U. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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 4 99.4 459 3 99.7 631 40 95.8 925
2023 11 97.8 459 4 99.6 679 43 95.4 911 5 99.3 602
2022 5 99.1 457 5 99.4 680 39 95.8 900
2021 11 97.8 447 5 99.4 691 37 96.1 908 7 99 583
2020 3 99.6 450 2 99.9 698 39 95.9 916
2019 7 98.7 447 4 99.6 697 38 96 914 7 99 589
2018 4 99.3 428 3 99.7 700 37 96.1 911
2017 4 99.3 425 3 99.7 684 36 96.1 898 6 99.1 575
2016 13 97.2 430 4 99.6 697 33 96.5 896
2015 5 99.1 426 4 99.6 693 31 96.7 898 6 99.1 570
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 812 731 815 662 820 759 766 782 677 782
  Science and engineering 683 609 678 561 665 635 631 623 514 611
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 38 43 44 34 43 36 31 37 39 35
      Agricultural sciences 32 37 37 28 36 31 30 35 34 32
      Natural resources and conservation 6 6 7 6 7 5 1 2 5 3
    Biological and biomedical sciences 87 89 91 70 86 94 77 82 80 97
      Biochemistry and biophysics 16 21 17 8 13 13 13 21 24 25
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 4 4 4 3 2 1 1 . 4 .
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 3 2 9 1 6 6 4 2 2 4
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy . 2 1 3 4 5 4 11 4 6
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 9 10 9 6 5 17 8 5 11 10
      Genetics and genomics . 1 2 1 . . . 1 1 2
      Microbiology and immunology 13 8 10 12 9 13 7 11 4 9
      Molecular biology 7 6 4 7 3 4 2 2 3 1
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 7 13 9 6 11 13 15 9 1 9
      Pharmacology and toxicology 1 . 4 . 1 1 . 3 . 3
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 9 6 2 3 7 3 3 4 2 4
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 18 16 20 20 25 18 20 13 24 24
    Computer and information sciences 86 52 77 63 59 48 48 41 44 43
      Computer science 76 40 57 50 50 42 42 37 40 41
      Computer and information sciences, other 10 12 20 13 9 6 6 4 4 2
    Engineering 225 220 230 189 241 225 211 210 161 231
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 9 13 15 9 8 8 11 9 8 8
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 16 15 8 11 11 20 7 11 7 8
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 14 19 21 14 11 11 15 13 9 15
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 36 26 39 32 45 45 39 32 26 36
      Electrical and computer engineering 54 53 41 44 54 50 46 68 40 68
      Industrial engineering and operations research 12 8 16 10 10 4 7 4 7 12
      Materials and mining engineering 23 25 19 20 27 26 32 24 27 29
      Mechanical engineering 40 41 46 32 56 45 30 29 23 43
      Engineering, other 21 20 25 17 19 16 24 20 14 12
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 16 11 15 13 7 13 15 6 7 9
      Geological sciences 7 4 5 8 4 4 5 2 1 3
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 9 7 10 5 3 9 10 4 6 6
    Health sciences 17 16 17 7 14 13 17 27 12 9
      Nursing science . . . 1 . . . . . .
      Pharmaceutical sciences . 1 . . . . . . . .
      Public health 10 3 3 1 2 3 2 9 6 3
      Health sciences, other 7 12 14 5 12 10 15 18 6 6
    Mathematics and statistics 29 36 27 29 36 33 48 32 21 28
      Applied mathematics . 3 3 1 4 2 4 2 3 3
      Mathematics 3 . 8 2 9 15 19 8 3 17
      Statistics 11 9 6 9 5 3 10 6 2 3
      Mathematics and statistics, other 15 24 10 17 18 13 15 16 13 5
    Physical sciences 93 72 86 87 97 83 96 93 86 73
      Astronomy and astrophysics 8 17 6 8 2 5 5 3 4 2
      Chemistry 49 29 46 45 49 41 49 47 50 38
      Physics 36 26 34 34 46 37 42 43 32 33
    Psychology 35 23 26 20 26 33 34 37 20 32
      Clinical psychology 7 4 3 5 4 3 2 3 3 4
      Counseling and applied psychology 3 3 4 4 4 6 5 6 5 6
      Research and experimental psychology 17 10 12 7 12 18 21 22 11 17
      Psychology, other 8 6 7 4 6 6 6 6 1 5
    Social sciences 57 47 65 49 56 57 54 58 44 54
      Anthropology 7 2 7 4 9 2 5 4 1 5
      Economics 17 25 26 21 17 21 18 17 12 15
      Political science and government 7 4 5 7 5 8 9 4 5 6
      Public policy analysis . . . . . 1 1 . . .
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 3 2 8 1 4 3 8 9 7 6
      Social sciences, other 23 14 19 16 21 22 13 24 19 22
  Non-science and engineering 129 122 137 101 155 124 135 159 163 171
    Business 21 17 25 15 24 18 17 17 21 27
      Business 21 17 25 15 24 18 17 17 21 27
    Education 47 41 52 32 41 41 50 50 54 63
      Education leadership and administration 8 7 6 2 7 8 6 8 . 5
      Education research 31 27 33 23 25 30 36 35 33 46
      Teacher education and teaching fields 4 7 10 4 8 2 7 4 14 11
      Education, other 4 . 3 3 1 1 1 3 7 1
    Humanities and arts 37 33 44 34 62 40 41 55 64 51
      Letters 12 11 10 9 25 12 18 17 22 15
      Foreign languages and literature 8 8 14 2 9 8 9 12 11 5
      History 10 6 13 15 15 6 6 11 17 14
      Philosophy and religious studies 2 1 1 1 5 . 3 3 3 4
      Music and performing arts 3 4 1 3 1 8 5 8 4 5
      Humanities and arts, other 2 3 5 4 7 6 . 4 7 8
    Other non-science and engineering 24 31 16 20 28 25 27 37 24 30
      Communication 8 14 6 7 14 11 6 19 14 15
      Public administration and social services 4 5 2 2 3 4 8 4 . 4
      Non-science and engineering, other 12 12 8 11 11 10 13 14 10 11

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: 2024–15
All races 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 3,885 3,581 3,594 3,637 3,324 3,057 2,737 2,701 2,780 2,769
    Hispanic or Latino 441 377 391 404 370 314 265 241 218 218
    Not Hispanic or Latino 3,316 3,091 3,050 3,092 2,869 2,666 2,440 2,423 2,518 2,506
      American Indian or Alaska Native 1 2 1 1 1 3 4 3 5 10
      Asian 988 823 728 726 560 490 499 476 429 401
      Black or African American 172 152 160 150 150 124 99 90 91 91
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1 3 3 1 0 2 1 2 2 4
      White 1,989 1,953 1,999 2,074 2,025 1,932 1,731 1,750 1,886 1,908
      More than one race 165 158 159 140 133 115 106 102 105 92
    Unknown ethnicity and race 128 113 153 141 85 77 32 37 44 45
  Temporary visa holders 5,460 4,996 5,136 4,595 3,956 4,366 4,192 3,925 3,607 3,317
  Science and engineering 9,118 8,390 8,527 8,028 7,091 7,182 6,689 6,390 6,144 5,826
    Science 6,207 5,676 5,867 5,354 4,697 4,640 4,086 3,692 3,538 3,381
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 408 366 357 315 313 266 268 270 370 367
      Biological and biomedical sciences 604 580 601 579 540 534 517 524 493 474
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 92 101
      Computer and information sciences 2,923 2,486 2,668 2,320 1,765 1,602 1,120 886 612 526
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 87 88 89 77 88 75 75 83 78 79
      Mathematics and statistics 646 661 719 613 534 669 598 393 391 355
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 108 97 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 98 102 96 99 99 89 89 86 0 0
      Physical sciences 661 626 604 611 631 598 602 608 607 597
      Psychology 155 146 137 148 149 194 200 198 186 196
      Social sciences 517 524 560 592 578 613 617 644 632 616
    Engineering 2,911 2,714 2,660 2,674 2,394 2,542 2,603 2,698 2,606 2,445
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 242 229 239 209 154 129 141 167 169 140
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 183 165 132 129 126 131 117 110 95 87
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 155 132 130 135 127 116 104 98 96 88
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 490 465 479 517 468 519 581 654 669 657
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 715 641 634 660 590 671 635 600 573 495
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 195 206 210 181 176 215 242 250 215 207
      Mechanical engineering 452 406 383 407 363 361 382 418 362 400
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 215 217 213 208 191 182 177 177 189 187
      Other engineering 264 253 240 228 199 218 224 224 238 184
    Health 227 187 203 204 189 241 240 236 243 260
      Clinical medicine 79 61 66 66 59 51 64 60 52 55
      Other health 148 126 137 138 130 190 176 176 191 205

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: 2024–15
All races 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 1,399 1,276 1,174 1,179 1,054 918 618 487 422 400
    Hispanic or Latino 110 96 83 75 75 67 45 32 20 20
    Not Hispanic or Latino 1,100 980 911 924 823 712 553 439 377 368
      American Indian or Alaska Native 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
      Asian 411 332 290 238 189 143 169 99 63 41
      Black or African American 38 38 38 36 31 21 15 12 11 9
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 2 3 2 2 1 0 1 2 1 1
      White 607 576 557 618 577 521 343 309 289 310
      More than one race 39 30 23 30 25 27 25 17 13 6
    Unknown ethnicity and race 189 200 180 180 156 139 20 16 25 12
  Temporary visa holders 410 440 417 324 364 309 191 133 110 84
  Science and engineering 1,803 1,710 1,585 1,495 1,413 1,214 792 609 512 472
    Science 1,454 1,416 1,310 1,284 1,184 1,031 616 445 368 341
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 139 122 103 113 111 95 87 93 127 133
      Biological and biomedical sciences 8 8 7 10 7 20 19 14 11 35
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 30
      Computer and information sciences 1,164 1,182 1,095 1,078 977 833 449 259 148 88
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 29 18 4 7 5 3 6 6 4 3
      Mathematics and statistics 32 19 18 14 8 20 9 14 10 8
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 6 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 47 47 46 39 40 34 29 34 0 0
      Physical sciences 7 3 7 3 11 3 2 7 6 9
      Psychology 5 2 12 4 7 10 5 6 8 12
      Social sciences 17 12 17 16 18 13 10 12 18 16
    Engineering 349 294 275 211 229 183 176 164 144 131
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 55 49 40 39 34 34 25 29 21 18
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 19 22 14 13 8 4 3 4 0 0
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 90 82 80 62 76 68 69 63 63 71
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 69 51 50 28 39 28 22 21 13 8
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 10 6 6 1 3 3 3 3 5 3
      Mechanical engineering 51 45 42 28 34 28 43 29 24 19
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 4 5 5 5 7 7 2 3 9 4
      Other engineering 49 34 38 35 27 11 8 11 9 8
    Health 6 6 6 8 5 13 17 11 20 12
      Clinical medicine 2 2 2 4 3 2 4 1 3 3
      Other health 4 4 4 4 2 11 13 10 17 9

