U. South Carolina, Columbia

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 73 84.4 459 118 87.5 925
2023 80 82.9 459 113 87.8 911 96 84.4 602
2022 81 82.6 457 119 87 900
2021 81 82.2 447 113 87.8 908 95 84 583
2020 56 87.9 450 110 88.2 916
2019 72 84.2 447 114 87.8 914 90 85 589
2018 69 84.2 428 111 88 911
2017 77 82.2 425 105 88.5 898 87 85.2 575
2016 74 83.2 430 102 88.8 896
2015 59 86.5 426 103 88.7 898 86 85.2 570
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 262 250 249 221 323 265 279 246 269 315
  Science and engineering 197 184 178 166 239 202 192 173 183 220
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 1 . 2 . 1 . 1 . . .
      Agricultural sciences . . . . 1 . . . . .
      Natural resources and conservation 1 . 2 . . . 1 . . .
    Biological and biomedical sciences 28 30 28 20 41 21 35 22 30 52
      Biochemistry and biophysics 3 2 1 3 3 4 4 2 3 5
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 7 9 8 5 13 6 11 6 6 11
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 5 4 3 1 2 1 2 5 4 2
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy . 1 . . 1 . 1 . 1 2
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 7 10 6 4 11 5 7 6 7 13
      Genetics and genomics . . 1 1 1 . . . . 1
      Microbiology and immunology 2 . . 3 1 1 3 1 2 3
      Molecular biology 1 1 1 . 2 . 4 . 2 3
      Neurobiology and neurosciences . 1 6 2 2 . 1 . 1 6
      Pharmacology and toxicology 1 1 2 . 1 . . . 1 1
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 1 1 . 1 2 4 2 1 2 2
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 1 . . . 2 . . 1 1 3
    Computer and information sciences 9 9 10 10 13 10 8 6 3 8
      Computer science 8 9 9 8 12 7 6 3 3 7
      Computer and information sciences, other 1 . 1 2 1 3 2 3 . 1
    Engineering 58 48 42 42 36 37 52 44 39 55
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 1 2 . . . . 1 . . .
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 1 4 1 1 3 5 4 2 3 2
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 13 9 18 9 6 6 12 15 16 10
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 11 4 4 8 7 8 8 7 3 8
      Electrical and computer engineering 17 15 5 5 6 5 15 11 8 21
      Industrial engineering and operations research . 1 1 1 . . . . . .
      Materials and mining engineering 4 1 1 . . 2 . . 1 1
      Mechanical engineering 8 9 6 15 12 10 12 8 7 11
      Engineering, other 3 3 6 3 2 1 . 1 1 2
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 4 5 . 4 12 7 5 5 5 9
      Geological sciences 2 3 . 2 7 2 2 1 1 7
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 2 2 . 2 5 5 3 4 4 2
    Health sciences 35 34 34 29 46 35 30 24 27 26
      Nursing science 1 6 3 3 . 5 2 1 1 1
      Pharmaceutical sciences 5 5 7 5 5 . 2 2 1 2
      Public health 23 13 15 13 27 25 15 16 15 15
      Health sciences, other 6 10 9 8 14 5 11 5 10 8
    Mathematics and statistics 11 9 9 9 18 19 11 11 12 9
      Applied mathematics 3 . 1 1 3 2 1 . 2 2
      Mathematics 2 1 3 . 4 3 3 2 . 3
      Statistics 2 5 3 7 3 6 4 4 4 4
      Mathematics and statistics, other 4 3 2 1 8 8 3 5 6 .
    Physical sciences 24 30 23 22 26 32 24 27 28 18
      Astronomy and astrophysics 2 2 . 3 1 . . . . 1
      Chemistry 20 24 19 15 24 25 19 21 23 15
      Physics 2 4 4 4 1 7 5 6 5 2
    Psychology 15 5 16 9 18 19 11 14 16 17
      Clinical psychology 5 2 5 3 8 4 1 5 4 9
      Counseling and applied psychology 7 1 7 1 5 10 5 7 8 5
      Research and experimental psychology 1 2 3 5 4 2 5 2 4 2
      Psychology, other 2 . 1 . 1 3 . . . 1
    Social sciences 12 14 14 21 28 22 15 20 23 26
      Anthropology 1 1 1 . 2 2 1 . 4 .
      Economics . . 1 4 3 3 2 1 1 .
      Political science and government 4 . . 2 5 5 . 4 4 6
      Public policy analysis 1 . . 1 3 . . . . 1
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 1 3 3 1 2 1 1 4 2 4
      Social sciences, other 5 10 9 13 13 11 11 11 12 15
  Non-science and engineering 65 66 71 55 84 63 87 73 86 95
    Business 10 5 12 12 21 10 19 13 14 15
      Business 10 5 12 12 21 10 19 13 14 15
    Education 27 33 32 21 36 16 25 34 43 54
      Education leadership and administration 3 4 8 2 12 2 3 7 6 21
      Education research 15 20 13 14 14 8 14 16 18 17
      Teacher education and teaching fields 8 6 9 3 10 6 8 10 15 16
      Education, other 1 3 2 2 . . . 1 4 .
    Humanities and arts 14 17 16 15 21 30 29 16 20 17
      Letters 10 14 4 9 7 14 16 6 10 11
      Foreign languages and literature 1 2 3 . . 1 6 1 1 .
      History 3 1 5 3 10 5 4 6 4 6
      Philosophy and religious studies . . 3 1 2 6 3 2 2 .
      Music and performing arts . . . . . . . 1 . .
      Humanities and arts, other . . 1 2 2 4 . . 3 .
    Other non-science and engineering 14 11 11 7 6 7 14 10 9 9
      Communication 8 2 7 2 2 3 7 1 4 8
      Public administration and social services 4 6 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 1
      Non-science and engineering, other 2 3 3 4 3 3 5 7 2 .

