Washington 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 85 81.8 459 25 96 602 84 91 914
2022 76 83.7 457 104 85 680 77 91.6 900
2021 70 84.7 447 88 87.5 691 22 96.4 583 78 91.6 908
2020 59 87.2 450 84 88.2 697 76 91.9 916
2019 74 83.8 447 82 88.5 696 20 96.8 589 76 91.9 914
2018 64 85.4 428 83 88.4 698 74 92.1 911
2017 68 84.4 425 79 88.7 684 19 96.9 575 72 92.2 898
2016 68 84.5 430 83 88.3 697 77 91.6 896
2015 71 83.7 426 81 88.6 693 19 96.9 570 77 91.6 898
2014 74 82.8 422 84 88 688 79 91.3 889
2013 79 86.1 555
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 244 276 245 314 259 298 279 279 263 246
  Science and engineering 212 233 202 261 220 257 235 230 205 200
    Science 147 164 148 173 168 204 168 172 155 144
      Life science 66 85 64 74 72 105 95 91 72 67
        Agricultural sciences 22 36 22 21 31 49 40 36 29 28
        Biological sciences 32 37 29 36 25 42 38 39 35 29
        Health sciences 12 12 13 17 16 14 17 16 8 10
      Physical sciences and earth sciences 21 22 18 27 19 21 31 24 23 25
        Chemistry 11 11 8 12 11 10 19 18 11 12
        Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 3 4 5 6 4 4 3 1 4 3
        Physics and astronomy 7 7 5 9 4 7 9 5 8 10
      Mathematics and computer sciences 15 13 21 23 24 10 10 10 14 9
        Computer sciences 6 4 9 12 14 5 7 8 8 4
        Mathematics 9 9 12 11 10 5 3 2 6 5
      Psychology and social sciences 45 44 45 49 53 68 32 47 46 43
        Psychology 11 15 15 17 11 18 12 14 16 12
        Anthropology 2 2 5 4 2 4 2 7 4 3
        Economics 11 12 14 10 14 23 3 12 8 15
        Political science and government 3 3 1 2 4 3 2 3 3 2
        Sociology 4 4 1 8 6 4 4 4 4 2
        Other social sciences 14 8 9 8 16 16 9 7 11 9
    Engineering 65 69 54 88 52 53 67 58 50 56
      Biological/biomedical sciences 7 7 8 4 1 1 . 1 . 4
      Chemical engineering 15 11 7 12 6 5 11 14 7 7
      Civil engineering 4 6 6 4 5 2 7 3 1 6
      Electrical engineering 8 14 8 20 11 6 10 5 9 8
      Industrial engineering . . . . . 1 . . . .
      Materials/metallurgical engineering 13 10 5 10 7 15 10 7 8 7
      Mechanical engineering 5 15 11 13 11 10 6 12 8 7
      Other engineering 13 6 9 25 11 13 23 16 17 17
  Non-science and engineering 32 43 43 53 39 41 44 49 58 46
    Education 13 19 19 22 19 14 24 21 18 13
      Education administration . . 1 6 . . 1 5 . 1
      Education research 5 7 8 10 10 6 6 11 15 8
      Teacher education . 1 . . . . 1 . . .
      Teaching fields 7 6 8 3 8 4 10 5 2 4
      Other education 1 5 2 3 1 4 6 . 1 .
    Humanities 5 8 5 9 3 8 8 11 19 10
      Foreign languages & literature . . . . . . . 1 . .
      History 3 2 2 5 2 3 2 3 5 7
      Letters 2 6 3 4 1 5 4 5 9 3
      Other humanities and arts . . . . . . 2 2 5 .