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: 2024–15
Field 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All surveyed fields 1,381 1,385 1,458 1,341 1,245 1,182 1,177 1,186 1,176 1,115
  Science and engineering 1,368 1,378 1,442 1,326 1,237 1,161 1,158 1,170 1,160 1,098
    Science 657 724 740 673 602 570 608 612 642 584
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 88 69 65 61 54 47 46 38 75 65
      Biological and biomedical sciences 173 160 177 152 152 137 146 118 113 90
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
      Computer and information sciences 128 192 200 191 147 128 138 149 162 153
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 23 34 35 33 35 34 38 39 31 23
      Mathematics and statistics 9 13 21 10 11 8 13 20 21 14
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 34 33 25 26 23 31 30 30 0 0
      Physical sciences 157 170 166 155 135 132 138 160 149 158
      Psychology 14 14 20 18 18 26 26 23 30 27
      Social sciences 24 32 31 27 27 27 33 35 31 28
    Engineering 711 654 702 653 635 591 550 558 518 514
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 68 64 70 76 55 51 35 39 30 26
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 49 54 57 39 41 31 27 30 22 15
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 56 50 44 40 41 35 30 27 14 12
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 97 90 93 80 69 69 64 71 77 83
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 137 117 140 139 142 138 134 133 149 170
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 22 19 18 24 29 25 26 17 16 9
      Mechanical engineering 119 106 115 98 113 110 108 113 89 99
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 95 88 94 90 81 62 63 64 62 63
      Other engineering 68 66 71 67 64 70 63 64 59 37
    Health 13 7 16 15 8 21 19 16 16 17
      Clinical medicine 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
      Other health 10 6 15 14 7 21 19 15 16 16

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: 2024–15
Type and primary source of support 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All types and sources of support 9,345 8,577 8,730 8,232 7,280 7,423 6,929 6,626 6,387 6,086
  Fellowships 1,165 780 644 718 776 709 694 701 729 733
    Federal 25 25 26 26 19 23 26 38 45 32
    Institutional 1,138 755 618 691 755 684 665 658 681 698
    Nonfederal 2 0 0 1 2 2 3 5 3 3
  Research assistantships 2,341 2,382 2,409 2,312 2,062 2,082 2,048 2,050 2,094 2,017
    Federal 1,353 1,357 1,429 1,312 1,220 1,154 1,147 1,145 1,124 1,079
    Institutional 938 984 953 967 802 889 863 863 929 893
    Nonfederal 50 41 27 33 40 39 38 42 41 45
  Teaching assistantships 1,643 1,666 1,638 1,568 1,539 1,541 1,547 1,498 1,510 1,462
    Federal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Institutional 1,643 1,666 1,638 1,568 1,539 1,541 1,547 1,498 1,510 1,462
    Nonfederal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Other types of support 4,196 3,749 4,039 3,634 2,903 3,091 2,640 2,377 2,054 1,874
    Federal 3 3 3 3 6 5 4 3 7 4
    Institutional 894 879 906 901 869 790 629 636 620 645
    Nonfederal 1 2 0 0 2 0 2 1 6 3
    Personal resources 3,298 2,865 3,130 2,730 2,026 2,296 2,005 1,737 1,421 1,222

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: 2024–15
All races 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  Science and engineering 521 469 443 447 494 459 413 453 500 533
    Science 324 301 279 293 329 354 315 343 395 411
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 36 32 39 35 49 33 17 14 18 29
      Biological and biomedical sciences 72 77 73 91 81 89 83 107 111 125
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 36 38 34 36 33 29 43 51 53 46
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 8 6 4 6 4 6 8 8 5 4
      Mathematics and statistics 20 20 10 9 12 17 14 16 16 15
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 44 39 49 65 60
      Natural resources and conservation 22 17 23 23 29 23 19 6 0 0
      Physical sciences 104 90 80 80 97 94 85 82 103 113
      Psychology 12 9 5 5 14 10 3 3 6 5
      Social sciences 14 12 11 8 10 9 4 7 18 14
    Engineering 197 168 164 154 165 105 98 110 105 122
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 6 12 11 7 5 2 4 5 6 6
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 15 11 14 9 15 15 9 5 5 8
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 16 18 21 15 11 10 9 12 18 15
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 21 14 11 14 7 6 7 15 12 14
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 10 9 10 12 9 10 8 10 7 6
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
      Mechanical engineering 24 18 11 18 25 21 23 17 14 17
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 39 35 34 25 28 24 20 25 35 46
      Other engineering 66 51 52 54 65 17 18 21 6 8
    Health 10 11 8 4 5 15 10 6 12 9
      Clinical medicine 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Other health 9 11 8 4 5 15 10 6 12 9

