U. Washington, Seattle

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 17 96.5 459 8 99.2 925
2023 14 97.2 459 5 99.6 911 24 96.2 602
2022 17 96.5 457 5 99.6 900
2021 13 97.3 447 5 99.6 908 25 95.9 583
2020 12 97.6 450 5 99.6 916
2019 14 97.1 447 5 99.6 914 23 96.3 589
2018 18 96.1 428 5 99.6 911
2017 17 96.3 425 5 99.6 898 21 96.6 575
2016 17 96.3 430 5 99.6 896
2015 15 96.7 426 3 99.8 898 22 96.4 570
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 686 710 615 632 681 708 619 604 615 666
  Science and engineering 589 606 509 556 573 586 516 473 501 532
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 9 8 14 10 11 12 15 9 6 14
      Agricultural sciences 1 1 2 2 1 3 2 . . .
      Natural resources and conservation 8 7 12 8 10 9 13 9 6 14
    Biological and biomedical sciences 158 170 122 132 145 162 134 106 139 136
      Biochemistry and biophysics 8 20 15 10 16 17 9 9 9 7
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 4 9 8 2 4 8 8 1 8 3
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 16 24 13 13 20 23 11 13 13 13
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy . 2 1 2 1 7 3 5 6 7
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 35 33 22 26 27 33 22 21 28 24
      Genetics and genomics 12 14 12 12 10 12 15 7 12 19
      Microbiology and immunology 27 22 20 19 19 18 18 18 21 17
      Molecular biology 21 24 11 18 12 14 12 9 12 15
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 22 6 8 11 13 15 14 13 10 15
      Pharmacology and toxicology 5 3 1 11 6 7 10 6 12 5
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 5 9 9 4 11 3 5 . 1 7
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 3 4 2 4 6 5 7 4 7 4
    Computer and information sciences 49 39 35 34 57 45 37 27 20 38
      Computer science 33 23 23 20 39 36 21 16 12 26
      Computer and information sciences, other 16 16 12 14 18 9 16 11 8 12
    Engineering 142 142 114 130 115 136 82 105 95 103
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 8 8 7 8 6 8 4 5 6 6
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 22 25 18 11 14 33 19 24 12 24
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 17 10 14 14 17 13 7 13 11 12
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 14 16 8 15 14 20 8 8 11 7
      Electrical and computer engineering 43 41 38 46 24 24 18 20 25 18
      Industrial engineering and operations research 10 4 4 6 6 5 4 4 3 3
      Materials and mining engineering 11 10 8 9 5 7 11 3 10 8
      Mechanical engineering 13 22 16 15 23 21 11 23 16 23
      Engineering, other 4 6 1 6 6 5 . 5 1 2
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 31 28 29 29 36 32 31 21 46 33
      Geological sciences 8 11 8 5 13 13 9 7 7 11
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 23 17 21 24 23 19 22 14 39 22
    Health sciences 42 51 28 44 45 47 46 45 36 46
      Nursing science 11 10 9 11 9 11 13 16 9 14
      Pharmaceutical sciences 9 8 2 9 13 7 9 3 3 5
      Public health 16 24 11 12 15 19 15 17 10 12
      Health sciences, other 6 9 6 12 8 10 9 9 14 15
    Mathematics and statistics 32 27 31 36 23 32 25 30 27 32
      Applied mathematics 8 9 15 12 6 5 5 13 2 6
      Mathematics 6 . 3 1 1 7 10 3 7 13
      Statistics 5 10 6 6 7 10 5 5 5 7
      Mathematics and statistics, other 13 8 7 17 9 10 5 9 13 6
    Physical sciences 64 63 58 79 62 47 66 59 48 50
      Astronomy and astrophysics 7 8 3 8 4 6 9 7 5 5
      Chemistry 30 34 35 41 39 21 34 31 22 22
      Physics 27 21 20 30 19 20 23 21 21 23
    Psychology 18 21 12 14 19 16 17 17 18 12
      Clinical psychology 6 6 2 5 11 5 6 8 8 7
      Counseling and applied psychology 3 4 1 2 2 1 1 3 1 .
      Research and experimental psychology 6 7 9 5 5 9 8 5 8 4
      Psychology, other 3 4 . 2 1 1 2 1 1 1
    Social sciences 44 57 66 48 60 57 63 54 66 68
      Anthropology 3 1 2 2 8 8 7 5 7 3
      Economics 7 12 14 12 11 13 15 9 14 19
      Political science and government 8 7 7 8 8 5 12 4 11 15
      Public policy analysis 3 5 6 1 4 . 3 2 4 6
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 5 4 4 5 7 6 12 11 7 11
      Social sciences, other 18 28 33 20 22 25 14 23 23 14
  Non-science and engineering 97 104 106 76 108 122 103 131 114 134
    Business 10 21 21 11 15 12 9 13 13 11
      Business 10 21 21 11 15 12 9 13 13 11
    Education 40 25 32 18 27 40 39 40 52 52
      Education leadership and administration 3 2 4 . 2 1 3 2 5 8
      Education research 25 19 19 14 21 30 30 27 28 37
      Teacher education and teaching fields 10 4 8 4 2 6 4 6 16 6
      Education, other 2 . 1 . 2 3 2 5 3 1
    Humanities and arts 33 39 40 35 48 47 42 53 43 49
      Letters 16 16 19 12 23 21 17 16 21 22
      Foreign languages and literature 2 2 3 4 8 9 5 7 7 6
      History 6 8 4 5 8 6 6 8 3 10
      Philosophy and religious studies 2 4 5 3 4 1 2 3 3 4
      Music and performing arts 4 5 3 7 2 3 7 9 3 1
      Humanities and arts, other 3 4 6 4 3 7 5 10 6 6
    Other non-science and engineering 14 19 13 12 18 23 13 25 6 22
      Communication 7 5 3 3 8 6 3 6 1 6
      Public administration and social services 5 7 7 3 3 9 6 8 3 10
      Non-science and engineering, other 2 7 3 6 7 8 4 11 2 6

