Cornell 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 21 95.7 459 16 97.8 679 28 95.6 602 13 98.7 914
2022 28 94.1 457 17 97.7 680 14 98.6 900
2021 25 94.7 447 14 98.1 691 26 95.8 583 14 98.6 908
2020 23 95.2 450 13 98.3 698 12 98.8 916
2019 21 95.6 447 10 98.7 697 25 96 589 13 98.7 914
2018 21 95.4 428 13 98.3 700 13 98.7 911
2017 25 94.4 425 14 98.1 684 23 96.2 575 13 98.7 898
2016 25 94.5 430 13 98.3 697 13 98.7 896
2015 25 94.4 426 14 98.1 693 18 97 570 12 98.8 898
2014 22 95.1 422 13 98.3 688 14 98.6 889
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 549 509 472 514 527 539 496 492 481 507
  Science and engineering 475 444 414 443 448 459 427 412 414 424
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 57 37 44 46 46 47 43 31 37 32
      Agricultural sciences 50 36 39 39 39 40 34 23 30 26
      Natural resources and conservation 7 1 5 7 7 7 9 8 7 6
    Biological and biomedical sciences 95 87 76 93 78 83 89 81 72 89
      Biochemistry and biophysics 14 10 8 9 19 11 9 12 5 17
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 17 8 7 5 9 4 4 3 2 5
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 6 4 6 6 . 2 9 4 5 .
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy 2 3 1 . 1 4 1 . 5 5
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 16 8 7 15 10 6 11 14 11 7
      Genetics and genomics 8 10 6 12 5 4 6 8 5 7
      Microbiology and immunology 8 16 7 11 9 9 5 7 8 11
      Molecular biology 6 7 3 7 2 6 10 2 1 7
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 3 3 7 1 2 4 1 5 2 1
      Pharmacology and toxicology . . . . 2 3 3 3 3 4
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology . 1 1 . . 1 . 1 2 4
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 15 17 23 27 19 29 30 22 23 21
    Computer and information sciences 34 34 32 29 18 29 27 26 15 12
      Computer science 23 28 25 20 16 19 25 22 14 11
      Computer and information sciences, other 11 6 7 9 2 10 2 4 1 1
    Engineering 122 108 104 115 125 109 107 104 122 110
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 8 8 2 4 4 2 3 3 3 3
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 22 17 23 19 25 19 20 24 19 17
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 17 16 17 21 28 10 18 16 8 9
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 10 10 7 7 13 10 10 10 19 8
      Electrical and computer engineering 21 23 20 21 17 26 21 19 32 26
      Industrial engineering and operations research 12 3 8 9 6 9 4 5 3 8
      Materials and mining engineering 7 7 9 11 13 14 10 9 9 11
      Mechanical engineering 21 21 16 19 15 13 16 16 25 21
      Engineering, other 4 3 2 4 4 6 5 2 4 7
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 6 3 2 8 8 14 11 7 12 5
      Geological sciences 2 2 2 6 4 9 6 3 7 2
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 4 1 . 2 4 5 5 4 5 3
    Health sciences . 1 . . 1 . . 1 2 .
      Public health . 1 . . . . . 1 1 .
      Health sciences, other . . . . 1 . . . 1 .
    Mathematics and statistics 19 35 23 18 25 26 19 23 22 25
      Applied mathematics 4 10 3 5 5 9 6 7 5 10
      Mathematics 1 1 3 1 4 5 4 2 11 5
      Statistics 8 10 8 4 3 2 3 3 4 3
      Mathematics and statistics, other 6 14 9 8 13 10 6 11 2 7
    Physical sciences 62 58 66 65 56 80 49 66 57 75
      Astronomy and astrophysics 3 7 10 5 7 5 4 7 5 9
      Chemistry 22 20 26 22 18 35 18 24 20 31
      Physics 37 31 30 38 31 40 27 35 32 35
    Psychology 7 14 6 13 16 12 10 17 13 12
      Counseling and applied psychology . . . 3 2 1 2 1 . 1
      Research and experimental psychology 5 10 5 6 9 6 6 8 9 8
      Psychology, other 2 4 1 4 5 5 2 8 4 3
    Social sciences 73 67 61 56 75 59 72 56 62 64
      Anthropology 6 7 4 4 6 7 2 6 8 5
      Economics 21 25 17 25 24 18 27 17 20 17
      Political science and government 7 10 8 3 14 10 13 6 9 11
      Public policy analysis 3 2 2 1 1 1 . 1 2 3
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 11 8 11 8 14 10 14 12 4 11
      Social sciences, other 25 15 19 15 16 13 16 14 19 17
  Non-science and engineering 74 65 58 71 79 80 69 80 67 83
    Business 11 12 14 16 11 8 14 16 11 16
      Business 11 12 14 16 11 8 14 16 11 16
    Education . . . 1 3 2 . 3 2 5
      Education leadership and administration . . . . . . . . . .
      Education research . . . 1 1 1 . 1 1 2
      Teacher education and teaching fields . . . . . 1 . 2 . .
      Education, other . . . . 2 . . . 1 3
    Humanities and arts 45 44 36 42 51 60 43 52 43 53
      Letters 16 18 14 6 14 15 7 16 18 18
      Foreign languages and literature 4 6 3 11 8 13 13 11 6 16
      History 9 6 6 11 8 15 11 7 12 8
      Philosophy and religious studies 4 5 3 5 9 4 7 5 2 6
      Music and performing arts 3 4 6 5 5 6 1 8 3 4
      Humanities and arts, other 9 5 4 4 7 7 4 5 2 1
    Other non-science and engineering 18 9 8 12 14 10 12 9 11 9
      Communication 6 5 4 5 6 8 5 6 9 4
      Non-science and engineering, other 12 4 4 7 8 2 7 3 2 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 3,206 3,063 3,141 2,921 3,105 2,949 2,888 2,821 2,843 2,768
    Female 2,914 2,814 2,842 2,418 2,645 2,461 2,234 2,342 2,246 2,169
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 2,921 2,862 3,090 2,885 2,853 2,807 2,770 2,728 2,679 2,692
    Hispanic or Latino 347 350 346 322 303 45 257 250 217 129
    Not Hispanic or Latino 2,423 2,352 2,588 2,408 2,397 2,584 2,359 2,315 2,307 2,394
      American Indian or Alaska Native 10 10 19 10 9 8 9 4 5 10
      Asian 583 537 595 475 482 417 420 415 385 378
      Black or African American 155 159 172 163 152 391 107 107 105 97
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 6 7 6
      White 1,515 1,500 1,649 1,635 1,642 1,666 1,733 1,685 1,705 1,718
      More than one race 157 143 149 121 108 98 85 98 100 185
    Unknown ethnicity and race 151 160 156 155 153 178 154 163 155 169
  Temporary visa holders 3,199 3,015 2,893 2,454 2,897 2,603 2,352 2,435 2,410 2,245
  Science and engineering 6,022 5,775 5,983 5,248 5,670 5,355 4,971 5,020 4,961 4,841
    Science 3,999 3,849 4,134 3,541 3,779 3,530 3,298 3,363 3,285 3,170
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 304 344 429 284 265 254 242 306 308 277
      Biological and biomedical sciences 1,264 1,211 1,214 1,157 1,138 1,097 1,011 847 841 851
        Neurobiology and neuroscience 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 93 81 89
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 33 35
      Computer and information sciences 894 819 788 657 693 593 559 499 418 356
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 38 38 40
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 51 47 42 33 35 35 36 43 46 43
      Mathematics and statistics 264 239 244 207 218 191 193 195 205 181
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 44 40 35 38 24 26 21 20 19 18
      Natural resources and conservation 75 63 79 60 62 55 67 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 390 387 389 348 362 363 519 340 341 354
      Psychology 94 87 84 86 36 38 64 37 35 40
      Social sciences 619 612 830 671 946 878 586 910 920 886
    Engineering 2,023 1,926 1,849 1,707 1,891 1,825 1,673 1,657 1,676 1,671
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 56 43 46 42 35 38 34 33 28 31
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 204 195 217 180 170 187 196 181 193 170
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 159 163 138 131 166 211 159 173 203 198
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 101 100 111 88 146 125 125 148 134 163
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 382 333 294 270 345 302 262 283 346 320
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 627 579 537 539 527 461 434 358 300 296
      Mechanical engineering 181 212 213 181 185 181 172 174 163 180
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 186 152 148 118 162 166 153 129 129 127
      Other engineering 127 149 145 158 155 154 138 178 180 186
    Health 98 102 0 91 80 55 151 143 128 96
      Clinical medicine 98 102 0 91 0 0 15 0 0 0
      Other health 0 0 0 0 80 55 136 143 128 96

