U. North Carolina, The, Chapel Hill

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 32 93.3 459 38 94.2 631 11 98.9 925
2023 28 94.2 459 40 94.3 679 9 99.1 911 45 92.8 602
2022 33 93 457 37 94.8 680 12 98.8 900
2021 30 93.6 447 36 95 691 13 98.7 908 47 92.2 583
2020 20 95.8 450 35 95.2 698 13 98.7 916
2019 27 94.2 447 39 94.6 697 12 98.8 914 43 92.9 589
2018 26 94.2 428 39 94.6 700 12 98.8 911
2017 18 96 425 42 94.1 684 11 98.9 898 44 92.6 575
2016 21 95.4 430 37 94.9 697 11 98.9 896
2015 23 94.9 426 34 95.3 693 11 98.9 898 46 92.2 570
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 491 526 474 433 556 489 473 542 510 492
  Science and engineering 393 425 383 349 429 371 375 416 383 381
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 2 1 1 3 4 3 4 5 6 4
      Agricultural sciences . . . 2 . . 1 1 . .
      Natural resources and conservation 2 1 1 1 4 3 3 4 6 4
    Biological and biomedical sciences 128 165 138 124 144 112 146 146 137 158
      Biochemistry and biophysics 4 8 4 4 10 9 11 14 11 11
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 6 12 10 7 7 11 2 5 10 8
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 35 26 28 29 23 12 20 19 20 20
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy 5 4 4 1 3 2 8 9 6 9
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 23 42 35 33 31 31 40 31 33 36
      Genetics and genomics 5 12 8 10 16 11 10 6 9 12
      Microbiology and immunology 12 15 16 8 12 8 16 12 14 17
      Molecular biology 5 6 4 8 4 4 5 10 5 6
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 6 13 8 3 13 5 10 13 5 10
      Pharmacology and toxicology 13 13 9 6 9 7 12 7 8 11
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 4 9 6 4 7 7 3 7 7 6
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 10 5 6 11 9 5 9 13 9 12
    Computer and information sciences 23 17 16 14 23 18 18 20 19 18
      Computer science 23 15 13 13 21 16 16 18 14 18
      Computer and information sciences, other . 2 3 1 2 2 2 2 5 .
    Engineering 28 17 16 18 26 14 12 17 12 8
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 12 11 8 13 12 6 5 6 6 3
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 9 1 5 2 9 4 5 4 3 3
      Electrical and computer engineering . . . 1 . . . . . .
      Industrial engineering and operations research . 1 . . . . . . . .
      Materials and mining engineering 5 4 3 1 4 3 2 6 3 2
      Mechanical engineering 2 . . . 1 1 . . . .
      Engineering, other . . . 1 . . . 1 . .
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 6 7 6 8 7 12 6 12 8 7
      Geological sciences 2 . 2 3 2 3 3 3 4 2
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 4 7 4 5 5 9 3 9 4 5
    Health sciences 50 53 54 53 66 61 58 54 55 47
      Nursing science 4 5 11 8 8 4 10 5 9 5
      Pharmaceutical sciences 15 17 16 12 17 10 16 14 12 11
      Public health 14 18 17 19 21 32 24 25 27 19
      Health sciences, other 17 13 10 14 20 15 8 10 7 12
    Mathematics and statistics 24 21 22 26 17 22 18 20 24 16
      Applied mathematics 2 7 2 12 2 3 3 8 5 .
      Mathematics 1 . 1 2 2 1 4 . 2 2
      Statistics 11 3 6 3 2 3 5 6 8 4
      Mathematics and statistics, other 10 11 13 9 11 15 6 6 9 10
    Physical sciences 59 49 46 46 58 52 45 59 46 43
      Astronomy and astrophysics 6 5 5 4 1 . 3 2 3 1
      Chemistry 43 36 37 38 41 40 35 46 30 37
      Physics 10 8 4 4 16 12 7 11 13 5
    Psychology 27 24 24 20 23 18 16 22 22 18
      Clinical psychology 2 7 6 7 6 6 4 5 2 4
      Counseling and applied psychology 3 . 1 1 4 4 2 1 4 1
      Research and experimental psychology 15 11 13 8 10 4 8 9 11 8
      Psychology, other 7 6 4 4 3 4 2 7 5 5
    Social sciences 46 71 60 37 61 59 52 61 54 62
      Anthropology 5 6 10 2 5 5 6 7 4 7
      Economics 11 12 9 7 7 13 10 9 12 14
      Political science and government 9 14 10 6 7 16 5 6 7 10
      Public policy analysis 4 3 11 8 15 8 7 8 9 11
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 4 10 5 5 10 6 7 15 8 5
      Social sciences, other 13 26 15 9 17 11 17 16 14 15
  Non-science and engineering 98 101 91 84 127 118 98 126 127 111
    Business 14 8 13 8 17 9 9 13 7 7
      Business 14 8 13 8 17 9 9 13 7 7
    Education 15 22 13 17 20 31 23 26 23 23
      Education leadership and administration 1 . 1 . . 1 . . . .
      Education research 13 14 8 11 9 16 13 15 10 15
      Teacher education and teaching fields . 2 . . 4 1 2 3 3 3
      Education, other 1 6 4 6 7 13 8 8 10 5
    Humanities and arts 52 43 46 42 65 63 42 68 76 59
      Letters 14 13 17 9 21 20 17 17 20 12
      Foreign languages and literature 4 6 5 4 9 11 1 8 17 21
      History 12 11 6 12 18 16 6 20 21 12
      Philosophy and religious studies 10 7 13 11 9 6 12 14 4 6
      Music and performing arts 6 2 3 2 2 3 1 7 2 4
      Humanities and arts, other 6 4 2 4 6 7 5 2 12 4
    Other non-science and engineering 17 28 19 17 25 15 24 19 21 22
      Communication 9 20 11 9 10 5 15 13 15 11
      Public administration and social services 5 6 3 4 4 5 6 3 5 10
      Non-science and engineering, other 3 2 5 4 11 5 3 3 1 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