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: 2024–15
Field 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All surveyed fields 205 200 183 185 224 204 185 198 222 229
  Science and engineering 202 198 181 185 224 199 183 196 218 227
    Science 120 117 102 117 143 157 143 152 182 193
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 20 17 14 14 23 12 3 6 9 13
      Biological and biomedical sciences 24 32 31 34 32 39 44 43 53 55
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 10 11 12 14 16 16 16 25 26 26
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 3 2 0 1 2 4 7 6 3 1
      Mathematics and statistics 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 24 13 16 22 24
      Natural resources and conservation 11 10 12 14 7 11 9 6 0 0
      Physical sciences 50 43 31 38 53 44 49 46 61 67
      Psychology 2 1 1 1 8 7 2 2 3 4
      Social sciences 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 5 3
    Engineering 82 81 79 68 81 42 40 44 36 34
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 3 7 6 2 3 2 1 3 2 3
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 10 9 7 3 10 6 4 3 1 1
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 4 6 8 5 3 3 3 2 6 6
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 6 6 3 3 2 2 1 8 6 4
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 3 3 6 5 3 1 3 4 1 1
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
      Mechanical engineering 14 12 6 13 14 12 9 3 5 6
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 17 18 19 10 10 6 8 11 11 10
      Other engineering 25 20 24 27 36 10 11 10 2 2
    Health 3 2 2 0 0 5 2 2 4 2
      Clinical medicine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Other health 3 2 2 0 0 5 2 2 4 2

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: 2024–15
(Dollars in thousands)
Field 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  All R&D fields 906,751 821,023 765,909 731,268 689,176 677,523 652,709 642,084 625,180 639,817
    Science 501,776 501,535 498,282 479,686 454,997 439,852 414,571 409,763 416,758 452,553
      Computer and information sciences 87,866 99,934 104,436 99,600 95,988 106,430 96,170 102,612 94,722 109,661
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 17,050 23,906 6,575 5,521 6,281 6,868 7,272 6,303 7,211 7,214
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 6,635 7,695 5,175 3,785 3,619 3,947 4,386 3,994 3,139 2,869
        Geological and earth sciences 10,415 16,211 1,400 1,736 2,662 2,921 2,886 2,309 4,072 4,345
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Life sciences 252,675 245,437 270,361 258,253 241,661 222,994 206,379 199,917 202,597 220,029
        Agricultural sciences 90,118 81,241 67,828 70,763 79,576 59,210 58,176 57,299 59,596 130,410
        Biological and biomedical sciences 100,601 107,346 93,256 91,434 77,458 66,393 64,375 58,090 57,616 69,710
        Health sciences 8,377 7,433 5,483 4,630 2,845 25,462 19,229 20,194 14,045 15,500
        Natural resources and conservation 53,579 49,417 103,794 91,426 81,782 71,929 64,599 64,334 71,340 0
        Life sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4,409
      Mathematics and statistics 4,557 5,040 3,729 3,612 5,346 5,071 5,669 5,388 4,474 4,851
      Physical sciences 94,494 84,748 77,419 78,698 72,360 69,531 69,612 65,579 71,513 67,182
        Astronomy and astrophysics 9,056 6,548 7,833 9,377 10,212 10,015 12,033 9,324 6,198 3,701
        Chemistry 39,913 34,685 30,955 35,360 34,642 35,411 31,819 28,988 33,655 32,678
        Materials science 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Physics 45,500 43,505 38,628 33,961 27,506 24,104 25,760 27,267 31,659 30,803
        Physical sciences nec 25 10 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
      Psychology 16,212 15,234 13,192 15,063 16,086 14,473 14,814 16,169 20,964 17,276
      Social sciences 13,338 9,883 6,718 5,604 5,846 6,846 9,255 8,335 10,794 21,340
        Anthropology 1,554 955 709 617 582 1,664 2,016 2,048 1,127 0
        Economics 1,816 1,299 1,488 1,290 1,325 574 1,306 633 552 8,438
        Political science and government 856 813 794 875 712 2,049 2,855 2,694 5,399 6,525
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 623 497 221 216 65 95 85 159 133 1,090
        Social sciences nec 8,489 6,319 3,506 2,606 3,162 2,464 2,993 2,801 3,583 5,287
      Sciences nec 15,584 17,353 15,852 13,335 11,429 7,639 5,400 5,460 4,483 5,000
    Engineering 351,544 272,650 228,786 216,233 203,564 201,028 195,413 192,878 170,506 161,458
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 20,724 17,051 16,647 14,809 10,210 11,047 12,007 11,992 9,490 8,411
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 23,993 19,103 15,966 15,544 13,055 11,831 10,491 10,024 7,731 7,692
      Chemical engineering 25,409 25,698 20,595 18,948 17,451 17,270 10,403 8,495 7,864 8,435
      Civil engineering 41,984 35,959 26,706 23,693 20,674 20,615 22,097 25,156 28,392 30,134
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 65,014 53,289 56,110 56,980 60,400 59,121 58,382 56,318 49,809 50,363
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 41,102 34,031 31,526 31,641 32,041 31,786 34,594 31,480 24,177 21,406
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 35,316 25,514 19,386 17,397 16,575 19,185 18,179 20,859 19,766 19,504
      Engineering nec 98,002 62,005 41,850 37,221 33,158 30,173 29,260 28,554 23,277 15,513
    Non-S&E 53,431 46,838 38,841 35,349 30,615 36,643 42,725 39,443 37,916 25,806
      Business management and business administration 4,738 4,621 3,533 2,368 1,950 1,415 1,672 1,280 1,385 1,611
      Communication and communications technologies 4,804 445 266 226 236 168 74 129 188 4,957
      Education 5,527 6,389 5,928 5,172 6,631 5,841 5,215 4,836 3,788 4,198
      Humanities 5,455 5,829 4,727 3,719 3,699 3,988 4,131 3,460 3,355 3,757
      Law 844 1,327 1,429 1,418 1,166 1,143 1,346 1,301 1,320 1,625
      Social work 8,795 8,660 7,619 7,957 3,813 3,108 6,521 6,499 4,820 3,599
      Visual and performing arts 2,143 1,922 1,299 1,173 798 918 986 786 603 500
      Non-S&E nec 21,125 17,645 14,040 13,316 12,322 20,062 22,780 21,152 22,457 5,559