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 47 29 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Female 58 44 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 91 67 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Hispanic or Latino 9 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Not Hispanic or Latino 73 60 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      American Indian or Alaska Native 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Asian 7 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Black or African American 7 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      White 56 45 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      More than one race 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Unknown ethnicity and race 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Temporary visa holders 14 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Science and engineering 91 59 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Science 88 57 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 17 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 48 30 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Neurobiology and neuroscience 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Psychology 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social sciences 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Other engineering 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Health 14 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Clinical medicine 14 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Other health 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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 2013
All surveyed fields 1,277 1,175 1,171 1,096 946 915 949 819 847 830 0
  Science and engineering 1,274 1,175 1,171 1,096 946 915 938 800 829 812 0
    Science 893 813 764 716 616 598 664 510 530 525 0
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 87 81 63 72 35 40 28 47 53 29 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 447 388 355 331 320 301 330 210 202 189 0
        Neurobiology and neuroscience 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 19 19 0
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 6 0
      Computer and information sciences 99 97 86 87 66 76 64 47 53 68 0
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 4 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 17 14 13 9 10 11 12 13 23 19 0
      Mathematics and statistics 22 23 32 20 22 19 16 14 8 11 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 4 2 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 17 10 8 12 8 7 9 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 174 165 172 140 131 124 178 121 133 143 0
      Psychology 7 6 7 8 2 2 5 6 7 8 0
      Social sciences 19 27 25 35 21 18 21 24 25 29 0
    Engineering 381 362 407 380 330 317 274 290 299 287 0
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 8 5 8 11 6 10 9 10 6 4 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 52 58 74 50 58 48 47 42 41 47 0
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 49 36 44 40 41 55 34 36 42 33 0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 28 28 30 30 17 19 13 10 14 14 0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 70 65 66 72 60 49 44 58 60 57 0
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 21 21 25 14 15 17 7 12 9 7 0
      Mechanical engineering 36 43 47 49 49 41 45 44 46 39 0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 42 40 42 35 21 20 31 22 36 34 0
      Other engineering 75 66 71 79 63 58 44 56 45 52 0
    Health 3 0 0 0 0 0 11 19 18 18 0
      Clinical medicine 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Other health 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 19 18 18 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
2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All types and sources of support 6,120 5,877 5,983 5,339 5,750 5,410 5,122 5,163 5,089 4,937
  Fellowships 1,073 998 1,061 916 874 933 1,038 906 868 833
    Federal 292 255 287 275 270 270 361 336 337 334
    Institutional 737 684 707 559 538 635 648 548 511 461
    Nonfederal 44 59 67 82 66 28 29 22 20 38
  Research assistantships 1,784 1,650 1,509 1,489 1,414 1,433 1,289 1,363 1,345 1,263
    Federal 972 917 881 812 673 642 587 483 509 496
    Institutional 661 553 488 523 497 560 532 668 659 586
    Nonfederal 151 180 140 154 244 231 170 212 177 181
  Teaching assistantships 993 989 1,021 986 958 957 945 935 896 939
    Federal 5 1 0 7 1 1 1 0 1 0
    Institutional 985 988 1,021 977 957 955 944 935 895 938
    Nonfederal 3 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1
  Other types of support 2,270 2,240 2,392 1,948 2,504 2,087 1,850 1,959 1,980 1,902
    Federal 8 2 3 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
    Institutional 25 94 152 139 143 3 0 0 0 0
    Nonfederal 6 4 4 5 2 5 3 0 0 0
    Personal resources 2,231 2,140 2,233 1,802 2,357 2,077 1,847 1,959 1,980 1,902