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   3,022   3,069   3,161   3,124   2,865   2,734   2,657   2,615   2,752   3,000
    Hispanic or Latino   273   298   294   257   248   221   191   184   181   182
    Not Hispanic or Latino   2,677   2,711   2,801   2,795   2,542   2,397   2,372   2,337   2,477   2,741
      American Indian or Alaska Native   7   8   8   7   8   5   1   3   2   7
      Asian   337   311   337   330   271   231   237   214   217   239
      Black or African American   273   286   301   289   211   184   184   150   174   221
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander   2   2   2   2   1   2   3   4   4   9
      White   1,913   1,951   1,998   2,023   1,918   1,838   1,799   1,723   1,838   2,076
      More than one race   145   153   155   144   133   137   148   243   242   189
    Unknown ethnicity and race   72   60   66   72   75   116   94   94   94   77
  Temporary visa holders   908   889   848   727   666   702   630   618   600   625
  Science and engineering   2,760   2,753   2,726   2,613   2,496   2,575   2,564   2,496   2,666   2,933
    Science   2,701   2,631   2,619   2,494   2,388   2,474   2,462   2,394   2,544   2,820
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   92   110
      Biological and biomedical sciences   1,053   1,034   1,012   973   925   966   974   929   920   850
      Communication   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   123   131
      Computer and information sciences   298   278   308   267   229   250   278   260   217   224
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences   61   59   57   58   50   51   62   66   61   62
      Mathematics and statistics   163   147   139   154   158   164   156   152   157   166
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences   166   153   152   149   20   21   25   26   0   0
      Natural resources and conservation   84   89   92   88   81   88   99   96   0   0
      Physical sciences   397   394   385   372   368   365   324   331   337   343
      Psychology   31   29   35   33   162   168   161   154   154   157
      Social sciences   448   448   439   400   395   401   383   380   452   743
    Engineering   59   122   107   119   108   101   102   102   122   113
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering   59   122   107   119   108   101   102   102   102   91
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   20   22
      Other engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
    Health   1,170   1,205   1,283   1,238   1,035   861   723   737   686   692
      Clinical medicine   694   736   823   780   610   469   348   345   318   321
      Other health   476   469   460   458   425   392   375   392   368   371

