Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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 16 96.8 459 27 96.2 679 33 94.7 602 33 96.5 914
2022 14 97.2 457 29 95.9 680 30 96.8 900
2021 18 96.2 447 27 96.3 691 34 94.4 583 29 96.9 908
2020 18 96.2 450 22 97 698 23 97.6 916
2019 16 96.7 447 29 96 697 31 95 589 18 98.2 914
2018 17 96.3 428 23 96.9 700 16 98.4 911
2017 16 96.5 425 20 97.2 684 30 95 575 14 98.6 898
2016 15 96.8 430 22 97 697 14 98.6 896
2015 17 96.3 426 20 97.3 693 23 96.2 570 13 98.7 898
2014 16 96.5 422 18 97.6 688 12 98.8 889
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 684 735 568 579 685 645 622 646 606 594
  Science and engineering 641 690 525 542 649 606 594 615 562 557
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources . . 1 2 2 1 . . 2 1
      Agricultural sciences . . . . 1 . . . . .
      Natural resources and conservation . . 1 2 1 1 . . 2 1
    Biological and biomedical sciences 69 67 46 64 69 54 71 86 64 59
      Biochemistry and biophysics 7 5 7 9 13 5 6 7 13 6
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 17 20 18 19 16 22 16 29 6 17
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 7 9 8 4 10 9 4 8 9 7
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy . . . 4 3 3 1 6 2 4
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology . 1 . 2 1 . 2 . . .
      Genetics and genomics 1 1 . 1 2 1 2 4 4 .
      Microbiology and immunology 3 3 1 11 4 8 3 3 9 4
      Molecular biology 7 11 6 6 3 2 9 3 6 10
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 21 12 4 7 9 2 21 10 10 5
      Pharmacology and toxicology . . . . 1 . 1 . . .
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 3 4 2 . 3 2 6 10 4 2
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 3 1 . 1 4 . . 6 1 4
    Computer and information sciences 72 59 61 46 35 41 30 30 50 25
      Computer science 60 40 54 42 30 37 26 27 47 22
      Computer and information sciences, other 12 19 7 4 5 4 4 3 3 3
    Engineering 282 328 237 221 308 296 290 278 266 306
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 31 27 14 15 23 17 20 25 23 32
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 39 38 30 15 43 30 33 25 23 22
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 34 37 31 34 49 33 26 28 39 34
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 10 14 7 9 27 13 5 12 11 15
      Electrical and computer engineering 57 82 45 39 14 32 27 53 50 71
      Industrial engineering and operations research 14 9 7 10 14 15 14 14 9 11
      Materials and mining engineering 26 42 29 18 36 35 33 40 31 35
      Mechanical engineering 49 43 50 61 62 61 61 62 53 56
      Engineering, other 22 36 24 20 40 60 71 19 27 30
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 27 37 21 23 28 22 48 26 29 27
      Geological sciences 12 6 5 12 10 10 16 12 15 16
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 15 31 16 11 18 12 32 14 14 11
    Health sciences 1 5 2 6 7 8 5 7 6 8
      Public health . 1 . . . . 4 . . .
      Health sciences, other 1 4 2 6 7 8 1 7 6 8
    Mathematics and statistics 20 31 29 35 27 29 20 28 21 23
      Applied mathematics 2 7 6 4 1 4 2 2 5 4
      Mathematics 4 2 2 10 6 5 5 2 7 8
      Statistics . 3 1 . 2 2 . 1 1 .
      Mathematics and statistics, other 14 19 20 21 18 18 13 23 8 11
    Physical sciences 109 97 76 79 101 85 63 101 80 56
      Astronomy and astrophysics 10 3 3 3 3 5 4 3 4 1
      Chemistry 44 49 34 39 42 45 30 47 35 21
      Physics 55 45 39 37 56 35 29 51 41 34
    Psychology 9 8 6 5 10 12 3 8 4 1
      Counseling and applied psychology . . . . 1 . . 1 . .
      Research and experimental psychology 9 8 6 5 9 12 3 7 4 1
    Social sciences 52 58 46 61 62 58 64 51 40 51
      Anthropology 2 2 . 1 1 . 3 1 1 .
      Economics 23 25 23 19 25 22 25 26 13 21
      Political science and government 7 5 8 13 8 12 13 4 6 9
      Public policy analysis . . 1 1 . . . . 1 .
      Sociology, demography, and population studies . . . . . 1 . . . .
      Social sciences, other 20 26 14 27 28 23 23 20 19 21
  Non-science and engineering 43 45 43 37 36 39 28 31 44 37
    Business 21 24 22 17 19 17 12 18 24 14
      Business 21 24 22 17 19 17 12 18 24 14
    Education . . 1 2 1 . . 1 2 .
      Education research . . 1 2 1 . . 1 2 .
    Humanities and arts 8 4 6 16 11 14 4 2 5 5
      History . . . . . . 1 . 2 .
      Philosophy and religious studies 6 . 5 5 3 5 2 1 . 3
      Music and performing arts 1 . . . . . . . . .
      Humanities and arts, other 1 4 1 11 8 9 1 1 3 2
    Other non-science and engineering 14 17 14 2 5 8 12 10 13 18
      Communication 4 4 7 . . 2 4 2 4 14
      Public administration and social services . 1 . . . . . . . .
      Non-science and engineering, other 10 12 7 2 5 6 8 8 9 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 3,104 3,057 3,129 3,032 3,002 3,165 3,173 3,267 3,287 3,329
    Female 1,927 1,815 1,790 1,650 1,462 1,485 1,441 1,457 1,427 1,401
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 2,944 2,839 2,852 2,674 2,597 2,582 2,548 2,636 2,648 2,704
    Hispanic or Latino 325 336 324 280 249 240 236 247 219 222
    Not Hispanic or Latino 2,429 2,323 2,337 2,200 2,146 2,153 2,093 2,164 2,212 2,218
      American Indian or Alaska Native 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 7
      Asian 661 616 600 552 539 559 522 522 534 500
      Black or African American 109 99 93 73 58 57 47 47 46 54
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      White 1,292 1,388 1,442 1,417 1,418 1,416 1,396 1,460 1,499 1,532
      More than one race 364 217 198 155 127 117 124 131 128 125
    Unknown ethnicity and race 190 180 191 194 202 189 219 225 217 264
  Temporary visa holders 2,087 2,033 2,067 2,008 1,867 2,068 2,066 2,088 2,066 2,026
  Science and engineering 5,031 4,872 4,919 4,682 4,464 4,650 4,614 4,724 4,714 4,730
    Science 2,683 2,561 2,539 2,395 1,503 2,319 2,180 2,115 2,088 2,040
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 423 404 407 381 368 392 372 283 297 288
        Neurobiology and neuroscience 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 69 76 70
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 191 180 175
      Computer and information sciences 820 766 764 738 61 660 548 516 480 436
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 157 164 158 161 149 143 131 170 181 180
      Mathematics and statistics 343 350 358 292 121 278 276 128 125 117
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 113 78 68 73 34 64 66 29 31 32
      Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 588 562 551 520 534 546 542 490 475 507
      Psychology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social sciences 239 237 233 230 236 236 245 239 243 235
    Engineering 2,348 2,311 2,380 2,287 2,961 2,331 2,434 2,609 2,626 2,690
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 269 280 265 253 239 225 229 223 228 233
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 263 268 258 259 243 245 238 247 247 244
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 246 236 234 233 223 234 226 232 233 236
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 113 120 110 108 122 138 156 185 175 208
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 369 359 366 346 1,014 350 371 358 370 380
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 315 313 427 396 407 388 404 385 398 410
      Mechanical engineering 457 453 452 421 440 468 525 553 545 533
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 185 166 178 179 171 169 174 170 180 199
      Other engineering 131 116 90 92 102 114 111 256 250 247
      Clinical medicine 0 0 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