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 935 860 939 1,194 845 664 597 567 634 570
    Science 777 723 799 923 703 549 487 472 531 464
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 99 98 155 185 66 66 68 48 60 46
      Biological and biomedical sciences 401 367 346 430 404 318 300 269 300 265
        Neurobiology and neuroscience 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 29 28
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
      Computer and information sciences 9 6 6 16 18 9 10 10 10 8
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 4
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 16 12 16 32 15 14 10 9 2 5
      Mathematics and statistics 5 5 10 8 3 2 1 0 0 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 0 2 35 32 31 22 10 12 16 10
      Natural resources and conservation 13 13 32 21 15 10 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 171 167 146 144 110 74 59 63 79 73
      Psychology 9 16 16 18 7 3 7 2 2 3
      Social sciences 54 37 37 37 34 31 22 21 26 21
    Engineering 158 137 140 271 142 115 110 95 103 106
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 34 26 23 42 20 14 12 7 11 11
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 38 31 21 54 23 12 12 14 14 15
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 22 13 10 14 9 7 11 12 9 3
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 9 15 15 22 9 12 15 10 14 15
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 3 4 2 2 1 3 1 3 2 4
      Mechanical engineering 23 17 13 20 17 12 14 7 6 8
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 26 42 18 17 11 15 18 16
      Other engineering 29 31 30 75 45 38 34 27 29 34
    Health 318 308 304 312 328 335 323 271 222 218
      Clinical medicine 318 308 304 312 291 307 274 224 179 175
      Other health 0 0 0 0 37 28 49 47 43 43

