Vanderbilt U. and Vanderbilt U. Medical Center

Rankings

Data year Earned doctorates Full-time graduate students Total R&D expenditures Research space
Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked
2024 24 97.5 925
2023 24 97.5 911 67 89.1 602
2022 24 97.5 900
2021 24 97.5 908 62 89.6 583
2020 31 96.8 916
2019 33 96.5 914 57 90.6 589
2018 31 96.7 911
2017 31 96.7 898 62 89.5 575
2016 31 96.7 896
2015 30 96.8 898 62 89.4 570
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

Total R&D expenditures, by field: 2024–15
(Dollars in thousands)
Field 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  All R&D fields   1,327,870   1,253,156   1,086,223   1,019,273   824,803   776,937   738,620   712,036   640,842   647,816
    Science   1,139,545   1,064,967   930,290   882,030   680,043   636,038   614,878   597,726   545,870   559,126
      Computer and information sciences   28,126   24,592   14,617   18,226   0   0   199   0   0   0
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   2,377   3,637   1,737   1,861   1,919   1,586   3,355   3,608   4,146   4,299
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geological and earth sciences   2,377   3,637   1,737   1,861   1,919   1,586   3,355   3,608   4,146   4,299
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Life sciences   1,021,073   958,220   846,605   806,323   625,549   581,939   560,124   542,857   495,654   489,531
        Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Biological and biomedical sciences   248,421   221,265   194,205   206,202   183,620   172,681   170,095   164,993   142,523   169,129
        Health sciences   770,045   729,531   651,870   599,247   441,313   408,035   388,100   377,186   350,406   279,018
        Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   13   10   4   228   0   0   0
        Life sciences nec   2,607   7,424   530   861   606   1,219   1,701   678   2,725   41,384
      Mathematics and statistics   1,849   2,323   1,421   1,317   1,689   1,211   1,739   1,762   1,361   1,290
      Physical sciences   33,650   30,399   28,937   30,077   28,017   28,951   29,053   31,035   28,783   42,365
        Astronomy and astrophysics   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Chemistry   19,505   18,843   17,734   16,401   13,559   12,997   14,798   17,906   16,897   28,687
        Materials science   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Physics   14,145   11,556   11,203   13,676   14,458   15,954   14,239   13,129   11,886   13,678
        Physical sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   16   0   0   0
      Psychology   24,242   17,439   15,372   15,687   15,682   15,490   15,501   14,313   10,459   12,159
      Social sciences   28,228   28,357   21,601   8,539   7,187   6,861   4,907   4,151   5,467   6,902
        Anthropology   2,707   2,126   2,306   498   380   334   174   260   342   0
        Economics   5,581   5,229   3,824   1,019   934   454   876   544   645   716
        Political science and government   8,818   8,924   8,098   4,472   3,280   3,438   2,909   3,139   3,988   5,193
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   714   1,085   615   161   9   530   235   208   492   575
        Social sciences nec   10,408   10,993   6,758   2,389   2,584   2,105   713   0   0   418
      Sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   2,580
    Engineering   83,016   82,313   78,534   86,541   94,674   94,340   87,250   83,560   66,481   60,740
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   20,688   22,112   21,651   17,168   16,001   17,235   17,011   13,374   10,795   7,223
      Chemical engineering   12,542   11,463   9,456   13,397   13,064   11,476   8,487   7,843   5,540   6,193
      Civil engineering   14,563   14,894   14,050   18,394   17,127   16,623   13,768   13,774   10,424   10,419
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   20,320   21,386   20,748   22,593   34,296   37,686   38,141   39,549   30,401   28,466
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   13,366   10,189   10,212   11,685   11,033   8,855   8,415   8,815   9,151   8,318
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Engineering nec   1,537   2,269   2,417   3,304   3,153   2,465   1,428   205   170   121
    Non-S&E   105,309   105,876   77,399   50,702   50,086   46,559   36,492   30,750   28,491   27,950
      Business management and business administration   11,126   11,318   9,349   45   63   11   1,501   820   189   335
      Communication and communications technologies   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   502
      Education   62,081   59,988   45,325   47,108   47,100   41,757   31,578   23,443   22,510   21,406
      Humanities   2,470   2,370   3,872   1,686   1,466   1,733   1,944   4,002   4,243   3,267
      Law   8,919   9,254   6,860   354   444   270   196   1,704   1,353   2,156
      Social work   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Visual and performing arts   7,878   10,060   5,372   1   0   1,749   505   0   2   35
      Non-S&E nec   12,835   12,886   6,621   1,508   1,013   1,039   768   781   194   249

