Pennsylvania State 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 15 97 459 25 96.5 679
2022 15 97 457 25 96.5 680
2021 14 97.1 447 28 96.1 691
2020 11 97.8 450 27 96.3 698
2019 17 96.4 447 28 96.2 697
2018 13 97.2 428 25 96.6 700
2017 12 97.4 425 28 96.1 684
2016 12 97.5 430 27 96.3 697
2015 13 97.2 426 25 96.6 693
2014 14 96.9 422 25 96.5 688
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 691 710 629 688 659 699 694 679 693 654
  Science and engineering 535 573 496 554 513 533 527 533 531 492
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 21 15 13 24 21 24 32 13 23 21
      Agricultural sciences 18 14 13 19 15 17 26 11 20 16
      Natural resources and conservation 3 1 . 5 6 7 6 2 3 5
    Biological and biomedical sciences 87 92 80 104 92 96 98 96 80 80
      Biochemistry and biophysics 7 9 5 6 11 11 14 12 7 7
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 20 21 14 18 10 16 5 13 5 3
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 6 12 6 10 7 6 9 6 3 5
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy 6 4 3 6 2 6 5 5 3 2
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 9 7 10 12 8 4 8 11 12 9
      Genetics and genomics . 3 3 2 2 4 2 2 2 7
      Microbiology and immunology 3 4 7 10 11 8 9 11 9 8
      Molecular biology 4 2 4 6 3 . 3 5 4 1
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 8 8 6 11 6 14 9 9 11 9
      Pharmacology and toxicology 2 . . 1 1 . 4 1 2 3
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 9 5 1 3 6 8 4 5 8 10
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 13 17 21 19 25 19 26 16 14 16
    Computer and information sciences 21 16 24 25 36 26 27 26 26 36
      Computer science 12 9 15 13 15 15 15 15 13 19
      Computer and information sciences, other 9 7 9 12 21 11 12 11 13 17
    Engineering 177 210 164 170 145 177 153 166 202 149
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 8 9 7 11 6 7 10 10 7 3
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 12 9 12 9 6 9 10 7 8 4
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 16 20 27 19 15 32 23 29 33 22
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 18 17 11 12 17 12 16 9 9 13
      Electrical and computer engineering 34 51 24 27 29 22 19 26 39 31
      Industrial engineering and operations research 12 19 12 14 10 17 10 16 15 9
      Materials and mining engineering 26 30 32 33 19 26 18 21 29 14
      Mechanical engineering 25 29 25 22 26 24 22 27 30 21
      Engineering, other 26 26 14 23 17 28 25 21 32 32
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 16 18 15 19 24 27 26 18 23 19
      Geological sciences 7 10 6 11 9 9 15 8 12 9
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 9 8 9 8 15 18 11 10 11 10
    Health sciences 14 19 15 17 15 10 19 18 18 20
      Nursing science 2 4 3 7 . 4 4 3 2 4
      Public health 1 4 3 2 4 1 6 8 3 2
      Health sciences, other 11 11 9 8 11 5 9 7 13 14
    Mathematics and statistics 30 35 28 32 23 24 14 27 25 22
      Applied mathematics 1 3 4 6 5 4 3 3 4 2
      Mathematics 1 1 4 3 8 6 3 4 2 9
      Statistics 14 18 10 8 6 7 4 7 15 8
      Mathematics and statistics, other 14 13 10 15 4 7 4 13 4 3
    Physical sciences 64 65 52 54 52 54 60 74 56 48
      Astronomy and astrophysics 12 9 5 8 5 9 6 6 4 7
      Chemistry 28 35 22 24 21 18 30 38 29 24
      Physics 24 21 25 22 26 27 24 30 23 17
    Psychology 49 43 43 41 36 34 34 43 25 34
      Clinical psychology 6 7 10 10 7 7 7 10 2 7
      Counseling and applied psychology 6 7 6 7 6 6 12 11 6 9
      Research and experimental psychology 16 10 17 14 16 8 8 9 9 9
      Psychology, other 21 19 10 10 7 13 7 13 8 9
    Social sciences 56 60 62 68 69 61 64 52 53 63
      Anthropology 3 3 4 4 4 4 1 . 2 2
      Economics 17 12 16 19 14 9 18 13 13 15
      Political science and government 6 5 3 7 7 8 6 6 3 10
      Public policy analysis . . 2 . 1 3 2 . 2 1
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 11 5 13 10 12 12 14 12 12 20
      Social sciences, other 19 35 24 28 31 25 23 21 21 15
  Non-science and engineering 156 137 133 134 146 166 167 146 162 162
    Business 25 12 16 16 18 15 18 18 20 24
      Business 25 12 16 16 18 15 18 18 20 24
    Education 72 77 70 70 82 77 96 74 76 74
      Education leadership and administration 6 5 2 5 7 6 10 9 5 8
      Education research 37 45 43 43 51 48 49 32 50 43
      Teacher education and teaching fields 18 17 16 12 15 12 20 23 13 14
      Education, other 11 10 9 10 9 11 17 10 8 9
    Humanities and arts 35 28 27 35 32 44 35 36 47 39
      Letters 12 15 9 16 11 17 14 13 24 11
      Foreign languages and literature 9 4 3 7 3 11 9 7 10 12
      History 5 4 6 3 6 7 4 6 4 8
      Philosophy and religious studies 3 2 5 4 7 6 4 7 2 6
      Music and performing arts . . . . . . 2 . . .
      Humanities and arts, other 6 3 4 5 5 3 2 3 7 2
    Other non-science and engineering 24 20 20 13 14 30 18 18 19 25
      Communication 15 11 12 7 7 24 10 12 15 18
      Public administration and social services 2 2 3 1 3 1 3 1 . 3
      Non-science and engineering, other 7 7 5 5 4 5 5 5 4 4

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 3,002 2,991 2,828 2,684 2,659 2,559 2,449 2,558 2,524 2,553
    Female 2,310 2,248 2,090 1,911 1,844 1,739 1,595 1,627 1,685 1,680
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 2,513 2,612 2,590 2,542 2,301 2,258 2,083 2,102 2,135 2,231
    Hispanic or Latino 294 301 272 227 207 201 190 145 144 134
    Not Hispanic or Latino 2,162 2,269 2,267 2,246 2,020 2,005 1,841 1,872 1,940 2,028
      American Indian or Alaska Native 2 1 3 2 5 3 2 6 1 4
      Asian 224 213 202 209 170 169 147 127 133 121
      Black or African American 128 133 137 109 105 88 84 83 90 87
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 3 1
      White 1,713 1,818 1,811 1,809 1,640 1,666 1,539 1,638 1,679 1,765
      More than one race 93 103 113 116 100 79 69 17 34 50
    Unknown ethnicity and race 57 42 51 69 74 52 52 85 51 69
  Temporary visa holders 2,799 2,627 2,328 2,053 2,202 2,040 1,961 2,083 2,074 2,002
  Science and engineering 5,118 5,045 4,735 4,433 4,362 4,148 3,909 4,078 4,098 4,119
    Science 3,312 3,240 3,115 2,951 2,923 2,752 2,581 2,641 2,673 2,699
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 166 157 135 141 143 155 156 172 193 179
      Biological and biomedical sciences 711 709 689 641 634 602 548 566 594 569
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 99 90 99
      Computer and information sciences 644 562 487 428 448 369 333 282 287 283
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 61 70 61
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 137 152 147 137 129 125 123 152 153 155
      Mathematics and statistics 246 224 221 214 203 193 195 185 172 163
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 192 205 177 146 169 103 82 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 23 23 21 27 28 21 18 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 488 505 475 459 412 417 402 379 389 444
      Psychology 294 286 299 297 258 275 271 233 231 260
      Social sciences 411 417 464 461 499 492 453 465 461 454
    Engineering 1,806 1,805 1,620 1,482 1,439 1,396 1,328 1,437 1,425 1,420
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 110 114 102 104 94 91 95 99 94 97
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 109 111 93 77 67 64 66 61 51 43
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 155 235 210 198 194 191 180 215 224 246
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 288 283 193 163 149 119 138 173 166 157
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 212 230 229 205 231 216 214 228 211 225
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 167 164 153 154 163 153 157 185 170 164
      Mechanical engineering 246 238 217 214 191 200 178 193 202 181
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 182 187 194 177 177 187 160 160 150 148
      Other engineering 337 243 229 190 173 175 140 123 157 159
  Health 194 194 183 162 141 150 135 107 111 114
    Clinical medicine 68 70 68 54 36 42 37 0 0 0
    Other health 126 124 115 108 105 108 98 107 111 114

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 1,406 1,416 1,518 1,636 1,580 1,343 1,314 406 272 277
    Female 659 747 808 834 799 661 593 314 152 185
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 1,916 1,959 2,160 2,252 2,186 1,823 1,675 613 357 376
    Hispanic or Latino 169 164 157 162 176 152 126 45 18 15
    Not Hispanic or Latino 1,719 1,759 1,967 2,060 1,977 1,635 1,507 512 327 332
      American Indian or Alaska Native 3 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 1 3
      Asian 197 185 206 203 197 147 137 24 20 18
      Black or African American 103 84 85 102 110 95 88 38 11 12
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 2 1 2 2 2 4 5 0 0 0
      White 1,354 1,409 1,587 1,650 1,563 1,328 1,239 431 288 295
      More than one race 60 78 85 101 103 58 37 17 7 4
    Unknown ethnicity and race 28 36 36 30 33 36 42 56 12 29
  Temporary visa holders 149 204 166 218 193 181 232 107 67 86
  Science and engineering 2,045 2,126 2,294 2,410 2,334 1,975 1,870 703 407 451
    Science 1,227 1,384 1,439 1,559 1,499 1,176 1,138 482 244 262
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 9 7 12 11 7 6 12 25 11 16
      Biological and biomedical sciences 65 74 65 80 62 59 51 24 34 36
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
      Computer and information sciences 316 304 268 342 441 465 455 41 29 35
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 0 3 9 10 20 16 23 2 2 2
      Mathematics and statistics 174 214 251 248 139 142 153 1 1 3
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 235 307 349 383 346 20 16 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 12 12 7 7 6 8 7 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 43 48 52 41 39 43 40 12 24 10
      Psychology 126 142 139 159 189 207 179 22 34 37
      Social sciences 247 273 287 278 250 210 202 355 108 120
    Engineering 818 742 855 851 835 799 732 221 163 189
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 16 13 12 7 12 10 14 19 16 10
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 4 3 8 2 4 5 4 1 0 2
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 2 2 5 6 9 18 20 20 18 13
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 17 24 81 75 67 64 89 16 11 11
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 206 190 227 245 267 260 237 9 6 24
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 213 258 289 302 279 235 193 32 27 30
      Mechanical engineering 109 90 82 92 91 97 70 59 36 27
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 2 3 3 4 6 6 8 2 8 1
      Other engineering 249 159 148 118 100 104 97 63 41 71
  Health 20 37 32 60 45 29 37 17 17 11
    Clinical medicine 14 27 23 51 30 19 24 0 0 0
    Other health 6 10 9 9 15 10 13 17 17 11

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 1,181 1,169 1,329 1,018 978 1,024 980 931 1,063 1,046
  Science and engineering 1,170 1,163 1,309 994 953 1,004 970 921 1,048 1,027
    Science 631 651 657 622 604 596 583 605 681 662
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 44 29 24 31 28 28 57 13 17 21
      Biological and biomedical sciences 186 184 197 197 188 201 180 129 160 169
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
      Computer and information sciences 135 120 118 77 109 64 82 104 99 84
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 28 18
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 66 86 82 46 49 42 32 94 86 84
      Mathematics and statistics 8 20 22 18 16 25 7 13 13 8
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 6 6 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 2 4 8 2 0 0 11 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 146 153 130 158 131 125 126 162 195 195
      Psychology 21 34 41 70 24 42 28 22 36 34
      Social sciences 17 15 35 23 58 69 60 40 39 40
    Engineering 539 512 652 372 349 408 387 316 367 365
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 26 39 44 29 20 27 22 24 29 36
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 53 45 40 28 33 22 25 23 22 18
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 49 73 68 56 43 40 45 36 50 46
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 59 53 62 31 19 15 17 2 12 23
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 64 65 101 52 57 52 47 39 42 47
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 24 20 17 32 22 27 25 23 20 16
      Mechanical engineering 78 67 86 95 56 89 75 64 79 66
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 91 93 167 0 67 96 89 70 63 70
      Other engineering 95 57 67 49 32 40 42 35 50 43
  Health 11 6 20 24 25 20 10 10 15 19
    Clinical medicine 1 0 2 2 1 2 1 0 0 0
    Other health 10 6 18 22 24 18 9 10 15 19

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 5,312 5,239 4,918 4,595 4,503 4,298 4,044 4,185 4,209 4,233
  Fellowships 342 340 320 284 294 314 303 315 327 292
    Federal 37 0 167 168 142 132 126 100 129 118
    Institutional 304 340 138 86 139 170 150 188 183 159
    Nonfederal 1 0 15 30 13 12 27 27 15 15
  Research assistantships 2,516 2,431 2,312 2,065 1,939 1,940 1,774 1,981 1,971 2,035
    Federal 1,091 1,085 1,126 840 815 868 848 822 907 909
    Institutional 1,098 1,014 940 992 879 906 734 959 889 942
    Nonfederal 327 332 246 233 245 166 192 200 175 184
  Teaching assistantships 1,238 1,354 1,228 1,050 1,071 1,011 961 1,076 1,148 1,130
    Federal 41 73 21 10 19 23 6 3 9 8
    Institutional 1,181 1,255 1,168 1,033 1,042 946 938 1,066 1,138 1,114
    Nonfederal 16 26 39 7 10 42 17 7 1 8
  Other types of support 1,216 1,114 1,058 1,196 1,199 1,033 1,006 813 763 776
    Federal 12 11 15 0 2 1 0 6 18 11
    Institutional 13 33 14 9 16 17 10 68 69 72
    Nonfederal 12 1 2 0 11 4 4 33 33 30
    Personal resources 1,179 1,069 1,027 1,187 1,170 1,011 992 706 643 663

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 416 428 362 524 475 374 363 431 403 422
    Science 317 346 289 450 372 291 282 349 307 310
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 20 27 24 0 20 19 15 29 17 19
      Biological and biomedical sciences 97 112 116 273 163 106 113 175 148 153
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 10 8 2 3 3 6 7 20 23 18
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 15 14 2 9 20 19 21 22 17 17
      Mathematics and statistics 18 13 13 9 9 17 16 10 7 2
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 8 10 2 10 12 14 8 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 23 21 12 0 10 7 7 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 85 96 91 98 75 64 64 72 69 81
      Psychology 23 19 13 24 17 15 9 9 15 12
      Social sciences 18 26 14 24 43 24 22 10 9 8
    Engineering 99 82 73 74 103 83 81 82 96 112
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 2 0 1 2 0 0 1 1 2
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 14 14 13 10 12 10 12 14 11 8
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 14 10 9 9 13 14 17 11 18 20
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 12 12 14 16 12 7 7 7 7 22
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 11 7 8 10 12 9 10 9 16 15
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 1 3 2
      Mechanical engineering 14 12 8 9 8 0 2 10 14 14
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 2 3 1 2 28 20 15 22 18 22
      Other engineering 32 22 20 15 14 22 18 7 8 7
  Health 7 6 2 50 35 27 36 30 33 34
    Clinical medicine 0 0 2 47 26 0 23 29 28 22
    Other health 7 6 0 3 9 27 13 1 5 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 227 215 206 309 300 238 210 271 290 305
  Science and engineering 224 213 206 291 285 224 200 263 273 291
    Science 170 163 151 243 229 179 147 221 211 221
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 12 12 10 0 13 13 11 8 15 15
      Biological and biomedical sciences 60 56 57 149 93 65 64 108 90 105
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 8 4 0 1 3 6 7 16 18 18
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 11 10 2 6 14 13 12 18 16 15
      Mathematics and statistics 5 4 6 3 2 4 2 8 3 2
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 4 4 1 0 9 11 4 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 10 12 8 0 6 3 5 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 51 52 58 60 47 42 34 53 55 54
      Psychology 7 5 4 16 9 8 0 5 11 6
      Social sciences 2 4 5 8 33 14 8 4 2 6
    Engineering 54 50 55 48 56 45 53 42 62 70
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 2
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 11 11 11 9 11 9 9 9 8 8
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 8 6 6 7 5 5 9 2 11 10
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 2 3 9 7 4 2 3 1 4 5
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 5 4 5 6 6 5 9 5 13 11
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 8 10 7 8 4 0 1 4 8 12
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 1 0 19 12 7 16 12 16
      Other engineering 20 15 16 10 5 12 15 3 5 6
  Health 3 2 0 18 15 14 10 8 17 14
    Clinical medicine 0 0 0 17 8 0 6 8 13 8
    Other health 3 2 0 1 7 14 4 0 4 6

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