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 495 433 508 440 448 397 416 407 420 405
  Science and engineering 364 342 429 374 393 341 342 322 337 335
    Science 286 272 357 297 318 273 276 268 281 280
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 22 18 57 52 31 32 34 20 29 28
      Biological and biomedical sciences 180 173 202 163 207 172 176 158 177 177
        Neurobiology and neuroscience 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 11 13
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
      Computer and information sciences 3 3 1 5 8 7 7 9 8 6
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 9 6 7 12 9 8 7 5 0 3
      Mathematics and statistics 1 1 6 4 1 0 0 0 0 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 0 1 5 4 4 4 2 4 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 2 3 5 2 1 1 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 59 59 60 51 46 43 42 50 48 45
      Psychology 2 2 1 2 4 3 3 2 1 3
      Social sciences 8 6 13 2 7 3 5 4 4 3
    Engineering 78 70 72 77 75 68 66 54 56 55
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 19 14 12 17 10 9 4 3 5 7
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 11 13 13 11 10 7 9 7 8 7
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 13 8 5 6 6 3 9 7 3 0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 6 10 10 8 4 10 11 10 10 11
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1
      Mechanical engineering 11 9 3 2 11 10 9 4 4 2
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 11 11 6 8 4 8 7 6
      Other engineering 18 15 18 21 27 20 20 14 18 21
    Health 131 91 79 66 55 56 74 85 83 70
      Clinical medicine 131 91 79 66 41 41 53 62 66 53
      Other health 0 0 0 0 14 15 21 23 17 17