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   1,691,302   1,734,091   1,559,708   1,488,645   1,456,902   1,425,601   1,413,902   1,348,220   1,277,679   1,180,563
    Science   1,440,042   1,483,524   1,319,664   1,257,365   1,218,414   1,192,591   1,192,578   1,134,324   1,064,645   971,408
      Computer and information sciences   35,541   30,158   25,836   26,869   27,986   24,969   23,644   29,077   23,467   18,954
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   163,878   162,612   152,187   128,033   135,307   123,301   122,167   118,763   117,932   111,208
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   54,175   63,322   55,133   53,801   50,737   50,444   55,555   49,400   51,186   45,128
        Geological and earth sciences   17,671   12,991   11,151   9,406   15,129   13,901   11,822   11,995   9,584   7,123
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   91,677   75,026   77,308   57,404   65,008   54,893   51,066   53,340   54,567   55,665
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   355   11,273   8,595   7,422   4,433   4,063   3,724   4,028   2,595   3,292
      Life sciences   1,114,297   1,175,596   1,045,014   1,013,261   963,264   954,062   954,565   891,558   832,215   764,570
        Agricultural sciences   63   150   76   277   281   319   27   87   407   30,856
        Biological and biomedical sciences   381,471   358,634   322,882   286,353   260,831   257,677   288,723   255,654   239,133   185,416
        Health sciences   707,603   772,288   679,546   685,723   660,692   655,372   620,609   583,219   541,890   495,170
        Natural resources and conservation   23,449   26,473   25,597   26,061   25,112   25,301   28,867   35,347   33,734   0
        Life sciences nec   1,711   18,051   16,913   14,847   16,348   15,393   16,339   17,251   17,051   53,128
      Mathematics and statistics   12,015   9,783   7,095   5,778   7,120   6,102   5,678   6,415   6,088   5,802
      Physical sciences   76,002   69,424   62,596   58,664   60,477   58,166   54,074   56,292   54,819   46,940
        Astronomy and astrophysics   10,569   9,265   9,529   11,176   11,172   11,123   10,415   10,321   9,206   8,147
        Chemistry   30,216   29,048   25,922   23,508   24,008   22,113   21,246   22,484   22,724   20,420
        Materials science   2,166   2,113   2,162   1,629   1,968   1,992   1,680   1,335   1,473   0
        Physics   33,051   24,614   21,238   18,479   19,281   19,123   16,964   18,622   18,169   18,373
        Physical sciences nec   0   4,384   3,745   3,872   4,048   3,815   3,769   3,530   3,247   0
      Psychology   13,489   11,239   10,431   11,269   8,802   9,552   10,953   10,299   10,630   9,314
      Social sciences   24,820   23,577   16,490   13,491   15,458   16,437   21,497   21,852   19,336   14,591
        Anthropology   1,149   68   36   99   94   142   79   149   333   0
        Economics   182   92   55   57   0   2   80   33   78   89
        Political science and government   7,013   9,969   7,330   5,528   5,714   6,446   11,208   11,287   9,866   6,706
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   11,206   7,140   5,988   5,398   7,072   7,328   6,792   8,197   6,626   6,099
        Social sciences nec   5,270   6,308   3,081   2,409   2,578   2,519   3,338   2,186   2,433   1,697
      Sciences nec   0   1,135   15   0   0   2   0   68   158   29
    Engineering   188,972   180,277   172,004   157,622   152,919   155,076   149,931   136,318   133,128   129,670
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   9,132   10,606   10,064   11,149   8,328   8,713   10,262   8,980   11,181   7,677
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   33,129   35,227   32,757   30,131   28,542   27,716   27,087   26,482   24,706   24,185
      Chemical engineering   10,965   8,833   9,292   8,748   9,057   8,269   7,872   10,781   10,587   7,857
      Civil engineering   18,283   17,592   21,696   19,810   19,942   25,888   23,469   16,420   14,339   16,168
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   47,715   42,715   41,353   38,990   41,430   37,477   32,522   31,231   32,600   33,554
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   1,874   2,452   1,957   2,105   1,874   1,904   3,171   1,563   1,083   0
      Mechanical engineering   16,582   20,960   18,658   15,547   14,436   15,127   15,648   13,728   14,029   10,031
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   6,497   7,154   6,645   6,292   5,907   6,037   5,036   4,991   4,474   5,402
      Engineering nec   44,795   34,738   29,582   24,850   23,403   23,945   24,864   22,142   20,129   24,796
    Non-S&E   62,288   70,290   68,040   73,658   85,569   77,934   71,393   77,578   79,906   79,485
      Business management and business administration   347   135   130   100   521   870   739   682   839   1,258
      Communication and communications technologies   1,883   13,754   12,557   11,124   11,359   10,824   11,119   11,272   9,131   12,350
      Education   36,680   33,686   32,072   35,093   37,374   38,163   36,238   37,501   41,034   45,518
      Humanities   2,859   3,400   4,029   3,206   1,818   1,114   1,339   1,731   2,352   2,122
      Law   662   631   689   870   1,312   1,324   3,947   4,625   4,303   3,919
      Social work   14,785   16,267   13,481   14,831   14,934   13,534   10,663   13,889   14,090   13,915
      Visual and performing arts   386   566   1,695   530   391   474   939   659   3,634   207
      Non-S&E nec   4,686   1,851   3,387   7,904   17,860   11,631   6,409   7,219   4,523   196