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   537   527   620   506   269   178   194   142   344   357
    Hispanic or Latino   48   48   52   42   20   11   12   9   21   17
    Not Hispanic or Latino   470   465   548   445   238   158   173   131   316   336
      American Indian or Alaska Native   5   2   2   1   0   0   0   0   3   1
      Asian   70   58   70   49   27   16   23   10   19   26
      Black or African American   106   104   121   89   35   19   18   13   49   54
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander   0   0   2   2   2   0   1   2   1   3
      White   265   278   330   282   169   113   122   97   223   238
      More than one race   24   23   23   22   5   10   9   9   21   14
    Unknown ethnicity and race   19   14   20   19   11   9   9   2   7   4
  Temporary visa holders   22   29   20   12   11   9   15   8   14   16
  Science and engineering   127   76   91   62   53   58   64   59   252   286
    Science   126   76   82   60   52   58   62   58   249   284
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   2   3
      Biological and biomedical sciences   19   20   19   18   18   21   23   23   25   16
      Communication   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   31   33
      Computer and information sciences   12   34   38   32   21   20   20   13   10   7
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences   0   2   1   1   1   1   0   1   0   0
      Mathematics and statistics   4   2   4   1   2   2   3   4   5   1
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences   71   1   1   0   0   0   2   1   0   0
      Natural resources and conservation   3   4   3   0   2   0   2   4   0   0
      Physical sciences   5   3   5   0   2   2   0   2   3   0
      Psychology   0   1   0   2   1   2   6   6   3   0
      Social sciences   12   9   11   6   5   10   6   4   170   224
    Engineering   1   0   9   2   1   0   2   1   3   2
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering   1   0   9   2   1   0   2   1   2   2
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   1   0
      Other engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
    Health   432   480   549   456   227   129   145   91   106   87
      Clinical medicine   378   423   492   404   204   101   121   76   96   87
      Other health   54   57   57   52   23   28   24   15   10   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: 2024–15
Field 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All surveyed fields   1,150   1,172   1,204   1,109   912   922   911   897   967   1,018
  Science and engineering   1,034   1,049   1,063   1,013   826   837   829   808   876   934
    Science   1,029   1,039   1,054   1,003   813   827   819   799   862   927
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   44   37
      Biological and biomedical sciences   587   568   553   558   432   439   432   418   429   472
      Communication   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   1   2
      Computer and information sciences   97   87   95   88   81   80   82   75   82   81
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences   26   17   22   21   19   20   9   10   13   13
      Mathematics and statistics   20   31   37   27   30   40   37   36   21   27
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences   45   31   43   38   1   1   6   6   0   0
      Natural resources and conservation   40   40   39   31   20   30   16   17   0   0
      Physical sciences   165   202   205   192   169   170   171   173   166   163
      Psychology   0   4   4   7   35   32   44   44   43   44
      Social sciences   49   59   56   41   26   15   22   20   35   56
    Engineering   5   10   9   10   13   10   10   9   14   7
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering   5   10   9   10   13   10   10   9   8   1
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   6   6
      Other engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
    Health   116   123   141   96   86   85   82   89   91   84
      Clinical medicine   16   14   30   43   34   34   33   38   59   41
      Other health   100   109   111   53   52   51   49   51   32   43

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Fields of study are grouped as they appear in survey data table (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/#tabs-2).