    Other 14 16 19 22 17 19 12 17 21 23
      Business management/administration 7 10 13 15 10 12 9 16 15 18
      Communication 4 4 3 7 6 7 3 1 4 1
      Fields not elsewhere classified (nec) 3 2 3 . 1 . . . 2 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: 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
. 378,744 368,396 357,648 335,201 344,997 331,424 331,051 301,640 303,214 288,752
. 5,474 6,424 2,043 3,611 3,790 5,487 6,432 4,198 4,173 5,879
. 245 407 207 15 250 155 4 774 1,660 543
. 5,505 4,391 5,720 5,290 4,707 7,727 4,963 3,629 3,409 4,547
. 7,327 9,005 8,508 7,608 6,660 7,609 6,870 5,567 5,658 4,284
. 9,654 8,975 7,075 3,185 4,553 5,484 7,210 8,637 9,818 10,810
. 3,278 3,584 4,162 4,580 6,992 5,295 5,287 4,480 3,635 2,443
. 9,671 8,748 9,684 7,580 7,151 5,933 7,019 5,680 6,802 9,963
. 172 192 98 64 8 1,499 1,469 0 0 0
. 6,476 7,857 9,163 7,150 4,849 7,305 9,967 8,775 12,628 4,297
. 286,699 276,991 276,600 255,298 262,731 245,652 242,185 234,968 230,573 217,466
. 220,515 211,742 211,107 196,649 193,878 175,704 175,640 175,336 161,992 162,534
. 63,075 64,128 59,282 49,070 47,568 40,812 34,636 30,198 29,279 12,441
. 4,426 3,094 4,189 1,974 1,401 528 2,759 0 0 0
. 43,833 32,110 34,771 35,845 41,122 41,126 44,943 48,372 46,200 59,280
. 3,811 3,625 2,798 2,465 1,920 1,070 1,132 1,675 2,991 8,814
. 105,370 108,785 110,067 107,295 101,867 92,168 92,170 95,091 83,522 81,999
. 383 509 535 447 475 1,611 712 1,150 863 1,982
. 3,404 3,333 1,216 55 667 1,447 1,532 575 3,107 3,132
. 4,278 3,860 5,000 3,875 3,190 3,543 4,060 3,056 1,927 2,745
. 11,439 12,699 15,147 12,338 13,079 14,112 11,723 12,961 16,471 12,417
. 5,327 5,272 4,985 4,436 5,912 4,902 4,985 4,682 4,810 3,428
. 865 536 680 412 336 545 434 742 1,194 1,459
. 527 734 449 322 243 525 208 0 0 0
. 564 485 730 774 1,148 1,144 1,056 1,084 682 1,231
. 4,156 5,672 8,303 6,394 5,440 6,996 5,040 6,453 9,785 6,299
. 10,521 10,772 8,946 9,440 10,109 8,441 10,529 8,873 9,256 6,658
. 1,919 1,676 1,103 2,516 2,467 1,908 2,258 2,492 1,999 3,537
. 0 0 46 179 208 291 199 227 591 14
. 163 1 3 117 461 799 1,155 1,266 966 466
. 8,439 9,095 7,794 6,628 6,973 5,443 6,917 4,888 5,700 2,641
. 8,664 8,523 8,393 8,251 8,705 9,407 5,770 3,849 3,899 4,660
. 27,495 25,553 26,256 24,243 32,628 31,387 32,219 29,168 33,058 23,338
. 10,674 9,653 10,978 12,549 16,288 17,436 20,631 16,446 16,945 13,455
. 439 191 166 209 321 108 138 230 255 535
. 11,562 12,821 13,478 8,512 10,768 9,476 7,840 8,422 10,244 8,687
. 4,719 2,887 1,598 1,111 1,135 676 512 0 0 0
. 101 1 36 1,862 4,116 3,691 3,098 4,070 5,614 661
. 44,791 45,834 33,017 40,370 42,688 42,098 42,422 26,432 25,395 33,562
. 197 98 121 295 479 1,031 554 255 414 0
. 75 90 117 83 121 436 305 23 85 100
. 10,765 8,934 7,632 5,411 5,826 3,757 4,413 1,172 1,916 6,678
. 25,115 25,232 17,427 23,605 24,866 21,820 17,372 13,511 17,097 16,824
. 1,501 1,327 1,009 1,037 1,020 2,296 3,201 588 541 275
. 695 175 152 133 267 145 2,373 998 1,125 1,544
. 969 3,554 4,516 6,195 6,319 7,126 7,772 5,687 44 2,262
. 4,926 2,412 3,414 4,061 4,408 2,667 3,655 2,698 3,636 837

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 378,744 207,086 61,333 84,199 12,077 12,411 1,638
    Science 286,699 158,053 47,327 60,070 10,549 9,565 1,135
      Computer and information sciences 8,664 7,409 86 706 354 23 86
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 10,521 6,514 2,184 1,573 123 127 0
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 163 0 117 46 0 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 1,919 770 626 480 17 26 0
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 8,439 5,744 1,441 1,047 106 101 0
      Life sciences 220,515 120,447 35,149 46,994 9,379 7,604 942
        Agricultural sciences 105,370 43,232 22,814 28,655 7,633 2,712 324
        Biological and biomedical sciences 43,833 26,810 5,241 8,512 959 2,130 181
        Health sciences 63,075 45,863 5,511 8,048 783 2,433 437
        Natural resources and conservation 4,426 1,527 1,583 1,306 0 10 0
        Life sciences nec 3,811 3,015 0 473 4 319 0
      Mathematics and statistics 383 164 66 118 8 27 0
      Physical sciences 27,495 13,980 5,491 6,740 484 800 0
        Astronomy and astrophysics 439 317 0 45 0 77 0
        Chemistry 11,562 4,277 3,513 3,005 120 647 0
