 Started in FY 2018 or FY 2019 Started in FY 2016 or FY 2017
  All research space 37,839 75,456 26,735 7,862 43,823
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 0 11,107 676 574 5,373
    Computer and information sciences 0 0 0 0 777
    Engineering 19,665 11,346 0 0 23,057
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 2,368 401 350
    Health sciences 15,441 45,477 23,691 1,728 5,373
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 0
    Natural resources and conservation 0 475 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 2,734 7,051 0 5,159 8,893
    Psychology 0 0 0 0 0
    Social sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Other 0 0 0 0 0

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities