U. Rhode Island

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 163 65 459 173 71.7 602 157 83.1 914
2022 158 65.9 457 198 71.3 680 159 82.6 900
2021 167 63.2 447 168 76 691 195 67 583 151 83.6 908
2020 164 64.1 450 169 76.1 697 159 82.9 916
2019 147 67.6 447 179 74.6 696 192 67.8 589 151 83.7 914
2018 147 66.2 428 168 76.3 698 156 83.1 911
2017 146 66.1 425 171 75.4 684 187 67.9 575 152 83.3 898
2016 166 61.9 430 206 70.8 697 150 83.5 896
2015 161 62.7 426 202 71.2 693 169 70.8 570 148 83.8 898
2014 147 65.7 422 211 69.7 688 151 83.3 889
2013 183 67.5 555
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 major field of study of recipients: 2023–14
Fields 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All fields 88 92 83 90 103 104 100 84 92 102
  Science and engineering 72 71 60 72 84 83 83 64 73 85
    Science 47 56 43 59 69 68 64 51 58 71
      Life science 18 24 15 24 23 29 18 24 20 30
        Agricultural sciences 2 2 4 5 2 3 3 6 4 8
        Biological sciences 9 15 7 12 10 14 10 9 5 13
        Health sciences 7 7 4 7 11 12 5 9 11 9
      Physical sciences and earth sciences 21 16 15 14 26 21 14 11 18 18
        Chemistry 12 6 4 3 13 13 5 2 6 7
        Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 9 8 10 6 9 6 7 7 10 10
        Physics and astronomy . 2 1 5 4 2 2 2 2 1
      Mathematics and computer sciences 1 5 . 8 3 4 7 3 3 9
        Computer sciences . 3 . 3 3 2 3 1 1 4
        Mathematics 1 2 . 5 . 2 4 2 2 5
      Psychology and social sciences 7 11 13 13 17 14 25 13 17 14
        Psychology 5 9 12 12 13 10 23 12 15 13
        Economics 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 1
        Other social sciences 1 1 . . 2 1 1 . . .
    Engineering 25 15 17 13 15 15 19 13 15 14
      Biological/biomedical sciences . 2 1 . 1 . . 1 . .
      Chemical engineering 7 1 1 3 4 3 2 2 3 1
      Civil engineering 4 1 1 1 . . . 1 2 .
      Electrical engineering 1 4 5 2 3 2 5 3 2 2
      Industrial engineering 3 2 2 2 . 2 2 1 2 1
      Materials/metallurgical engineering . 1 . . . . . . . .
      Mechanical engineering 2 3 1 1 2 2 5 1 1 3
      Other engineering 8 1 6 4 5 6 5 4 5 7
  Non-science and engineering 16 21 23 18 19 21 17 20 19 17
    Education 8 14 9 7 10 7 9 8 7 12
      Education administration 1 1 1 . 1 2 3 . 1 1
      Education research 3 2 1 . 3 2 1 5 3 4
      Teacher education . 1 1 1 . . 2 1 . 1
      Teaching fields . 3 . . 3 1 1 1 2 1
      Other education 4 7 6 6 3 2 2 1 1 5
    Humanities 6 3 7 8 6 9 7 8 10 4
      Letters 5 3 7 8 6 9 7 8 10 4
      Other humanities and arts 1 . . . . . . . . .
    Other 2 4 7 3 3 5 1 4 2 1
      Business management/administration 2 3 7 3 3 5 1 4 2 1
      Fields not elsewhere classified (nec) . 1 . . . . . . . .

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: 2022–13

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: 2022–13

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: 2022–13

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: 2022–13

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: 2022–13

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: 2022–13

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
. 144,013 129,102 129,296 109,967 115,160 104,490 101,871 97,900 93,828 91,706
. 1,885 613 481 1,438 1,433 491 646 611 261 260
. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
. 1,907 2,146 1,539 2,052 1,165 514 485 966 1,122 1,781
. 1,624 1,244 1,195 1,369 2,355 1,080 1,279 1,431 1,247 763
. 4,226 3,464 3,663 3,406 3,905 3,387 2,938 1,723 1,270 949
. 17 9 40 0 0 4 10 4 0 0
. 2,417 2,481 1,793 1,228 1,518 1,122 964 1,369 1,293 1,097
. 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
. 3,772 1,937 2,026 1,808 1,371 1,227 1,669 1,013 886 1,090
. 119,228 103,258 109,500 91,877 96,797 90,361 87,555 84,013 80,250 78,692
. 36,874 29,670 28,984 27,699 24,563 24,101 22,192 23,299 21,362 20,603
. 2 5,359 3,849 2,397 2,944 2,714 4,076 2,314 8,125 8,060
. 0 775 2 0 0 5 0 0 0 0
. 22,967 15,848 17,614 18,161 13,997 9,141 6,667 8,640 4,392 6,027
. 8,469 4,223 3,310 3,741 5,076 10,337 9,709 10,789 7,005 5,738
. 5,436 3,465 4,209 3,400 2,546 1,904 1,740 1,556 1,840 778
. 57 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 64 0
. 4,195 7,743 19,636 12,716 13,925 9,512 7,543 7,428 6,138 9,324
. 3,779 3,552 3,222 2,059 1,483 2,030 1,507 1,502 1,572 1,495
. 4,447 2,746 1,417 2,377 2,432 3,204 2,605 2,753 4,636 4,498
. 965 388 565 937 168 836 757 354 67 19
. 0 287 0 24 82 204 272 196 71 17
. 0 0 3 0 530 0 0 0 0 0
. 587 69 85 92 136 110 86 51 90 158
. 2,895 2,002 764 1,324 1,516 2,054 1,490 2,152 4,408 4,304
. 61,366 54,685 52,469 42,634 50,513 47,018 49,241 43,504 40,356 38,351
. 10,374 11,031 11,501 13,990 16,292 16,484 14,903 11,415 9,712 8,050
. 38,572 34,107 32,011 19,534 27,245 27,351 29,939 28,029 26,822 26,862
. 17 11 0 0 47 58 169 261 418 164
. 12,403 9,536 8,957 9,110 6,929 3,125 4,230 3,799 3,404 3,275
. 2,484 743 439 523 687 783 703 636 399 432
. 6,026 4,119 3,328 3,869 3,194 3,713 3,764 4,891 5,723 3,989
. 421 102 20 100 95 104 52 145 202 522
. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
. 3,553 2,246 1,957 2,081 2,020 2,469 2,726 4,181 5,014 3,397
. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
. 2,052 1,771 1,351 1,688 1,079 1,140 986 565 507 70
. 10,148 13,913 9,030 7,908 7,731 6,219 6,674 7,338 7,689 7,313
. 391 145 13 2 162 165 70 23 0 0
. 0 132 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
. 1,816 1,364 2,271 1,001 207 381 276 1,075 1,428 65
. 3,185 1,504 1,287 2,289 2,809 1,672 1,815 1,652 2,241 2,844
. 737 597 609 88 999 844 741 122 232 53
. 790 819 3 0 0 0 0 14 0 0
. 1,344 8,739 4,366 3,090 2,121 2,666 3,126 3,841 3,527 4,087
. 674 650 510 319 318 575 297 43 71 21