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 906,751 511,574 29,114 258,312 45,694 36,634 25,423
    Science 501,776 257,460 15,960 167,084 23,949 23,487 13,836
      Computer and information sciences 87,866 41,956 196 25,185 17,418 891 2,220
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 17,050 11,140 362 5,161 288 9 90
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 6,635 5,198 237 878 288 8 26
        Geological and earth sciences 10,415 5,942 125 4,283 0 1 64
        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 252,675 124,717 13,367 87,599 2,242 16,133 8,617
        Agricultural sciences 90,118 38,667 8,442 29,655 1,038 6,401 5,915
        Biological and biomedical sciences 100,601 61,970 731 27,561 1,071 7,502 1,766
        Health sciences 8,377 2,663 22 4,728 43 540 381
        Natural resources and conservation 53,579 21,417 4,172 25,655 90 1,690 555
        Life sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Mathematics and statistics 4,557 2,845 4 1,343 35 130 200
      Physical sciences 94,494 62,391 702 21,954 3,687 3,846 1,914
        Astronomy and astrophysics 9,056 6,186 3 2,704 76 64 23
        Chemistry 39,913 24,158 24 11,106 1,132 2,059 1,434
        Materials science 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Physics 45,500 32,026 675 8,140 2,479 1,723 457
        Physical sciences nec 25 21 0 4 0 0 0
      Psychology 16,212 9,235 981 5,154 123 408 311
      Social sciences 13,338 5,046 348 5,487 17 2,059 381
        Anthropology 1,554 451 99 863 2 100 39
        Economics 1,816 596 0 1,033 0 110 77
        Political science and government 856 392 0 411 0 22 31
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 623 300 0 297 8 1 17
        Social sciences nec 8,489 3,307 249 2,883 7 1,826 217
      Sciences nec 15,584 130 0 15,201 139 11 103
    Engineering 351,544 235,831 6,528 68,624 21,284 9,170 10,107
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 20,724 14,039 164 4,766 1,302 151 302
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 23,993 15,779 383 5,163 629 1,354 685
      Chemical engineering 25,409 17,304 371 3,639 1,821 2,121 153
      Civil engineering 41,984 27,453 2,205 9,983 453 1,092 798
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 65,014 40,255 1,115 12,257 7,087 1,464 2,836
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 41,102 31,170 79 5,590 1,671 749 1,843
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 35,316 23,448 355 7,018 2,273 682 1,540
      Engineering nec 98,002 66,383 1,856 20,208 6,048 1,557 1,950
    Non-S&E 53,431 18,283 6,626 22,604 461 3,977 1,480
      Business management and business administration 4,738 641 2 3,862 80 76 77
      Communication and communications technologies 4,804 2,278 36 2,475 0 0 15
      Education 5,527 2,536 296 1,903 6 472 314
      Humanities 5,455 246 4 3,316 38 1,770 81
      Law 844 31 0 741 0 4 68
      Social work 8,795 1,910 4,366 1,926 0 523 70
      Visual and performing arts 2,143 157 0 1,836 0 69 81
      Non-S&E nec 21,125 10,484 1,922 6,545 337 1,063 774

