U. Colorado Boulder

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 37 92.2 459 51 94.6 925
2023 43 90.9 459 52 94.4 911 60 90.3 602
2022 38 92 457 50 94.6 900
2021 36 92.2 447 52 94.4 908 61 89.8 583
2020 45 90.3 450 54 94.3 916
2019 44 90.5 447 52 94.5 914 63 89.6 589
2018 44 90 428 49 94.8 911
2017 40 90.9 425 48 94.8 898 47 92.1 575
2016 42 90.5 430 49 94.7 896
2015 39 91.2 426 52 94.4 898 47 92 570
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

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 447 409 426 394 392 388 383 392 400 418
  Science and engineering 364 337 364 315 304 318 306 307 311 331
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 6 9 8 3 2 3 3 5 4 6
      Agricultural sciences 3 1 . . . . . . . .
      Natural resources and conservation 3 8 8 3 2 3 3 5 4 6
    Biological and biomedical sciences 48 45 34 36 26 37 42 37 39 42
      Biochemistry and biophysics 10 10 11 13 7 11 13 5 7 13
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 4 2 2 3 3 1 2 . 7 1
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 2 1 1 2 . . . 1 1 .
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy . . . . 1 1 . 1 . 2
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 12 15 10 5 5 5 9 12 12 13
      Genetics and genomics . . 1 2 1 2 3 . . 1
      Microbiology and immunology . . 1 1 2 3 1 . . 2
      Molecular biology 14 8 2 5 4 3 4 6 5 3
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 1 2 2 1 . 4 4 1 1 2
      Pharmacology and toxicology . . . . . . . . . .
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 3 4 3 1 2 6 4 6 4 4
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 2 3 1 3 1 1 2 5 2 1
    Computer and information sciences 27 27 24 24 13 18 15 21 18 11
      Computer science 20 18 18 14 11 17 15 18 18 10
      Computer and information sciences, other 7 9 6 10 2 1 . 3 . 1
    Engineering 137 103 137 111 97 102 88 90 106 95
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 38 23 43 22 17 17 20 22 24 16
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 4 3 4 3 1 3 3 1 3 4
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 19 18 11 27 18 24 10 5 13 21
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 28 11 26 20 15 22 20 27 28 19
      Electrical and computer engineering 15 20 19 15 14 14 18 17 16 18
      Industrial engineering and operations research . . 1 . 1 1 . . . .
      Materials and mining engineering 8 8 13 6 4 4 . 2 2 .
      Mechanical engineering 24 18 17 15 19 12 16 14 12 15
      Engineering, other 1 2 3 3 8 5 1 2 8 2
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 25 23 18 30 25 23 21 19 25 30
      Geological sciences 12 7 8 13 9 11 9 5 13 16
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 13 16 10 17 16 12 12 14 12 14
    Health sciences 1 1 1 . 1 3 2 5 4 2
      Public health . . . . . 1 . 1 . .
      Health sciences, other 1 1 1 . 1 2 2 4 4 2
    Mathematics and statistics 13 17 25 16 22 24 17 11 14 13
      Applied mathematics 4 11 15 7 7 12 11 2 7 8
      Mathematics . 1 5 2 3 4 3 1 1 4
      Statistics 1 1 1 . . 1 . . 1 .
      Mathematics and statistics, other 8 4 4 7 12 7 3 8 5 1
    Physical sciences 68 69 64 52 68 53 67 63 56 65
      Astronomy and astrophysics 9 12 11 5 12 3 8 13 5 6
      Chemistry 15 20 17 13 17 22 22 13 20 26
      Physics 44 37 36 34 39 28 37 37 31 33
    Psychology 12 15 9 9 12 7 21 12 11 15
      Clinical psychology 3 5 4 2 5 2 2 1 3 2
      Counseling and applied psychology . . . . 1 . . . . 1
      Research and experimental psychology 5 9 5 4 2 3 15 5 6 6
      Psychology, other 4 1 . 3 4 2 4 6 2 6
    Social sciences 27 28 44 34 38 48 30 44 34 52
      Anthropology 5 . 4 1 4 8 1 6 4 5
      Economics 6 12 11 9 4 12 4 9 6 16
      Political science and government 4 5 9 8 6 4 8 10 7 8
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 3 8 5 6 6 8 5 3 7 11
      Social sciences, other 9 3 15 10 18 16 12 16 10 12
  Non-science and engineering 83 72 62 79 88 70 77 85 89 87
    Business 6 10 3 6 6 4 12 3 7 11
      Business 6 10 3 6 6 4 12 3 7 11
    Education 16 8 13 19 10 12 13 11 22 19
      Education leadership and administration . . 1 . . . . . . .
      Education research 7 5 4 10 8 6 6 5 9 10
      Teacher education and teaching fields 6 3 6 7 . 5 5 4 10 8
      Education, other 3 . 2 2 2 1 2 2 3 1
    Humanities and arts 37 39 40 46 61 47 41 60 46 51
      Letters 5 2 8 5 6 5 5 14 6 7
      Foreign languages and literature 3 1 3 6 12 8 10 6 6 9
      History 2 5 5 6 2 5 4 11 2 2
      Philosophy and religious studies 1 3 3 6 5 3 8 4 3 3
      Music and performing arts 20 23 16 22 34 21 13 25 28 27
      Humanities and arts, other 6 5 5 1 2 5 1 . 1 3
    Other non-science and engineering 24 15 6 8 11 7 11 11 14 6
      Communication 23 14 6 8 11 7 11 9 14 5
      Non-science and engineering, other 1 1 . . . . . 2 . 1