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 144,013 102,056 6,615 29,165 2,094 3,441 642
    Science 119,228 86,905 5,343 22,612 1,373 2,353 642
      Computer and information sciences 2,484 2,431 0 0 0 53 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 61,366 45,185 1,633 12,702 260 1,533 53
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 17 0 0 4 0 13 0
        Geological and earth sciences 10,374 2,507 54 7,813 0 0 0
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 38,572 33,565 482 2,794 257 1,421 53
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 12,403 9,113 1,097 2,091 3 99 0
      Life sciences 36,874 27,275 3,348 4,978 909 305 59
        Agricultural sciences 5,436 3,730 15 1,691 0 0 0
        Biological and biomedical sciences 22,967 18,301 1,745 1,792 765 305 59
        Health sciences 2 0 0 2 0 0 0
        Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Life sciences nec 8,469 5,244 1,588 1,493 144 0 0
      Mathematics and statistics 57 57 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 6,026 3,062 0 1,959 44 433 528
        Astronomy and astrophysics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Chemistry 3,553 2,057 0 1,454 39 2 1
        Materials science 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Physics 421 155 0 265 0 0 1
        Physical sciences nec 2,052 850 0 240 5 431 526
      Psychology 3,779 3,098 0 632 49 0 0
      Social sciences 4,447 2,463 7 1,869 89 17 2
        Anthropology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Economics 965 292 0 647 26 0 0
        Political science and government 587 113 0 431 43 0 0
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Social sciences nec 2,895 2,058 7 791 20 17 2
      Sciences nec 4,195 3,334 355 472 22 12 0
    Engineering 14,637 11,545 571 1,759 710 52 0
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 674 621 46 7 0 0 0
      Chemical engineering 1,907 715 383 449 360 0 0
      Civil engineering 1,624 1,384 84 156 0 0 0
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 2,417 2,138 0 62 217 0 0
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 3,772 2,632 58 1,030 0 52 0
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 17 17 0 0 0 0 0
      Engineering nec 4,226 4,038 0 55 133 0 0
    Non-S&E 10,148 3,606 701 4,794 11 1,036 0
      Business management and business administration 1,816 699 0 1,117 0 0 0
      Communication and communications technologies 1,885 616 390 867 6 6 0
      Education 3,185 560 212 1,390 0 1,023 0
      Humanities 737 603 0 129 5 0 0
      Law 391 0 58 333 0 0 0
      Social work 790 464 0 326 0 0 0
      Visual and performing arts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Non-S&E nec 1,344 664 41 632 0 7 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 102,056 93,190 78,923 67,242 73,080 64,026 62,785 61,641 64,711 65,715
  DOD 12,127 9,281 6,546 4,913 5,439 5,307 4,744 6,172 6,018 5,285
  DOE 1,652 1,322 1,096 1,262 628 621 1,707 965 1,978 2,459
  HHS 26,068 21,890 20,897 19,303 16,927 17,317 14,295 15,408 18,982 19,856
  NASA 763 736 873 1,031 1,365 1,002 1,038 558 731 366
  NSF 15,519 19,687 19,473 18,523 22,832 16,945 16,207 14,392 15,870 18,022
  USDA 6,867 7,212 5,129 5,328 6,419 5,822 5,991 6,518 5,446 5,443
  Other 39,060 33,062 24,909 16,882 19,470 17,012 18,803 17,628 15,686 14,284

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 1,746 257 1,489 .
2018 1,713 213 1,500 .
2017 1,713 213 1,500 .

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 322 272 272 272 320
    Agricultural sciences 43 26 21 21 114
    Biological and biomedical sciences 71 49 49 49 28
    Computer and information sciences 2 1 1 1 1
    Engineering 58 26 26 26 24
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 100 86 86 86 93
    Health sciences 13 19 24 24 26
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 0
    Natural resources and conservation 0 34 36 36 0
    Physical sciences 27 14 14 14 10
    Psychology 6 1 1 1 16
    Social sciences 2 8 6 6 6
    Other 0 8 8 8 2

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 15,128 . . . 47,187
    Engineering 7,564 . . . 47,187
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 7,564 . . . 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 0 915 6,306 6,162 1,766
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Computer and information sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 0 0 0 0 1,766
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Health sciences 0 915 6,306 6,162 0
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 0
    Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    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