        Materials science 4,719 1,914 906 1,502 349 48 0
        Physics 10,674 7,374 1,072 2,185 15 28 0
        Physical sciences nec 101 98 0 3 0 0 0
      Psychology 4,278 2,496 260 1,218 54 250 0
      Social sciences 11,439 4,771 3,981 2,286 55 291 55
        Anthropology 527 316 13 135 16 47 0
        Economics 5,327 1,972 2,331 940 1 64 19
        Political science and government 564 79 195 234 0 56 0
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 865 273 368 178 0 46 0
        Social sciences nec 4,156 2,131 1,074 799 38 78 36
      Sciences nec 3,404 2,272 110 435 92 443 52
    Engineering 47,254 22,414 8,923 13,644 1,439 344 490
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 245 0 157 88 0 0 0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 4,926 1,672 2,206 956 41 48 3
      Chemical engineering 5,505 3,627 0 1,493 341 0 44
      Civil engineering 7,327 4,504 972 1,750 33 63 5
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 9,671 3,796 674 4,391 400 26 384
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 172 135 0 26 0 11 0
      Mechanical engineering 6,476 2,695 1,525 1,711 452 93 0
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 3,278 1,954 321 789 160 0 54
      Engineering nec 9,654 4,031 3,068 2,440 12 103 0
    Non-S&E 44,791 26,619 5,083 10,485 89 2,502 13
      Business management and business administration 10,765 4,045 2,726 3,827 68 86 13
      Communication and communications technologies 5,474 1,515 1,060 1,470 9 1,420 0
      Education 25,115 19,407 696 4,505 5 502 0
      Humanities 1,501 616 328 315 0 242 0
      Law 197 0 196 1 0 0 0
      Social work 695 569 0 65 0 61 0
      Visual and performing arts 75 2 26 47 0 0 0
      Non-S&E nec 969 465 51 255 7 191 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 207,086 187,580 179,536 154,623 158,982 151,133 152,843 136,646 134,889 126,955
  DOD 7,770 8,251 8,013 8,962 8,900 8,428 6,108 7,539 8,753 8,671
  DOE 21,866 22,296 24,402 19,553 21,283 17,836 17,812 17,207 18,549 11,427
  HHS 65,634 62,684 62,084 49,065 48,792 41,569 34,379 26,129 25,870 20,754
  NASA 1,021 1,454 1,403 1,104 622 1,157 805 596 264 280
  NSF 17,645 16,555 18,295 17,807 18,546 20,236 18,539 17,893 17,351 17,376
  USDA 61,410 52,115 44,992 36,033 36,317 38,154 50,929 42,813 35,338 34,009
  Other 31,740 24,225 20,347 22,099 24,522 23,753 24,271 24,469 28,764 34,438

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 5,283 1,036 4,247 .
2018 5,472 1,041 4,431 .
2017 5,912 1,042 4,870 .

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 2,446 2,563 2,487 2,429 2,385
    Agricultural sciences 968 1,230 985 879 887
    Biological and biomedical sciences 417 397 420 339 317
    Computer and information sciences 25 34 38 76 62
    Engineering 325 327 324 300 286
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 33 37 39 34 35
    Health sciences 352 260 403 461 474
    Mathematics and statistics 13 11 11 10 11
    Natural resources and conservation 31 23 26 23 23
    Physical sciences 203 150 157 227 213
    Psychology 42 41 31 30 30
    Social sciences 34 36 36 33 31
    Other 4 17 17 17 17

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 79,365 20,136 796 120,027 2,988
    Agricultural sciences 22,465 0 796 58,879 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 0 0 0 33,800 0
    Engineering 56,900 0 0 0 2,988
    Health sciences 0 1,764 0 23,560 0
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 500 0
    Natural resources and conservation 0 3,340 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 0 15,032 0 500 0
    Social sciences 0 0 0 2,788 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 29,892 13,185 7,139 3,355 10,146
    Agricultural sciences 2,397 5,168 1,798 1,704 257
    Biological and biomedical sciences 17,694 3,637 910 517 0
    Computer and information sciences 327 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 5,644 4,000 1,058 0 720
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 0 0 753
    Health sciences 1,501 0 3,372 1,135 257
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 0
    Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 2,328 380 0 0 7,664
    Psychology 0 0 0 0 494
    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