Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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 141 69.7 459 164 82.5 925
2023 120 74.3 459 168 81.8 911 182 70.2 602
2022 131 71.8 457 162 82.3 900
2021 136 70 447 156 83.1 908 192 67.5 583
2020 128 72 450 152 83.7 916
2019 117 74.2 447 159 82.9 914 205 65.6 589
2018 112 74.3 428 157 83 911
2017 128 70.4 425 149 83.7 898 224 61.5 575
2016 118 73 430 148 83.7 896
2015 112 74.1 426 143 84.3 898 189 67.3 570
2014
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: 2024–15
Fields 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All fields 113 145 119 111 130 147 164 122 142 164
  Science and engineering 102 131 111 97 115 138 148 111 130 149
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources . . . . . . 1 . . .
      Natural resources and conservation . . . . . . 1 . . .
    Biological and biomedical sciences 7 11 9 10 5 9 14 8 11 8
      Biochemistry and biophysics 1 4 . 3 2 6 8 4 4 3
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 2 5 6 6 . 2 1 1 4 .
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology . 1 . . . . 1 . . .
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy . . . . . . 1 1 1 2
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology . . . . 1 . . 1 . 1
      Genetics and genomics . . . . . . 1 . . 1
      Microbiology and immunology . . . . 1 1 . . 1 .
      Molecular biology 2 . 1 . . . . 1 1 1
      Neurobiology and neurosciences . . 1 . . . . . . .
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 2 1 1 1 1 . 2 . . .
    Computer and information sciences 6 18 11 7 15 14 15 11 16 17
      Computer science 5 16 11 7 15 13 13 10 15 16
      Computer and information sciences, other 1 2 . . . 1 2 1 1 1
    Engineering 63 74 74 56 66 83 87 60 72 89
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 6 9 9 2 6 5 9 3 1 4
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 12 10 4 4 5 12 9 5 4 9
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 9 15 8 10 10 7 13 13 10 15
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 1 6 9 4 4 4 1 4 6 7
      Electrical and computer engineering 9 8 14 11 13 17 12 11 23 17
      Industrial engineering and operations research . 3 1 3 3 5 3 . 3 3
      Materials and mining engineering 5 10 8 7 5 12 6 9 4 15
      Mechanical engineering 16 8 15 12 13 13 26 11 18 12
      Engineering, other 5 5 6 3 7 8 8 4 3 7
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences . 1 . . 1 6 3 . 1 2
      Geological sciences . 1 . . 1 6 3 . 1 1
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences . . . . . . . . . 1
    Health sciences . 1 . . . . . 1 . .
      Public health . 1 . . . . . . . .
      Health sciences, other . . . . . . . 1 . .
    Mathematics and statistics 5 9 6 7 7 5 5 9 7 7
      Applied mathematics 3 6 4 3 4 4 5 6 7 6
      Mathematics . . . 1 . 1 . . . .
      Mathematics and statistics, other 2 3 2 3 3 . . 3 . 1
    Physical sciences 15 9 10 11 15 18 15 14 15 15
      Astronomy and astrophysics 2 . . . . 2 . . 1 .
      Chemistry 6 3 4 6 6 7 8 7 6 3
      Physics 7 6 6 5 9 9 7 7 8 12
    Psychology 3 7 1 2 2 . 4 2 1 4
      Counseling and applied psychology . . . . . . . . . .
      Research and experimental psychology 3 7 1 2 2 . 4 2 1 3
      Psychology, other . . . . . . . . . 1
    Social sciences 3 1 . 4 4 3 4 6 7 7
      Anthropology . . . . . . 1 . . .
      Economics . . . . . . . 1 1 4
      Sociology, demography, and population studies . . . . . . . 1 . .
      Social sciences, other 3 1 . 4 4 3 3 4 6 3
  Non-science and engineering 11 14 8 14 15 9 16 11 12 15
    Business 5 3 2 3 3 6 6 3 7 10
      Business 5 3 2 3 3 6 6 3 7 10
    Education . 1 . . . . . . . .
      Teacher education and teaching fields . 1 . . . . . . . .
    Humanities and arts 1 5 4 9 6 3 2 3 1 .
      Letters . . 1 3 1 . 1 1 . .
      Philosophy and religious studies . . . . 1 . . . . .
      Music and performing arts . 1 . . . 1 1 . . .
      Humanities and arts, other 1 4 3 6 4 2 . 2 1 .
    Other non-science and engineering 5 5 2 2 6 . 8 5 4 5
      Communication 1 2 1 1 2 . 3 1 2 2
      Non-science and engineering, other 4 3 1 1 4 . 5 4 2 3

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

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 140,247 121,706 121,809 119,056 122,753 103,739 100,856 104,797 101,127 102,841
    Science 60,296 44,901 51,186 42,770 44,230 39,495 37,031 37,087 32,455 32,582
      Computer and information sciences 26,248 13,075 14,752 13,145 14,686 11,282 9,830 9,062 9,089 10,392
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 2,249 1,961 2,214 1,868 2,837 1,931 2,601 1,873 2,593 2,205
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 2,249 1,961 2,214 1,868 2,837 1,931 2,601 1,873 2,593 2,015
        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 0 190
      Life sciences 9,226 8,077 8,885 6,913 6,102 5,384 5,431 5,448 4,093 5,598
        Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Biological and biomedical sciences 9,226 8,077 8,885 6,913 6,102 5,384 5,431 5,448 4,093 5,598
        Health 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
        Life sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Mathematics and statistics 2,576 3,783 3,658 2,944 2,808 2,258 1,641 1,878 1,795 1,754
      Physical sciences 13,381 12,723 15,894 12,251 12,143 15,038 14,662 16,534 11,910 9,688
        Astronomy and astrophysics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Chemistry 6,635 6,945 7,599 6,355 5,704 6,393 5,560 7,338 6,178 3,689
        Materials science 74 156 702 444 0 0 0 1 0 0
        Physics 3,322 2,955 4,177 2,883 2,554 4,936 4,705 5,158 5,350 5,999
        Physical sciences nec 3,350 2,667 3,416 2,569 3,885 3,709 4,397 4,037 382 0
      Psychology 4,381 3,870 3,954 4,036 4,479 3,151 2,433 1,895 2,138 2,380
      Social sciences 2,235 1,412 1,829 1,535 1,175 451 433 397 837 565
        Anthropology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Economics 1,176 840 671 624 572 139 109 47 236 377
        Political science and government 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Social sciences nec 1,059 572 1,158 911 603 312 324 350 601 188
      Sciences nec 0 0 0 78 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 71,966 66,158 63,146 67,810 70,156 59,831 57,190 59,446 61,452 69,540
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 11,910 10,734 8,233 9,421 6,133 5,780 6,401 5,265 6,883 7,253
      Chemical engineering 11,184 11,281 9,971 10,365 10,954 10,295 8,274 11,735 8,387 7,115
      Civil engineering 3,530 2,688 3,369 4,669 6,251 6,768 4,254 4,297 4,930 13,079
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 13,756 14,000 14,865 14,323 15,077 10,945 12,413 12,452 13,800 18,821
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 397 394 440 493 498 987 1,353 1,529 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 19,115 17,833 17,423 19,888 20,165 16,802 15,992 17,548 18,406 17,292
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 8,360 6,286 5,813 5,697 6,281 4,154 4,888 3,133 4,449 4,799
      Engineering nec 3,714 2,942 3,032 2,954 4,797 4,100 3,615 3,487 4,597 1,181
    Non-S&E 7,985 10,647 7,477 8,476 8,367 4,413 6,635 8,264 7,220 719
      Business management and business administration 2,750 5,176 2,491 2,302 89 622 959 871 957 576
      Communication and communications technologies 73 15 69 103 384 89 91 1,059 471 0
      Education 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Humanities 0 0 0 0 153 0 0 0 0 0
      Law 0 0 0 0 488 0 0 0 0 0
      Social work 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0
      Visual and performing arts 1,348 986 947 959 1,353 322 1,055 302 352 143
      Non-S&E nec 3,814 4,470 3,970 5,112 5,884 3,380 4,530 6,032 5,440 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: 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 140,247 61,359 4,011 47,399 9,391 1,554 16,533
    Science 60,296 22,082 469 17,859 4,092 754 15,040
      Computer and information sciences 26,248 5,530 0 3,485 3,068 90 14,075
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 2,249 1,618 1 627 0 3 0
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 2,249 1,618 1 627 0 3 0
        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 9,226 5,485 62 2,409 164 446 660
        Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Biological and biomedical sciences 9,226 5,485 62 2,409 164 446 660
        Health sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Life sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Mathematics and statistics 2,576 721 0 1,597 258 0 0
      Physical sciences 13,381 5,228 406 6,777 550 215 205
        Astronomy and astrophysics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Chemistry 6,635 4,014 232 1,877 364 133 15
        Materials science 74 0 0 52 0 0 22
        Physics 3,322 1,214 174 1,498 186 82 168
        Physical sciences nec 3,350 0 0 3,350 0 0 0
      Psychology 4,381 3,219 0 1,014 52 0 96
      Social sciences 2,235 281 0 1,950 0 0 4
        Anthropology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Economics 1,176 78 0 1,098 0 0 0
        Political science and government 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Social sciences nec 1,059 203 0 852 0 0 4
      Sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 71,966 37,669 3,067 23,730 5,299 717 1,484
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 11,910 8,141 345 3,001 207 115 101
      Chemical engineering 11,184 6,086 647 2,981 1,434 36 0
      Civil engineering 3,530 1,440 0 1,936 18 51 85
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 13,756 5,068 982 4,823 2,086 49 748
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 397 385 0 12 0 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 19,115 12,827 135 5,507 450 0 196
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 8,360 3,282 958 2,997 654 466 3
      Engineering nec 3,714 440 0 2,473 450 0 351
    Non-S&E 7,985 1,608 475 5,810 0 83 9
      Business management and business administration 2,750 277 0 2,427 0 37 9
      Communication and communications technologies 73 0 0 73 0 0 0
      Education 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Humanities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Law 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social work 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Visual and performing arts 1,348 0 428 920 0 0 0
      Non-S&E nec 3,814 1,331 47 2,390 0 46 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: 2024–15
(Dollars in thousands)
Source of funds 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
Federal Agencies 61,359 56,445 50,605 52,465 52,150 50,448 50,120 51,130 52,163 59,528
  DOD 12,252 11,163 12,091 12,484 10,332 10,182 9,939 9,149 9,129 12,136
  DOE 11,716 11,714 10,768 11,968 12,839 11,374 8,158 8,269 6,814 7,490
  HHS 17,942 14,228 11,168 11,882 11,326 10,402 10,497 12,358 11,954 12,318
  NASA 3,171 2,619 2,569 2,994 2,624 1,272 1,209 915 994 1,254
  NSF 13,462 14,273 11,939 10,817 12,507 14,907 16,797 17,115 19,697 22,331
  USDA 39 0 0 172 240 306 298 252 49 53
  Other 2,777 2,448 2,070 2,148 2,282 2,005 3,222 3,072 3,526 3,946

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 1,580 239 1,341 .
2018 1,636 256 1,380 .

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 299 277 252 217 265
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 4 4 4 3 3
    Computer and information sciences 9 7 4 8 11
    Engineering 222 215 201 155 205
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 9 9 8 7 6
    Health sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Mathematics and statistics 5 4 3 4 4
    Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 24 16 14 15 24
    Psychology 7 6 4 6 2
    Social sciences 9 9 7 7 2
    Other 8 6 7 12 7

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 0 5,522 3,194 6,776 3,030
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 0 2,110 1,508 1,233 1,944
    Computer and information sciences 0 0 330 349 0
    Engineering 0 3,095 1,356 3,160 697
    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 0 317 0 622 389
    Psychology 0 0 0 0 0
    Social sciences 0 0 0 1,412 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

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