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   1,691,302   1,135,734   49,220   122,931   77,432   228,765   77,220
    Science   1,440,042   960,160   24,538   101,502   69,541   216,419   67,882
      Computer and information sciences   35,541   22,582   1,466   1,330   2,116   4,210   3,837
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   163,878   141,390   2,866   5,360   163   10,277   3,822
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   54,175   50,384   46   499   10   1,006   2,230
        Geological and earth sciences   17,671   10,788   1,662   197   0   3,978   1,046
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   91,677   79,965   1,135   4,654   153   5,255   515
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   355   253   23   10   0   38   31
      Life sciences   1,114,297   697,305   17,918   86,445   65,910   189,975   56,744
        Agricultural sciences   63   26   37   0   0   0   0
        Biological and biomedical sciences   381,471   205,482   11,155   33,720   9,132   92,912   29,070
        Health sciences   707,603   473,104   4,803   51,906   56,725   95,743   25,322
        Natural resources and conservation   23,449   18,148   1,923   819   53   1,318   1,188
        Life sciences nec   1,711   545   0   0   0   2   1,164
      Mathematics and statistics   12,015   9,998   325   974   32   657   29
      Physical sciences   76,002   65,355   1,092   3,612   736   3,738   1,469
        Astronomy and astrophysics   10,569   8,232   119   647   21   1,259   291
        Chemistry   30,216   25,043   145   1,964   367   1,892   805
        Materials science   2,166   1,120   84   215   262   183   302
        Physics   33,051   30,960   744   786   86   404   71
        Physical sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Psychology   13,489   9,745   448   1,992   11   516   777
      Social sciences   24,820   13,785   423   1,789   573   7,046   1,204
        Anthropology   1,149   154   28   89   0   5   873
        Economics   182   0   0   17   0   155   10
        Political science and government   7,013   2,254   45   165   51   4,406   92
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   11,206   8,554   1   1,318   522   731   80
        Social sciences nec   5,270   2,823   349   200   0   1,749   149
      Sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
    Engineering   188,972   144,745   12,387   9,277   7,199   7,613   7,751
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   9,132   5,681   1,678   471   1,053   0   249
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   33,129   28,472   130   802   834   1,514   1,377
      Chemical engineering   10,965   8,365   774   1,083   102   384   257
      Civil engineering   18,283   11,657   2,111   2,145   101   1,629   640
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   47,715   34,843   1,545   2,257   2,773   2,222   4,075
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   1,874   1,477   22   101   100   158   16
      Mechanical engineering   16,582   14,438   64   408   1,107   475   90
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   6,497   3,360   251   646   786   548   906
      Engineering nec   44,795   36,452   5,812   1,364   343   683   141
    Non-S&E   62,288   30,829   12,295   12,152   692   4,733   1,587
      Business management and business administration   347   0   0   1   134   212   0
      Communication and communications technologies   1,883   1,121   123   228   44   237   130
      Education   36,680   16,422   10,958   5,454   514   2,441   891
      Humanities   2,859   1,654   242   422   0   124   417
      Law   662   315   0   138   0   188   21
      Social work   14,785   8,230   939   4,148   0   1,382   86
      Visual and performing arts   386   268   0   57   0   60   1
      Non-S&E nec   4,686   2,819   33   1,704   0   89   41