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 53 54 6 6 5 6 6 8 6 14
    Female 24 22 0 4 1 2 5 3 3 0
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 53 44 5 7 6 6 9 11 8 11
    Hispanic or Latino 8 6 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 2
    Not Hispanic or Latino 38 35 5 6 6 4 7 8 6 6
      American Indian or Alaska Native 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Asian 11 9 1 3 4 1 1 0 3 3
      Black or African American 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      White 22 23 4 3 2 3 6 8 2 3
      More than one race 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
    Unknown ethnicity and race 7 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 3
  Temporary visa holders 24 32 1 3 0 2 2 0 1 3
  Science and engineering 77 76 6 10 6 8 11 11 9 14
    Science 4 1 1 2 1 4 1 3 3 4
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 1 0 0 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 1 2 1
      Computer and information sciences 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
      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 1 0
      Mathematics and statistics 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Psychology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social sciences 0 0 1 2 1 3 0 2 0 1
    Engineering 73 75 5 8 5 4 10 8 6 10
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 1 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 0 1 1 3 1 1 6 3 4 7
      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 1 0 0 0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 0 0 1 2 2 2 1 3 2 2
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 72 70 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
      Mechanical engineering 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
      Other engineering 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Clinical medicine 0 0 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 1,021 1,041 1,305 1,354 1,205 1,218 1,341 1,333 1,378 1,444 0
  Science and engineering 1,021 1,041 1,305 1,354 1,205 1,218 1,341 1,333 1,378 1,444 0
    Science 520 485 613 651 417 570 586 568 605 617 0
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 66 55 65 76 78 89 91 82 78 74 0
        Neurobiology and neuroscience 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 15 10 0
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 18 27 0
      Computer and information sciences 208 193 237 232 17 165 170 146 143 144 0
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 17 24 20 77 68 71 62 84 95 104 0
      Mathematics and statistics 13 7 11 10 12 8 13 6 19 14 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 7 4 9 8 3 10 8 9 8 9 0
      Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 208 198 266 246 236 227 238 210 208 220 0
      Psychology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social sciences 1 4 5 2 3 0 4 3 21 15 0
    Engineering 501 556 692 703 788 648 755 765 773 827 0
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 111 110 119 119 95 101 112 101 107 101 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 39 50 57 81 69 84 81 83 94 105 0
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 48 47 75 69 67 60 52 70 56 61 0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 16 14 11 29 16 26 32 31 32 35 0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 82 90 123 114 289 119 123 104 113 115 0
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 27 24 39 40 29 32 53 47 56 64 0
      Mechanical engineering 85 108 152 152 112 115 180 180 165 191 0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 38 55 60 52 60 52 66 73 73 79 0
      Other engineering 55 58 56 47 51 59 56 76 77 76 0
    Health 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Clinical medicine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Other health 0 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, 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 5,031 4,872 4,919 4,682 4,464 4,650 4,614 4,724 4,714 4,730
  Fellowships 1,690 1,554 1,143 1,207 1,086 1,177 1,176 1,149 1,266 1,271
    Federal 103 101 174 284 245 282 289 282 348 364
    Institutional 1,524 1,384 951 910 800 859 788 771 789 784
    Nonfederal 63 69 18 13 41 36 99 96 129 123
  Research assistantships 2,301 2,198 2,401 2,252 2,380 2,301 2,303 2,529 2,511 2,519
    Federal 883 893 1,054 994 944 931 1,001 1,002 980 1,031
    Institutional 874 806 767 720 795 724 698 875 811 790
    Nonfederal 544 499 580 538 641 646 604 652 720 698
  Teaching assistantships 519 580 530 537 551 547 584 589 524 526
    Federal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Institutional 515 578 528 537 551 547 584 586 522 525
    Nonfederal 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 3 2 1
  Other types of support 521 540 845 686 447 625 551 457 413 414
    Federal 35 47 77 76 16 5 51 49 50 49
    Institutional 13 11 116 20 8 9 16 10 3 5
    Nonfederal 31 36 85 87 41 95 72 74 61 71
    Personal resources 442 446 567 503 382 516 412 324 299 289

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 1,677 1,553 1,546 1,568 1,720 1,413 1,423 1,503 1,493 1,516
    Science 855 807 862 859 957 770 767 818 777 780
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 267 277 339 363 381 301 305 186 197 199
        Neurobiology and neuroscience 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 118 96 121
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39 38 36
      Computer and information sciences 115 118 111 121 134 98 91 96 100 99
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 78 51 66 56 55 55 58 59 59 67
      Mathematics and statistics 34 29 27 29 25 25 26 19 15 27
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 28 28 19 23 28 21 18 25 26 10
      Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 308 283 275 253 315 261 260 265 239 217
      Psychology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social sciences 25 21 25 14 19 9 9 11 7 4
    Engineering 822 746 684 709 763 643 656 685 716 736
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 36 35 25 22 20 26 25 24 29 25
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 151 164 152 158 163 155 149 145 145 130
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 151 132 110 105 109 84 90 100 109 124
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 82 59 60 82 73 45 49 58 59 66
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 118 117 101 103 122 110 117 116 121 131
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 32 28 23 28 40 25 22 19 19 19
      Mechanical engineering 115 94 87 97 114 87 88 101 110 113
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 81 81 78 77 82 71 73 72 76 76
      Other engineering 56 36 48 37 40 40 43 50 48 52
      Clinical medicine 0 0 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

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 622 592 574 551 559 548 588 593 650 651
  Science and engineering 622 592 574 551 559 548 588 593 650 651
    Science 319 307 308 303 297 288 280 307 322 325
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 102 88 107 109 99 97 109 58 69 76
        Neurobiology and neuroscience 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 24 37
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 13 17
      Computer and information sciences 50 56 53 52 47 48 33 49 60 60
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 24 15 17 17 17 17 20 25 31 36
      Mathematics and statistics 6 5 1 4 4 6 4 3 10 7
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 11 11 9 9 13 12 12 12 16 9
      Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 123 130 120 112 117 107 102 117 99 83
      Psychology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social sciences 3 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
    Engineering 303 285 266 248 262 260 308 286 328 326
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 26 19 15 11 8 17 19 15 17 9
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 63 71 75 74 66 78 86 73 81 77
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 70 58 35 30 32 24 31 32 39 41
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 12 12 11 19 20 9 15 10 14 22
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 44 43 42 33 49 49 66 62 65 58
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 7 6 3 5 7 4 5 0 3 1
      Mechanical engineering 38 29 27 26 27 26 34 36 47 54
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 25 29 31 29 36 35 33 30 33 35
      Other engineering 18 18 27 21 17 18 19 28 29 29
    Health 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Clinical medicine 0 0 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

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 1,000,081 989,166 949,076 987,968 1,009,466 964,336 952,017 946,159 930,719 908,017
    Science 545,659 542,345 513,770 506,417 489,164 461,581 446,511 452,188 442,515 411,800
      Computer and information sciences 119,666 124,985 116,877 111,779 96,682 85,483 78,623 74,755 76,428 76,633
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 28,790 29,992 30,961 32,718 34,015 41,824 47,798 54,193 59,351 56,763
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 11,107 9,549 7,956 8,892 8,787 9,057 9,890 10,720 10,441 10,158
        Geological and earth sciences 9,244 10,258 11,360 11,897 13,777 16,981 16,331 13,897 18,371 20,072
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 4,540 7,724 9,521 8,738 8,299 9,148 9,012 9,891 8,260 7,182
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 3,899 2,461 2,124 3,191 3,152 6,638 12,565 19,685 22,279 19,351
      Life sciences 127,959 128,090 118,283 126,648 143,017 138,075 129,735 124,982 129,161 117,231
        Agricultural sciences 801 0 79 861 2,114 1,622 581 0 3 88
        Biological and biomedical sciences 49,814 56,438 60,795 67,446 82,262 75,156 68,109 73,941 80,160 74,537
        Health sciences 34,612 27,534 21,012 20,529 19,499 22,812 24,566 18,016 21,364 21,303
        Natural resources and conservation 836 811 378 509 891 1,748 237 0 0 0
        Life sciences nec 41,896 43,307 36,019 37,303 38,251 36,737 36,242 33,025 27,634 21,303
      Mathematics and statistics 10,270 9,676 9,015 10,434 11,774 9,888 7,671 9,399 9,130 8,679
      Physical sciences 180,988 174,813 170,494 153,044 136,601 124,145 127,856 137,188 119,516 107,134
        Astronomy and astrophysics 36,661 37,890 33,094 35,202 31,811 28,851 34,543 44,677 34,508 28,328
        Chemistry 35,918 35,819 37,408 32,375 31,179 31,921 26,165 26,701 24,143 17,699
        Materials science 6,050 6,436 6,657 6,864 6,273 3,613 988 215 0 0
        Physics 70,662 68,994 57,207 48,695 43,880 44,041 55,226 56,874 51,854 52,226
        Physical sciences nec 31,697 25,674 36,128 29,908 23,458 15,719 10,934 8,721 9,011 8,881
      Psychology 525 803 478 484 517 1,985 1,909 2,612 1,307 1,001
      Social sciences 55,636 54,104 47,850 51,477 46,532 38,166 32,081 26,903 24,159 21,542
        Anthropology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Economics 38,544 36,854 32,590 30,800 25,360 22,365 18,878 18,191 14,939 11,813
        Political science and government 4,032 3,387 2,958 3,185 3,558 3,472 3,514 2,253 2,466 3,632
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 10 64 25 38 421 41 36 0 0 23
        Social sciences nec 13,050 13,799 12,277 17,454 17,193 12,288 9,653 6,459 6,754 6,074
      Sciences nec 21,825 19,882 19,812 19,833 20,026 22,015 20,838 22,156 23,463 22,817
    Engineering 404,440 397,946 382,569 419,636 450,915 431,927 432,453 427,923 416,402 403,208
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 36,381 36,986 32,321 29,160 27,688 37,168 39,102 27,231 25,605 27,551
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 108,026 105,214 100,911 104,805 118,310 114,600 100,444 96,990 75,316 64,467
      Chemical engineering 58,369 49,094 45,797 47,150 46,670 37,212 37,056 29,379 33,225 32,844
      Civil engineering 14,034 16,428 16,423 14,924 18,280 20,039 20,087 24,955 27,703 25,662
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 42,244 51,752 42,546 55,447 52,774 40,413 41,913 44,965 55,603 65,962
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 1,521 603 79 117 214 108 0 0 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 52,284 49,402 46,417 53,616 55,277 56,652 57,311 54,433 60,088 57,405
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 29,447 29,280 30,592 42,431 41,282 29,502 27,932 31,696 30,188 34,249
      Engineering nec 62,134 59,187 67,483 71,986 90,420 96,233 108,608 118,274 108,674 95,068
    Non-S&E 49,982 48,875 52,737 61,915 69,387 70,828 73,053 66,048 71,802 93,009
      Business management and business administration 8,591 5,184 2,324 7 45,246 42,052 50,028 40,840 36,130 33,069
      Communication and communications technologies 0 151 129 41 44 26 71 35 0 0
      Education 27,583 29,247 35,776 46,996 10,504 14,247 15,173 12,263 9,469 13,044
      Humanities 1,233 2,100 3,823 5,859 450 525 457 595 1,601 1,433
      Law 0 1 175 482 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social work 165 260 182 174 320 243 72 0 0 0
      Visual and performing arts 150 310 613 659 211 23 17 33 681 3,146
      Non-S&E nec 12,260 11,622 9,715 7,697 12,612 13,712 7,235 12,282 23,921 42,317