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 1,451,971 1,300,357 1,183,524 1,190,063 1,144,534 1,071,621 984,478 974,199 954,412 883,292
    Science 1,243,117 1,125,281 1,024,698 1,023,416 993,265 941,150 878,004 867,672 841,938 763,915
      Computer and information sciences 32,821 29,874 28,125 31,173 29,330 29,162 23,220 21,673 19,462 19,179
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 5,762 6,463 6,589 8,145 6,531 6,568 5,152 4,742 24,990 23,759
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 29 59 1,136 1,192 1,079 1,189 812 218 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 5,446 6,120 5,218 6,874 5,407 5,277 4,257 4,411 9,551 8,373
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 287 284 235 79 45 102 83 113 14 268
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15,425 15,118
      Life sciences 1,020,982 929,175 833,824 822,419 789,230 737,271 678,247 676,105 631,729 556,396
        Agricultural sciences 124,227 114,152 106,374 121,012 118,509 111,399 97,306 103,817 91,244 114,086
        Biological and biomedical sciences 347,213 356,105 317,690 311,954 314,443 298,172 299,232 318,787 129,065 120,858
        Health sciences 509,376 429,280 384,742 370,944 336,554 309,881 265,474 237,962 402,728 312,033
        Natural resources and conservation 25,621 21,287 17,553 18,509 19,673 17,802 16,177 15,525 0 0
        Life sciences nec 14,545 8,351 7,465 0 51 17 58 14 8,692 9,419
      Mathematics and statistics 4,173 3,287 2,467 3,323 3,341 3,494 2,797 2,988 3,212 3,352
      Physical sciences 136,751 120,697 120,151 121,218 122,968 122,144 112,256 105,986 105,562 110,963
        Astronomy and astrophysics 13,639 11,667 11,395 10,728 15,005 11,537 11,440 11,670 12,223 14,934
        Chemistry 32,543 30,250 27,978 27,423 26,542 25,958 25,643 24,456 21,596 20,034
        Materials science 4,087 3,515 3,682 4,382 4,493 5,178 4,809 5,007 0 0
        Physics 55,446 51,692 53,686 48,658 50,551 47,530 44,463 42,635 67,962 47,840
        Physical sciences nec 31,036 23,573 23,410 30,027 26,377 31,941 25,901 22,218 3,781 28,155
      Psychology 12,439 11,971 11,273 11,516 12,682 11,245 11,558 12,740 13,717 11,892
      Social sciences 30,044 23,814 22,269 25,622 29,183 31,266 44,774 43,438 41,127 37,480
        Anthropology 395 376 166 257 311 224 273 218 0 0
        Economics 3,451 2,387 2,493 2,418 3,319 2,268 18,194 17,494 21,703 21,911
        Political science and government 2,333 2,539 1,809 1,391 1,391 1,107 544 487 733 452
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 6,846 5,005 4,912 9,156 12,303 14,832 13,787 14,170 16,644 10,326
        Social sciences nec 17,019 13,507 12,889 12,400 11,859 12,835 11,976 11,069 2,047 4,791
      Sciences nec 145 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,139 894
    Engineering 149,807 125,320 118,621 123,703 110,545 92,590 85,162 88,512 104,481 110,812
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 3,760 3,107 3,070 3,050 3,016 2,882 2,961 3,149 92 0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 24,099 20,839 21,468 18,636 15,464 12,192 8,543 8,634 11,872 9,716
      Chemical engineering 20,122 15,313 13,962 12,915 12,347 9,572 10,510 10,709 10,934 11,411
      Civil engineering 11,875 9,915 8,420 8,567 8,204 7,091 5,677 5,905 5,301 5,622
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 31,490 25,771 22,815 25,517 22,739 16,595 17,366 17,888 17,711 16,859
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 5,070 5,503 4,214 4,657 4,427 3,948 3,901 4,158 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 20,194 18,703 18,104 20,086 18,812 15,736 13,686 11,445 11,746 11,772
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 23,686 18,154 18,557 19,421 17,173 16,357 14,806 14,249 12,691 12,732
      Engineering nec 9,511 8,015 8,011 10,854 8,363 8,217 7,712 12,375 34,134 42,700
    Non-S&E 59,047 49,756 40,205 42,944 40,724 37,881 21,312 18,015 7,993 8,565
      Business management and business administration 20,570 17,796 3,961 5,459 5,472 4,584 5,183 3,886 2,085 3,067
      Communication and communications technologies 7,256 5,860 5,709 4,985 3,919 5,199 5,001 5,107 667 669
      Education 457 441 218 399 498 0 0 0 0 0
      Humanities 3,039 2,242 1,626 2,145 2,104 1,720 2,701 2,437 3,558 3,292
      Law 1,195 992 612 654 772 943 1,239 1,016 868 1,090
      Social work 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Visual and performing arts 337 2,837 2,830 2,843 2,780 2,436 2,245 2,140 431 447
      Non-S&E nec 26,193 19,588 25,249 26,459 25,179 22,999 4,943 3,429 384 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