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: 2024
(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   1,327,870   809,693   4,834   365,662   86,141   48,347   13,193
    Science   1,139,545   728,173   3,286   276,746   83,743   41,868   5,729
      Computer and information sciences   28,126   17,984   0   7,752   340   1,888   162
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   2,377   1,138   0   1,169   0   0   70
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geological and earth sciences   2,377   1,138   0   1,169   0   0   70
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Life sciences   1,021,073   675,270   3,286   218,345   82,705   37,613   3,854
        Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Biological and biomedical sciences   248,421   154,601   184   67,115   13,876   10,981   1,664
        Health sciences   770,045   518,062   3,102   151,230   68,829   26,632   2,190
        Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Life sciences nec   2,607   2,607   0   0   0   0   0
      Mathematics and statistics   1,849   643   0   1,163   0   21   22
      Physical sciences   33,650   17,527   0   13,855   603   771   894
        Astronomy and astrophysics   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Chemistry   19,505   10,246   0   8,301   534   156   268
        Materials science   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Physics   14,145   7,281   0   5,554   69   615   626
        Physical sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Psychology   24,242   12,317   0   10,902   0   933   90
      Social sciences   28,228   3,294   0   23,560   95   642   637
        Anthropology   2,707   208   0   2,145   0   342   12
        Economics   5,581   6   0   5,319   95   151   10
        Political science and government   8,818   2,976   0   5,770   0   8   64
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   714   55   0   631   0   3   25
        Social sciences nec   10,408   49   0   9,695   0   138   526
      Sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
    Engineering   83,016   54,388   0   22,927   1,466   3,636   599
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   20,688   12,974   0   6,524   330   793   67
      Chemical engineering   12,542   8,635   0   2,928   28   848   103
      Civil engineering   14,563   9,770   0   3,941   208   571   73
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   20,320   14,405   0   5,169   354   178   214
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   13,366   7,896   0   3,536   546   1,246   142
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Engineering nec   1,537   708   0   829   0   0   0
    Non-S&E   105,309   27,132   1,548   65,989   932   2,843   6,865
      Business management and business administration   11,126   0   0   11,088   0   0   38
      Communication and communications technologies   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Education   62,081   26,856   1,548   27,909   504   2,499   2,765
      Humanities   2,470   0   0   2,308   0   149   13
      Law   8,919   4   0   8,772   0   29   114
      Social work   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Visual and performing arts   7,878   5   0   7,846   0   0   27
      Non-S&E nec   12,835   267   0   8,066   428   166   3,908

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: 2024–15
(Dollars in thousands)
Source of funds 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
Federal Agencies   809,693   751,019   666,282   586,880   514,299   492,808   471,625   452,885   405,589   401,738
  DOD   43,771   35,148   37,196   34,170   31,004   35,452   32,871   27,566   29,424   31,704
  DOE   10,490   11,932   10,858   11,471   12,422   13,681   9,952   9,300   10,182   10,422
  HHS   696,253   647,384   570,513   497,479   428,884   402,645   388,489   376,670   325,965   317,534
  NASA   3,305   3,815   3,032   2,346   2,185   4,141   1,614   1,586   1,026   1,316
  NSF   33,854   29,839   27,889   25,555   23,791   18,768   19,876   18,238   20,569   21,474
  USDA   372   795   880   879   802   528   618   294   331   207
  Other   21,648   22,106   15,914   14,980   15,211   17,593   18,205   19,231   18,092   19,081

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: 2024–18 [temporarily discontinued]
Year
2024   .   .   .   .
2023   .   .   .   .
2022   .   .   .   .
2021   .   .   .   .
2020   .   .   .   .
2019   6,906 i   1,142 i   5,764 i   .
2018   6,643 i   1,081 i   5,562 i   .

i=imputed

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   1,044   1,063   1,056   1,037   980
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   328   350   399   348   390
    Computer and information sciences   48   0   0   3   3
    Engineering   84   132   118   128   111
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   6   6   0   5   4
    Health sciences   492   472   477   440   358
    Mathematics and statistics   2   1   1   1   1
    Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   1
    Physical sciences   60   77   37   86   81
    Psychology   19   21   22   24   23
    Social sciences   5   5   2   2   7
    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

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   0   0   0   0   0
    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   0
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Health sciences   0   0   0   0   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

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   34,816   103,010   19,822   3,642   26,936
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   29,029   38,812   3,400   0   0
    Computer and information sciences   0   19,554   0   0   0
    Engineering   0   29,987   0   2,457   2,445
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Health sciences   5,787   12,064   16,422   0   23,010
    Mathematics and statistics   0   0   0   322   0
    Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0
    Physical sciences   0   2,205   0   863   437
    Psychology   0   0   0   0   394
    Social sciences   0   388   0   0   650
    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

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