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   717,920   651,924   611,380   547,724   525,674   513,822   514,573   499,389   453,123   420,775
    Science   496,174   441,380   383,283   341,441   336,126   333,682   316,918   297,508   301,704   294,172
      Computer and information sciences   23,615   21,212   19,612   16,468   15,627   14,909   12,028   9,179   8,701   7,865
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   144,721   140,081   129,830   118,876   119,824   121,624   136,586   128,164   138,163   128,421
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   27,417   26,474   29,149   30,868   32,942   39,723   79,410   103,851   112,639   101,233
        Geological and earth sciences   21,431   19,149   17,039   12,891   13,006   11,395   10,856   9,751   12,433   14,405
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   4,267   2,931   3,165   2,609   2,017   1,591   992   1,078   812   678
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   91,606   91,527   80,477   72,508   71,859   68,915   45,328   13,484   12,279   12,105
      Life sciences   67,496   61,853   56,184   53,211   52,074   51,990   41,637   37,296   29,536   26,760
        Agricultural sciences   2,141   1,466   1,690   2,077   1,448   342   4   1,227   12   10
        Biological and biomedical sciences   59,173   53,109   46,086   42,368   41,081   41,686   30,851   25,393   20,691   19,044
        Health sciences   2,367   4,666   5,076   4,708   5,377   5,714   6,593   5,777   1,886   1,737
        Natural resources and conservation   3,254   1,804   1,596   1,446   1,137   497   210   8   0   0
        Life sciences nec   561   808   1,736   2,612   3,031   3,751   3,979   4,891   6,947   5,969
      Mathematics and statistics   5,477   4,116   3,616   2,857   2,659   2,711   2,409   2,434   2,237   2,056
      Physical sciences   216,801   179,084   143,342   120,677   115,340   107,416   84,938   74,376   72,578   82,039
        Astronomy and astrophysics   114,076   75,402   43,602   34,368   28,747   24,957   18,234   15,543   11,847   13,600
        Chemistry   15,407   13,610   12,345   9,383   9,041   9,650   8,937   12,078   16,961   22,995
        Materials science   3,797   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Physics   83,521   82,413   79,823   70,498   69,967   66,848   54,531   43,282   41,089   43,349
        Physical sciences nec   0   7,659   7,572   6,428   7,585   5,961   3,236   3,473   2,681   2,095
      Psychology   17,979   16,643   13,945   13,610   11,982   13,092   8,990   11,027   13,698   14,034
      Social sciences   17,722   16,815   15,231   14,018   16,443   18,635   17,707   16,568   12,904   13,567
        Anthropology   982   986   371   70   69   79   35   0   0   0
        Economics   160   425   436   215   557   799   301   85   3   21
        Political science and government   452   350   674   355   627   191   175   104   321   571
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   6,299   10,932   9,757   10,593   10,314   14,254   12,971   13,647   10,237   10,537
        Social sciences nec   9,829   4,122   3,993   2,785   4,876   3,312   4,225   2,732   2,343   2,438
      Sciences nec   2,363   1,576   1,523   1,724   2,177   3,305   12,623   18,464   23,887   19,430
    Engineering   177,788   175,118   191,531   177,604   160,423   152,391   171,965   176,988   132,146   109,482
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   89,706   90,146   115,323   107,850   97,881   89,596   110,957   117,928   75,237   49,499
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   14,821   13,254   11,317   9,300   10,069   10,615   9,031   7,420   5,685   4,270
      Chemical engineering   12,434   11,811   12,273   12,578   10,701   9,858   10,524   11,998   14,307   17,613
      Civil engineering   21,306   18,504   16,411   14,432   12,731   14,035   18,345   14,041   13,418   14,572
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   16,022   15,903   13,387   12,395   12,491   12,803   10,804   11,832   11,680   12,091
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   15,923   16,876   15,740   14,703   11,878   10,195   8,551   10,252   9,232   9,034
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   1,626   2,156   1,366   1,427   1,190   950   979   1,417   720   242
      Engineering nec   5,950   6,468   5,714   4,919   3,482   4,339   2,774   2,100   1,867   2,161
    Non-S&E   43,958   35,426   36,566   28,679   29,125   27,749   25,690   24,893   19,273   17,121
      Business management and business administration   1,337   1,850   3,471   1,704   2,008   2,100   1,769   1,879   2,404   2,295
      Communication and communications technologies   3,045   835   93   296   210   299   60   144   85   125
      Education   36,652   29,644   27,118   24,388   24,361   23,049   21,671   19,215   14,367   11,710
      Humanities   1,431   1,319   2,243   889   903   575   474   564   611   452
      Law   509   334   3,326   1,189   1,397   1,664   1,668   3,044   1,497   2,261
      Social work   360   105   57   0   1   1   0   0   168   201
      Visual and performing arts   0   0   0   0   0   7   30   24   136   77
      Non-S&E nec   624   1,339   258   213   245   54   18   23   5   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   717,920   567,693   6,972   47,178   15,686   19,363   61,028
    Science   496,174   404,249   3,953   23,157   3,612   11,040   50,163
      Computer and information sciences   23,615   21,362   61   784   948   157   303
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   144,721   137,086   1,102   4,371   765   710   687
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   27,417   26,277   212   414   0   0   514
        Geological and earth sciences   21,431   19,455   3   678   721   574   0
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   4,267   3,951   0   107   0   117   92
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   91,606   87,403   887   3,172   44   19   81
      Life sciences   67,496   54,376   399   6,783   660   3,589   1,689
        Agricultural sciences   2,141   844   30   701   200   366   0
        Biological and biomedical sciences   59,173   49,454   365   5,202   373   3,006   773
        Health sciences   2,367   2,025   0   184   87   27   44
        Natural resources and conservation   3,254   1,538   4   680   0   190   842
        Life sciences nec   561   515   0   16   0   0   30
      Mathematics and statistics   5,477   5,212   0   134   72   59   0
      Physical sciences   216,801   157,431   1,435   6,732   1,167   2,843   47,193
        Astronomy and astrophysics   114,076   68,290   49   0   0   129   45,608
        Chemistry   15,407   13,249   243   886   0   371   658
        Materials science   3,797   3,252   93   307   10   135   0
        Physics   83,521   72,640   1,050   5,539   1,157   2,208   927
        Physical sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Psychology   17,979   15,303   0   1,173   0   1,473   30
      Social sciences   17,722   11,918   612   2,814   0   2,117   261
        Anthropology   982   890   22   30   0   40   0
        Economics   160   153   0   7   0   0   0
        Political science and government   452   0   0   188   0   148   116
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   6,299   2,745   504   1,711   0   1,282   57
        Social sciences nec   9,829   8,130   86   878   0   647   88
      Sciences nec   2,363   1,561   344   366   0   92   0
    Engineering   177,788   143,267   1,252   12,161   7,959   3,628   9,521
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   89,706   72,473   4   7,273   1,812   464   7,680
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   14,821   11,826   141   976   323   1,351   204
      Chemical engineering   12,434   10,242   0   609   1,260   227   96
      Civil engineering   21,306   18,195   523   865   1,355   358   10
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   16,022   13,019   151   836   876   1,059   81
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   15,923   10,816   206   1,371   2,070   128   1,332
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   1,626   1,463   0   69   40   0   54
      Engineering nec   5,950   5,233   227   162   223   41   64
    Non-S&E   43,958   20,177   1,767   11,860   4,115   4,695   1,344
      Business management and business administration   1,337   1,180   0   132   0   9   16
      Communication and communications technologies   3,045   2,943   42   58   0   2   0
      Education   36,652   14,665   1,577   10,908   4,065   4,182   1,255
      Humanities   1,431   177   4   674   1   502   73
      Law   509   231   144   88   46   0   0
      Social work   360   360   0   0   0   0   0
      Visual and performing arts   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Non-S&E nec   624   621   0   0   3   0   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   567,693   538,715   507,892   459,816   427,869   412,691   391,817   374,209   371,995   353,341
  DOD   46,717   41,391   38,946   41,850   40,468   39,172   32,749   33,301   30,380   29,814
  DOE   39,399   34,983   31,077   27,891   25,970   25,423   21,452   22,858   24,057   22,271
  HHS   76,678   70,737   63,352   59,581   56,267   56,794   49,313   50,395   47,855   45,700
  NASA   171,388   166,802   166,203   148,496   126,185   110,640   107,891   97,305   102,176   97,729
  NSF   123,455   119,866   106,602   87,115   82,731   81,711   81,475   78,114   79,795   76,939
  USDA   2,258   1,640   2,075   2,059   1,705   1,832   1,484   1,145   1,230   906
  Other   107,798   103,296   99,637   92,824   94,543   97,119   97,453   91,091   86,502   79,982

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   5,977   1,351   4,626   .
2018   5,789   1,260   4,529   .

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   1,099   1,080   988   1,226   1,254
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   229   191   176   250   355
    Computer and information sciences   22   24   23   20   2
    Engineering   282   272   282   237   277
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   207   175   135   82   127
    Health sciences   9   8   8   4   40
    Mathematics and statistics   3   4   3   6   7
    Natural resources and conservation   47   46   40   8   15
    Physical sciences   179   279   252   499   289
    Psychology   65   69   58   86   59
    Social sciences   11   11   10   17   63
    Other   45   0   0   18   19

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   113,014   0   0   9,528   53,400
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   0   0   0   0   20,000
    Computer and information sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Engineering   0   0   0   9,528   33,400
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Health sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Mathematics and statistics   56,507   0   0   0   0
    Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0
    Physical sciences   56,507   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   16,966   5,385   5,536   13,492   31,527
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   525   878   0   797   2,368
    Computer and information sciences   0   0   0   0   2,254
    Engineering   0   1,105   1,349   5,163   16,967
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   0   2,960   2,887   5,541   1,149
    Health sciences   0   0   0   0   764
    Mathematics and statistics   0   0   0   0   580
    Natural resources and conservation   0   442   259   316   816
    Physical sciences   11,983   0   339   1,037   5,945
    Psychology   0   0   701   638   684
    Social sciences   4,458   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

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