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
2014
NOTES:
  • 1. See TableBuilder for the prior year data.
  • 2. Blank white cells indicate data not available, not applicable, or institution not eligible for survey.
  • 3. Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

Data

Number of earned doctorates, by trend major field of study of recipients: 2024–15
Fields 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All fields 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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