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 511,574 460,491 420,953 406,612 387,853 382,206 353,710 358,905 335,056 338,178
  DOD 78,009 59,094 62,791 58,649 52,163 50,403 47,161 49,456 42,948 43,262
  DOE 121,838 95,415 90,166 84,115 75,459 66,545 50,433 51,063 43,031 45,962
  HHS 97,530 95,343 83,915 85,578 78,416 69,420 63,522 60,885 61,055 61,359
  NASA 14,134 12,335 10,846 10,081 8,430 8,403 10,402 9,920 8,244 6,750
  NSF 125,665 137,092 117,743 120,001 127,552 141,078 134,169 136,242 127,024 132,673
  USDA 33,496 27,860 24,588 19,849 18,648 19,682 19,438 19,422 19,843 18,067
  Other 40,902 33,352 30,904 28,339 27,185 26,675 28,585 31,917 32,911 30,105

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 12,292 1,333 10,959 .
2018 12,258 1,200 11,058 .

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 3,312 3,166 3,080 3,058 3,034
    Agricultural sciences 974 954 815 827 825
    Biological and biomedical sciences 432 417 349 334 315
    Computer and information sciences 148 153 158 178 180
    Engineering 656 610 635 624 620
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 20 20 20 29 12
    Health sciences 47 57 160 144 145
    Mathematics and statistics 6 5 5 4 4
    Natural resources and conservation 379 324 318 315 315
    Physical sciences 202 208 210 207 205
    Psychology 73 72 71 74 71
    Social sciences 24 32 24 22 31
    Other 352 314 315 299 311

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 23,123 1,040 8,656 42,525 17,251
    Agricultural sciences 23,123 1,040 0 16,733 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 0 0 8,656 0 7,251
    Computer and information sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 0 0 0 9,789 10,000
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Health sciences 0 0 0 6,009 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 9,994 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 17,663 7,326 5,264 35,361 83,733
    Agricultural sciences 1,237 2,297 0 302 5,655
    Biological and biomedical sciences 1,939 1,208 0 2,582 2,491
    Computer and information sciences 1,586 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 8,003 1,889 1,259 13,722 66,175
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Health sciences 0 0 0 1,825 741
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 0
    Natural resources and conservation 2,504 0 0 8,604 3,171
    Physical sciences 1,661 1,460 0 3,695 4,198
    Psychology 0 0 503 0 631
    Social sciences 0 0 365 294 0
    Other 734 472 3,137 4,338 672

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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