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

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   3,930   3,958   4,009   3,851   3,531   3,436   3,287   3,233   3,352   3,625
  Fellowships   791   852   532   586   483   530   573   573   656   529
    Federal   369   386   371   404   313   320   322   323   375   315
    Institutional   360   411   116   118   116   172   219   218   215   158
    Nonfederal   62   55   45   64   54   38   32   32   66   56
  Research assistantships   1,301   1,353   1,390   1,290   1,220   1,185   1,161   1,149   1,230   1,355
    Federal   706   751   805   686   581   585   575   561   583   669
    Institutional   535   534   486   503   559   493   481   483   506   576
    Nonfederal   60   68   99   101   80   107   105   105   141   110
  Teaching assistantships   865   767   737   775   944   917   801   780   746   828
    Federal   39   12   12   11   9   12   12   12   0   7
    Institutional   822   745   719   756   930   899   783   766   740   801
    Nonfederal   4   10   6   8   5   6   6   2   6   20
  Other types of support   973   986   1,350   1,200   884   804   752   731   720   913
    Federal   36   23   16   8   9   5   2   1   9   27
    Institutional   56   91   32   43   35   34   17   13   62   94
    Nonfederal   12   15   15   71   56   34   44   52   44   46
    Personal resources   869   857   1,287   1,078   784   731   689   665   605   746

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   422   375   417   435   418   427   409   426   435   434
    Science   409   363   408   425   409   416   398   414   434   424
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Biological and biomedical sciences   230   208   258   256   252   263   257   261   253   275
      Communication   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Computer and information sciences   5   5   7   10   8   4   2   6   5   3
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   11   8
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences   14   13   10   8   12   12   9   8   8   9
      Mathematics and statistics   13   11   7   8   10   12   13   9   15   8
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences   17   17   17   19   14   16   16   21   32   16
      Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Physical sciences   85   66   62   70   56   47   53   54   55   57
      Psychology   33   33   34   42   49   30   22   28   32   25
      Social sciences   12   10   13   12   8   32   26   27   18   17
    Engineering   13   12   9   10   9   11   11   12   1   10
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering   13   12   9   10   9   11   11   12   1   10
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Other engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
    Health   284   315   297   274   332   325   334   380   390   369
      Clinical medicine   146   139   146   150   194   195   205   236   290   279
      Other health   138   176   151   124   138   130   129   144   100   90

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   519   507   558   541   579   564   525   544   599   550
  Science and engineering   315   289   318   344   331   342   342   347   340   318
    Science   302   277   309   334   322   331   331   347   340   318
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Biological and biomedical sciences   178   173   211   223   217   221   222   233   210   209
      Communication   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Computer and information sciences   0   2   3   5   5   2   2   4   3   3
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   11   7
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences   9   9   7   6   10   8   5   6   8   9
      Mathematics and statistics   10   5   2   4   5   7   9   8   15   8
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences   8   11   13   8   6   7   11   9   16   12
      Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Physical sciences   55   41   36   42   30   30   38   38   34   32
      Psychology   30   28   27   34   42   26   20   26   26   23
      Social sciences   12   8   10   12   7   30   24   23   13   11
    Engineering   13   12   9   10   9   11   11   0   0   0
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering   13   12   9   10   9   11   11   0   0   0
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Other engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
    Health   204   218   240   197   248   222   183   197   259   232
      Clinical medicine   136   124   130   116   177   150   145   170   208   187
      Other health   68   94   110   81   71   72   38   27   51   45