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   1,135,734   1,188,836   1,083,090   1,046,377   1,024,195   992,643   989,221   952,738   946,787   906,768
  DOD   143,424   126,010   108,842   100,320   89,508   93,841   89,648   91,511   85,472   77,099
  DOE   39,844   41,413   41,060   37,322   34,131   31,613   29,031   29,484   30,932   29,302
  HHS   701,279   770,184   693,347   694,428   673,867   655,533   657,687   615,066   612,050   579,916
  NASA   21,359   22,518   20,794   20,873   22,183   20,804   20,760   19,865   16,815   15,411
  NSF   147,697   142,970   135,492   115,139   125,722   114,582   111,224   110,878   113,679   125,221
  USDA   7,414   7,610   7,702   7,815   7,016   6,650   9,197   14,651   15,404   14,029
  Other   74,717   78,131   75,853   70,480   71,768   69,620   71,674   71,283   72,435   65,790

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   14,224   2,142   12,082   .
2018   13,804   2,104   11,700   .

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   2,246   2,142   2,135   2,002   1,935
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   57   87
    Biological and biomedical sciences   404   397   497   395   398
    Computer and information sciences   68   39   15   27   14
    Engineering   373   392   370   294   289
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   145   120   117   117   116
    Health sciences   883   883   842   821   769
    Mathematics and statistics   0   0   0   0   0
    Natural resources and conservation   103   78   85   26   0
    Physical sciences   191   164   162   201   199
    Psychology   25   28   29   30   28
    Social sciences   32   18   18   32   34
    Other   23   22   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   119,000   0   0   171,187   323,034
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   0   0   0   0   247,908
    Computer and information sciences   0   0   0   0   61,000
    Engineering   46,000   0   0   0   0
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Health sciences   73,000   0   0   171,187   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   14,126
    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   5,360   11,283   31,335   21,647   39,279
    Agricultural sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Biological and biomedical sciences   275   0   0   285   0
    Computer and information sciences   0   0   439   0   0
    Engineering   1,840   914   5,830   692   38,500
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   0   4,900   333   442   0
    Health sciences   1,100   3,569   19,904   20,229   779
    Mathematics and statistics   0   0   0   0   0
    Natural resources and conservation   1,275   0   1,654   0   0
    Physical sciences   870   1,900   3,177   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

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