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   277,329   262,207   229,162   215,374   219,734   205,940   206,355   208,670   209,271   208,736
    Science   171,394   167,334   148,682   132,220   141,243   104,685   114,445   149,234   150,250   148,183
      Computer and information sciences   6,087   4,491   4,628   3,311   4,129   2,436   2,376   2,184   1,227   1,227
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   8,069   9,266   8,202   9,609   9,378   988   1,781   3,389   5,000   4,289
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   0   0   137   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geological and earth sciences   148   120   0   900   127   0   0   3,313   4,995   4,282
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   7,921   9,146   8,065   8,709   9,251   988   1,604   12   5   7
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   177   64   0   0
      Life sciences   117,807   108,934   97,376   84,069   93,409   70,689   77,248   99,356   112,848   111,133
        Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   6,408   4,050   4,149
        Biological and biomedical sciences   22,370   23,497   19,230   14,237   21,174   13,120   12,482   12,560   35,866   34,882
        Health sciences   95,437   85,437   78,146   69,832   72,233   52,099   57,608   60,213   65,311   64,487
        Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   2   5,470   7,158   0   0   0
        Life sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   20,175   7,621   7,615
      Mathematics and statistics   3,292   4,385   4,101   1,558   2,113   2,100   2,131   1,939   2,353   2,236
      Physical sciences   4,057   5,158   4,761   6,928   5,437   7,007   7,025   12,942   14,476   15,023
        Astronomy and astrophysics   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Chemistry   537   781   899   2,682   724   1,394   1,723   8,779   10,090   10,748
        Materials science   0   0   0   0   0   479   410   0   0   0
        Physics   3,364   3,323   2,613   3,050   3,777   2,203   2,941   3,132   4,386   4,275
        Physical sciences nec   156   1,054   1,249   1,196   936   2,931   1,951   1,031   0   0
      Psychology   14,171   13,699   9,997   8,759   11,498   8,025   8,643   8,125   7,646   7,634
      Social sciences   17,499   21,393   19,583   17,832   15,131   13,440   15,241   19,922   4,684   4,623
        Anthropology   4,026   3,710   3,474   3,271   4,330   4,061   1,813   2,887   0   0
        Economics   0   0   0   0   0   391   2,748   15,040   429   449
        Political science and government   1,415   1,410   1,313   1,483   383   164   760   813   203   209
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   6,815   11,354   9,745   8,834   7,194   5,741   1,714   536   1,783   1,686
        Social sciences nec   5,243   4,919   5,051   4,244   3,224   3,083   8,206   646   2,269   2,279
      Sciences nec   412   8   34   154   148   0   0   1,377   2,016   2,018
    Engineering   58,185   47,155   35,508   36,222   37,747   31,748   31,294   30,893   33,228   33,559
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   100   0   0   165   208   0   0   645   0   0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Chemical engineering   10,411   7,701   7,794   6,080   7,386   6,061   7,240   7,555   6,590   6,799
      Civil engineering   4,903   4,648   4,324   3,121   3,633   2,234   1,853   2,833   2,411   2,416
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   14,313   10,154   5,766   12,670   5,876   5,209   4,630   3,730   7,018   7,124
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   20,004   13,347   11,896   9,653   15,052   18,244   17,498   16,130   10,096   10,083
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   6   0   1,716   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Engineering nec   8,448   11,305   4,012   4,533   5,592   0   73   0   7,113   7,137
    Non-S&E   47,750   47,718   44,972   46,932   40,744   69,507   60,616   28,543   25,793   26,994
      Business management and business administration   9,782   8,523   9,103   12,546   9,248   1,795   834   1,654   1,337   1,482
      Communication and communications technologies   563   1,891   2,159   109   1,841   26,989   24,685   464   333   330
      Education   12,497   10,184   7,486   5,276   4,838   17,141   14,473   2,718   17,305   18,310
      Humanities   3,649   6,825   6,800   6,482   807   396   659   1,367   1,985   1,980
      Law   662   651   471   584   520   0   0   92   0   0
      Social work   2,547   2,053   4,606   5,480   6,788   4,574   4,570   10,859   4,586   4,691
      Visual and performing arts   1,431   4,188   2,194   3,264   1,957   0   83   310   36   48
      Non-S&E nec   16,619   13,403   12,153   13,191   14,745   18,612   15,312   11,079   211   153