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   1,598,751   1,549,617   1,361,028   1,205,883   1,159,725   1,153,773   1,136,158   1,102,063   1,045,338   966,781
    Science   1,474,570   1,426,447   1,265,369   1,129,589   1,085,002   1,081,829   1,065,554   1,031,603   983,552   934,238
      Computer and information sciences   50,246   41,385   39,486   32,344   26,765   23,146   18,483   14,473   15,988   17,225
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   31,190   34,095   23,339   16,879   19,242   16,922   19,136   19,991   17,709   28,972
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geological and earth sciences   7,087   6,770   5,419   5,690   7,973   5,523   6,471   8,167   7,920   19,064
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   16,925   20,908   12,356   6,294   6,765   7,370   7,355   7,743   7,614   7,771
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   7,178   6,417   5,564   4,895   4,504   4,029   5,310   4,081   2,175   2,137
      Life sciences   1,185,397   1,141,727   1,020,666   925,380   868,276   846,630   826,287   798,649   765,284   716,708
        Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Biological and biomedical sciences   246,388   231,074   222,099   191,773   167,907   165,804   157,615   164,272   157,817   216,193
        Health sciences   938,904   910,610   798,512   733,607   700,352   680,788   668,660   634,348   607,445   355,936
        Natural resources and conservation   105   43   55   0   17   38   12   29   22   0
        Life sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   144,579
      Mathematics and statistics   5,104   4,894   5,464   5,489   6,729   3,049   3,186   4,369   3,552   8,017
      Physical sciences   55,417   51,933   49,368   38,809   39,979   37,055   35,118   33,807   35,524   27,727
        Astronomy and astrophysics   1,261   1,552   1,923   796   613   444   466   658   723   0
        Chemistry   37,172   30,227   31,221   23,102   22,546   24,143   22,770   22,182   23,485   19,397
        Materials science   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Physics   9,783   11,851   10,374   10,003   10,472   8,412   8,318   7,864   10,357   8,330
        Physical sciences nec   7,201   8,303   5,850   4,908   6,348   4,056   3,564   3,103   959   0
      Psychology   54,135   56,582   49,297   43,348   41,741   46,808   48,298   52,050   51,044   46,707
      Social sciences   92,711   95,692   77,515   67,325   82,154   108,095   114,814   108,178   94,310   88,667
        Anthropology   135   528   365   199   534   355   287   353   113   0
        Economics   400   1,403   309   214   368   534   623   572   595   573
        Political science and government   11,022   8,179   5,653   2,912   2,760   3,622   3,689   3,579   3,358   5,078
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   66,968   69,270   60,260   52,687   66,550   90,769   95,235   87,292   74,880   69,202
        Social sciences nec   14,186   16,312   10,928   11,313   11,942   12,815   14,980   16,382   15,364   13,814
      Sciences nec   370   139   234   15   116   124   232   86   141   215
    Engineering   61,707   49,721   39,242   30,935   30,774   31,825   28,509   29,932   29,576   5,014
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   0   1,998   0   0   0   0   0   2   0   0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   18,299   17,947   12,488   10,633   9,572   9,342   6,453   7,399   6,827   4,416
      Chemical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Civil engineering   40,663   27,603   25,656   19,091   19,618   18,637   16,513   17,880   18,262   0
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   2,745   2,173   1,098   1,211   1,584   3,846   5,543   4,651   4,487   0
      Mechanical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Engineering nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   598
    Non-S&E   62,474   73,449   56,417   45,359   43,949   40,119   42,095   40,528   32,210   27,529
      Business management and business administration   4,850   3,237   2,381   1,919   2,554   1,723   2,476   2,181   2,143   1,941
      Communication and communications technologies   1,688   2,315   1,637   1,600   1,998   2,046   2,063   1,753   1,089   3,237
      Education   15,462   18,326   13,233   12,734   12,874   9,391   8,581   9,599   6,049   376
      Humanities   3,522   6,323   4,259   3,055   2,943   3,718   4,524   6,569   4,409   5,367
      Law   41   207   248   351   302   232   803   963   530   608
      Social work   24,635   19,167   18,958   15,476   13,796   14,966   15,513   12,995   10,552   5,891
      Visual and performing arts   909   1,867   4,515   1,336   1,700   1,255   1,845   1,172   2,424   2,084
      Non-S&E nec   11,367   22,007   11,186   8,888   7,782   6,788   6,290   5,296   5,014   8,025