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 1,451,971 705,132 95,202 276,682 59,081 129,082 186,792
    Science 1,243,117 614,837 83,716 210,848 49,496 118,812 165,408
      Computer and information sciences 32,821 18,513 57 7,033 1,219 1,884 4,115
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 5,762 4,631 20 871 0 128 112
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 29 3 1 25 0 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 5,446 4,380 0 826 0 128 112
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 287 248 19 20 0 0 0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Life sciences 1,020,982 470,625 75,771 166,682 47,123 108,915 151,866
        Agricultural sciences 124,227 39,031 29,668 34,131 1,652 14,694 5,051
        Biological and biomedical sciences 347,213 184,382 27,795 69,582 18,967 23,469 23,018
        Health sciences 509,376 240,972 6,291 50,055 26,300 67,021 118,737
        Natural resources and conservation 25,621 3,504 9,462 8,100 153 1,021 3,381
        Life sciences nec 14,545 2,736 2,555 4,814 51 2,710 1,679
      Mathematics and statistics 4,173 2,852 119 575 0 599 28
      Physical sciences 136,751 105,708 1,120 19,728 913 3,241 6,041
        Astronomy and astrophysics 13,639 9,890 0 2,632 0 479 638
        Chemistry 32,543 21,632 0 5,976 410 776 3,749
        Materials science 4,087 1,980 436 1,592 0 4 75
        Physics 55,446 42,061 226 9,104 503 1,982 1,570
        Physical sciences nec 31,036 30,145 458 424 0 0 9
      Psychology 12,439 4,302 2,748 3,590 77 871 851
      Social sciences 30,044 8,061 3,881 12,369 164 3,174 2,395
        Anthropology 395 164 0 197 0 20 14
        Economics 3,451 1,919 437 891 16 100 88
        Political science and government 2,333 304 0 947 0 474 608
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 6,846 3,521 314 1,640 0 458 913
        Social sciences nec 17,019 2,153 3,130 8,694 148 2,122 772
      Sciences nec 145 145 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 149,807 84,312 4,045 36,364 2,728 5,775 16,583
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 3,760 1,720 824 1,044 0 7 165
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 24,099 15,548 374 5,340 171 1,377 1,289
      Chemical engineering 20,122 14,776 0 3,312 508 136 1,390
      Civil engineering 11,875 8,692 185 1,995 202 243 558
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 31,490 12,336 0 9,273 671 1,957 7,253
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 5,070 2,469 0 1,938 146 29 488
      Mechanical engineering 20,194 13,470 174 4,745 237 426 1,142
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 23,686 12,736 2,230 4,998 793 1,579 1,350
      Engineering nec 9,511 2,565 258 3,719 0 21 2,948
    Non-S&E 59,047 5,983 7,441 29,470 6,857 4,495 4,801
      Business management and business administration 20,570 48 4,040 16,010 0 283 189
      Communication and communications technologies 7,256 1,864 1,688 2,267 0 1,141 296
      Education 457 417 0 13 0 27 0
      Humanities 3,039 266 0 2,083 0 286 404
      Law 1,195 137 0 498 0 186 374
      Social work 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Visual and performing arts 337 23 0 295 0 0 19
      Non-S&E nec 26,193 3,228 1,713 8,304 6,857 2,572 3,519

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 705,132 636,481 592,359 562,021 525,182 470,020 438,182 430,987 446,360 439,770
  DOD 50,537 49,918 49,165 47,799 39,524 34,440 34,489 30,988 30,165 30,218
  DOE 31,129 24,801 21,928 23,795 23,747 21,357 18,752 18,611 19,336 24,475
  HHS 423,066 389,731 350,981 316,779 282,465 236,795 217,550 209,885 212,344 202,720
  NASA 11,790 8,604 7,536 8,724 12,034 10,742 11,652 9,722 8,700 9,521
  NSF 125,089 107,958 110,332 110,447 115,526 116,404 107,091 109,545 124,886 127,792
  USDA 44,545 41,219 37,981 39,077 37,785 36,198 35,438 37,952 35,559 32,770
  Other 18,976 14,250 14,436 15,400 14,101 14,084 13,210 14,284 15,370 12,274

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 11,285 1,839 9,446 .
2018 10,737 1,821 8,916 .
2017 10,398 1,789 8,609 .

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 2,240 2,374 2,246 2,206 2,452 i
    Agricultural sciences 610 588 539 506 552 i
    Biological and biomedical sciences 789 944 857 868 807 i
    Computer and information sciences 14 14 15 17 22 i
    Engineering 351 349 328 318 363 i
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 8 5 5 9 20 i
    Health sciences 12 18 46 47 251 i
    Mathematics and statistics 2 3 3 2 3 i
    Natural resources and conservation 43 36 37 33 57 i
    Physical sciences 312 311 309 298 318 i
    Psychology 21 21 21 23 24 i
    Social sciences 16 16 19 24 29 i
    Other 63 68 67 62 5 i

i=imputed

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)

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 184,178 210,883 132,163 193,390 93,290
    Agricultural sciences 86,266 28,700 54,115 89,533 22,126
    Biological and biomedical sciences 46,132 78,497 44,214 41,349 35,204
    Computer and information sciences 600 9,900 2,075 831 1,425
    Engineering 25,050 17,712 15,429 35,315 13,018
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 6,050 1,115 1,129
    Health sciences 0 0 1,200 7,046 8,608
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 395 554
    Natural resources and conservation 1,100 2,869 775 1,420 604
    Physical sciences 11,373 18,511 3,731 7,482 9,316
    Psychology 1,537 0 2,275 0 0
    Social sciences 12,121 54,694 1,997 8,904 1,306
    Other 0 0 302 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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