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 1,000,081 559,766 2,079 73,497 176,277 112,591 75,871
    Science 545,659 328,304 0 38,692 83,340 72,509 22,814
      Computer and information sciences 119,666 68,071 0 13,456 30,085 2,012 6,042
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 28,790 20,269 0 2,415 2,540 2,957 609
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 11,107 8,839 0 1,017 886 222 143
        Geological and earth sciences 9,244 6,230 0 425 813 1,776 0
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 4,540 2,878 0 157 107 932 466
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 3,899 2,322 0 816 734 27 0
      Life sciences 127,959 86,466 0 9,172 10,820 17,136 4,365
        Agricultural sciences 801 0 0 801 0 0 0
        Biological and biomedical sciences 49,814 29,243 0 4,022 5,914 7,642 2,993
        Health sciences 34,612 27,519 0 2,322 161 4,522 88
        Natural resources and conservation 836 202 0 27 402 205 0
        Life sciences nec 41,896 29,502 0 2,000 4,343 4,767 1,284
      Mathematics and statistics 10,270 5,971 0 674 830 2,740 55
      Physical sciences 180,988 132,434 0 10,357 26,460 8,822 2,915
        Astronomy and astrophysics 36,661 33,267 0 948 0 2,377 69
        Chemistry 35,918 23,384 0 3,540 7,597 1,147 250
        Materials science 6,050 3,788 0 493 1,300 227 242
        Physics 70,662 56,056 0 4,354 4,233 4,111 1,908
        Physical sciences nec 31,697 15,939 0 1,022 13,330 960 446
      Psychology 525 520 0 0 0 0 5
      Social sciences 55,636 9,496 0 1,365 2,767 36,281 5,727
        Anthropology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Economics 38,544 4,901 0 431 335 28,626 4,251
        Political science and government 4,032 76 0 60 0 3,757 139
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 10 0 0 0 0 10 0
        Social sciences nec 13,050 4,519 0 874 2,432 3,888 1,337
      Sciences nec 21,825 5,077 0 1,253 9,838 2,561 3,096
    Engineering 404,440 226,746 2,060 32,492 70,285 25,685 47,172
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 36,381 24,187 0 4,016 7,311 363 504
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 108,026 71,768 550 8,600 7,318 11,943 7,847
      Chemical engineering 58,369 27,211 0 3,162 13,540 6,493 7,963
      Civil engineering 14,034 4,824 493 1,280 3,724 1,882 1,831
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 42,244 27,327 0 3,593 7,495 1,895 1,934
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 1,521 0 0 162 1,083 276 0
      Mechanical engineering 52,284 21,545 0 3,897 14,570 1,110 11,162
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 29,447 13,601 71 3,289 4,494 339 7,653
      Engineering nec 62,134 36,283 946 4,493 10,750 1,384 8,278
    Non-S&E 49,982 4,716 19 2,313 22,652 14,397 5,885
      Business management and business administration 8,591 1,805 0 1,118 3,717 903 1,048
      Communication and communications technologies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Education 27,583 737 0 919 18,478 6,154 1,295
      Humanities 1,233 242 0 18 0 973 0
      Law 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social work 165 0 19 57 0 89 0
      Visual and performing arts 150 14 0 0 0 136 0
      Non-S&E nec 12,260 1,918 0 201 457 6,142 3,542

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 559,766 531,056 483,526 488,741 489,345 479,654 487,434 503,858 488,421 483,891
  DOD 130,434 135,575 128,158 134,685 139,924 127,807 134,215 135,565 130,035 126,584
  DOE 89,574 82,270 71,739 66,436 67,337 73,921 82,571 85,024 81,902 88,988
  HHS 163,137 148,759 138,517 134,831 136,305 132,070 113,429 115,623 119,114 117,141
  NASA 38,045 40,331 36,195 36,610 34,456 35,339 42,098 51,471 43,401 33,414
  NSF 117,488 106,311 93,738 98,283 95,998 96,081 94,305 97,033 95,326 97,233
  USDA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Other 21,088 17,810 15,179 17,896 15,325 14,436 20,816 19,142 18,643 20,531

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 9,028 1,016 8,012 .
2018 9,988 998 8,990 .
2017 10,013 975 9,038 .

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 1,794 1,785 1,831 1,783 1,927
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 274 251 263 279 339
    Computer and information sciences 112 117 116 114 142
    Engineering 637 647 658 694 743
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 47 47 50 42 51
    Health sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Mathematics and statistics 8 8 10 8 8
    Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 506 498 510 443 453
    Psychology 0 0 0 0 0
    Social sciences 33 32 34 29 18
    Other 177 185 191 174 174

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 . 4,700 74,500 . . 0
    Computer and information sciences . . 74,500 . . 0
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences . 4,700 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 37,725 22,060 57,000 60,125 91,780
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 2,500 1,500 4,500 750 4,330
    Computer and information sciences 4,100 0 0 875 320
    Engineering 27,300 10,000 15,000 35,200 55,000
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 260 29,000 0 700
    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 1,900 9,500 2,000 12,500 9,830
    Psychology 0 0 0 0 0
    Social sciences 925 300 0 1,400 6,920
    Other 1,000 500 6,500 9,400 14,680

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

Open printer friendly view

Back to Top of page.