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   1,598,751   949,913   53,113   419,777   55,872   96,865   23,211
    Science   1,474,570   892,174   32,241   388,337   54,951   85,396   21,471
      Computer and information sciences   50,246   42,853   72   4,854   681   1,752   34
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   31,190   18,734   6,667   4,434   355   698   302
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geological and earth sciences   7,087   4,618   472   1,060   79   698   160
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   16,925   7,204   6,195   3,108   276   0   142
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   7,178   6,912   0   266   0   0   0
      Life sciences   1,185,397   696,910   18,444   336,849   52,573   62,039   18,582
        Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Biological and biomedical sciences   246,388   179,197   5,993   48,456   3,943   7,522   1,277
        Health sciences   938,904   517,713   12,389   288,350   48,630   54,517   17,305
        Natural resources and conservation   105   0   62   43   0   0   0
        Life sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mathematics and statistics   5,104   3,834   86   1,089   0   95   0
      Physical sciences   55,417   37,817   2,229   10,353   1,231   3,112   675
        Astronomy and astrophysics   1,261   349   0   317   0   582   13
        Chemistry   37,172   27,244   2,024   5,516   991   960   437
        Materials science   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Physics   9,783   7,032   0   2,590   9   58   94
        Physical sciences nec   7,201   3,192   205   1,930   231   1,512   131
      Psychology   54,135   27,876   1,725   15,453   88   8,206   787
      Social sciences   92,711   64,150   3,018   14,996   23   9,433   1,091
        Anthropology   135   7   0   120   0   8   0
        Economics   400   244   51   105   0   0   0
        Political science and government   11,022   4,053   1,234   4,866   23   780   66
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   66,968   54,063   880   5,262   0   6,528   235
        Social sciences nec   14,186   5,783   853   4,643   0   2,117   790
      Sciences nec   370   0   0   309   0   61   0
    Engineering   61,707   24,363   18,625   12,299   806   5,083   531
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   18,299   9,615   0   4,540   705   3,395   44
      Chemical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Civil engineering   40,663   13,009   18,625   6,778   77   1,687   487
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   2,745   1,739   0   981   24   1   0
      Mechanical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Engineering nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
    Non-S&E   62,474   33,376   2,247   19,141   115   6,386   1,209
      Business management and business administration   4,850   693   1,006   1,686   49   1,416   0
      Communication and communications technologies   1,688   368   0   703   27   588   2
      Education   15,462   10,766   308   2,892   38   920   538
      Humanities   3,522   122   0   3,191   0   137   72
      Law   41   0   0   41   0   0   0
      Social work   24,635   15,041   898   6,248   1   2,039   408
      Visual and performing arts   909   89   35   519   0   266   0
      Non-S&E nec   11,367   6,297   0   3,861   0   1,020   189

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   949,913   907,710   827,158   747,895   706,145   720,613   701,169   676,282   632,426   585,758
  DOD   29,969   26,942   26,622   24,324   19,056   13,444   13,820   16,500   14,909   14,903
  DOE   14,010   10,693   13,674   7,609   5,847   6,662   7,173   6,956   7,977   7,475
  HHS   767,117   729,970   659,640   603,949   556,113   554,504   526,777   499,028   477,749   442,746
  NASA   2,849   1,887   1,804   1,868   2,522   2,167   1,779   705   1,031   732
  NSF   46,186   48,106   42,302   40,150   40,535   35,909   35,725   38,440   39,362   38,809
  USDA   2,638   2,554   2,599   2,659   2,886   2,615   2,672   1,873   1,443   913
  Other   87,144   87,558   80,517   67,336   79,186   105,312   113,223   112,780   89,955   80,180

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   9,320   1,888   7,432   .
2018   9,298   1,903   7,395   .

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   1,427   1,425   1,391   1,356   1,309
    Agricultural sciences   75   73   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   415   417   368   354   339
    Computer and information sciences   27   27   25   25   25
    Engineering   49   49   54   35   37
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   32   32   38   38   38
    Health sciences   610   611   678   675   642
    Mathematics and statistics   12   12   7   7   7
    Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0
    Physical sciences   136   134   150   150   150
    Psychology   32   32   27   27   27
    Social sciences   39   39   45   45   45
    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

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   114,046   0   0   0   0
    Agricultural sciences   42,000   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   59,746   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   12,300   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   11,793   1,376   1,560   16,645   69,270
    Agricultural sciences   480   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   4,050   305   296   2,129   33,818
    Computer and information sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Engineering   0   0   343   0   3,049
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   362   0   0   434   0
    Health sciences   2,790   1,071   921   14,082   31,985
    Mathematics and statistics   631   0   0   0   0
    Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0
    Physical sciences   2,876   0   0   0   417
    Psychology   605   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

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