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   277,329   144,878   13,366   100,137   4,268   10,409   4,271
    Science   171,394   97,168   8,004   56,464   838   8,404   516
      Computer and information sciences   6,087   3,471   86   2,206   170   154   0
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   8,069   4,452   0   3,512   0   87   18
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geological and earth sciences   148   0   0   148   0   0   0
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   7,921   4,452   0   3,364   0   87   18
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Life sciences   117,807   75,634   1,990   34,261   653   5,103   166
        Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Biological and biomedical sciences   22,370   13,419   21   7,185   454   1,264   27
        Health sciences   95,437   62,215   1,969   27,076   199   3,839   139
        Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Life sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mathematics and statistics   3,292   1,541   0   1,719   0   32   0
      Physical sciences   4,057   1,478   152   1,922   2   184   319
        Astronomy and astrophysics   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Chemistry   537   0   0   222   0   0   315
        Materials science   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Physics   3,364   1,478   0   1,696   2   184   4
        Physical sciences nec   156   0   152   4   0   0   0
      Psychology   14,171   7,514   1,423   3,637   13   1,584   0
      Social sciences   17,499   3,078   4,345   8,803   0   1,260   13
        Anthropology   4,026   1,251   167   2,365   0   242   1
        Economics   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Political science and government   1,415   173   0   1,242   0   0   0
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   6,815   332   4,157   2,049   0   265   12
        Social sciences nec   5,243   1,322   21   3,147   0   753   0
      Sciences nec   412   0   8   404   0   0   0
    Engineering   58,185   37,731   839   15,408   3,198   877   132
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   100   0   0   100   0   0   0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Chemical engineering   10,411   5,205   165   2,967   2,053   21   0
      Civil engineering   4,903   3,081   399   1,359   11   53   0
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   14,313   11,212   82   1,804   736   388   91
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Mechanical engineering   20,004   16,382   193   2,581   398   409   41
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   6   0   0   0   0   6   0
      Engineering nec   8,448   1,851   0   6,597   0   0   0
    Non-S&E   47,750   9,979   4,523   28,265   232   1,128   3,623
      Business management and business administration   9,782   712   144   8,366   155   405   0
      Communication and communications technologies   563   16   0   534   10   3   0
      Education   12,497   3,722   4,035   4,555   0   185   0
      Humanities   3,649   72   0   3,567   0   10   0
      Law   662   77   0   505   0   80   0
      Social work   2,547   792   174   1,271   0   310   0
      Visual and performing arts   1,431   5   0   1,426   0   0   0
      Non-S&E nec   16,619   4,583   170   8,041   67   135   3,623

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   144,878   124,330   106,752   88,529   90,243   102,992   88,602   96,048   93,885   90,453
  DOD   21,600   15,506   9,775   6,963   4,488   3,607   3,019   4,149   4,923   4,895
  DOE   11,745   10,157   9,296   9,760   8,836   7,010   3,917   9,405   8,424   8,430
  HHS   75,508   66,974   58,509   47,327   48,917   52,076   35,428   55,813   54,616   52,505
  NASA   4,321   4,304   4,119   3,040   3,574   3,487   2,045   2,520   1,807   1,702
  NSF   18,133   16,472   15,959   14,409   16,712   16,053   11,756   13,035   14,834   13,955
  USDA   371   773   717   275   378   582   209   1,011   813   810
  Other   13,200   10,144   8,377   6,755   7,338   20,177   32,228   10,115   8,468   8,156

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Headcount of R&D personnel: 2024–18 [temporarily discontinued]
Year
2024   .   .   .   .
2023   .   .   .   .
2022   .   .   .   .
2021   .   .   .   .
2020   .   .   .   .
2019   1,530   171   1,359   .
2018   1,623   722   901   .

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   759   745   743   732   708
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   126   123   123   126   112
    Computer and information sciences   19   19   17   18   8
    Engineering   199   197   201   200   196
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   66   71   70   69   69
    Health sciences   148   142   142   138   142
    Mathematics and statistics   0   3   3   5   5
    Natural resources and conservation   1   1   1   1   4
    Physical sciences   102   99   94   85   88
    Psychology   49   47   45   44   44
    Social sciences   48   44   45   45   40
    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   179,720   0   0   0   0
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Computer and information sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Engineering   0   0   0   0   0
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Health sciences   179,720   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   4,900   1,888   1,515   721   0
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   4,900   1,288   0   0   0
    Computer and information sciences   0   0   995   0   0
    Engineering   0   0   520   0   0
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   0   600   0   0   0
    Health sciences   0   0   0   360   0
    Mathematics and statistics   0   0   0   0   0
    Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0
    Physical sciences   0   0   0   361   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

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