U. Wisconsin-Madison

Rankings

Data year Earned doctorates Full-time graduate students Total R&D expenditures
Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked
2023 7 98.7 459 21 97.1 679 8 98.8 602 6 99.5 914
2022 11 97.8 457 24 96.6 680 8 99.2 900
2021 10 98 447 25 96.6 691 6 99.2 583 8 99.2 908
2020 9 98.2 450 19 97.4 698 8 99.2 916
2019 5 99.1 447 22 97 697 4 99.5 589 8 99.2 914
2018 3 99.5 428 17 97.7 700 8 99.2 911
2017 1 100 425 15 98 684 10 98.4 575 6 99.4 898
2016 2 99.8 430 11 98.6 697 6 99.4 896
2015 3 99.5 426 8 99 693 8 98.8 570 6 99.4 898
2014 4 99.3 422 7 99.1 688 4 99.7 889
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: 2023–14
Fields 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All fields 761 753 664 724 780 770 842 823 836 783
  Science and engineering 585 579 541 553 616 601 632 648 631 596
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 33 31 34 43 37 31 48 47 46 34
      Agricultural sciences 24 22 27 29 24 19 27 35 33 25
      Natural resources and conservation 9 9 7 14 13 12 21 12 13 9
    Biological and biomedical sciences 143 135 107 115 144 152 146 162 127 141
      Biochemistry and biophysics 24 23 10 20 23 20 22 32 19 15
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 7 9 4 4 4 5 4 11 3 3
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology . 2 1 1 5 1 1 2 1 2
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy 1 2 1 8 6 7 8 12 12 6
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 8 13 13 10 16 11 6 10 9 5
      Genetics and genomics 9 7 11 7 6 7 8 8 5 11
      Microbiology and immunology 18 17 19 20 26 24 17 26 16 21
      Molecular biology 23 15 9 7 3 3 10 7 6 12
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 15 15 9 3 13 17 14 11 20 15
      Pharmacology and toxicology 6 10 4 7 7 7 10 3 3 13
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 12 9 13 13 12 20 24 16 15 13
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 20 13 13 15 23 30 22 24 18 25
    Computer and information sciences 22 21 14 23 21 20 26 33 23 23
      Computer science 14 14 13 20 20 18 26 33 21 23
      Computer and information sciences, other 8 7 1 3 1 2 . . 2 .
    Engineering 126 127 112 119 134 124 147 122 147 126
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 10 15 9 19 11 10 16 23 15 16
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 11 22 19 17 24 15 18 17 27 17
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 14 13 10 8 14 11 19 7 11 12
      Electrical and computer engineering 31 27 24 30 27 31 32 26 40 23
      Industrial engineering and operations research 12 10 14 10 6 9 10 10 8 13
      Materials and mining engineering 13 16 11 15 13 22 15 17 9 14
      Mechanical engineering 27 9 18 13 20 15 26 12 24 18
      Engineering, other 8 15 7 7 19 11 11 10 13 13
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 10 14 7 14 10 22 14 17 12 11
      Geological sciences 6 9 4 8 6 9 7 5 6 7
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 4 5 3 6 4 13 7 12 6 4
    Health sciences 46 42 36 39 45 39 47 37 43 54
      Nursing science 2 5 3 5 8 4 4 5 4 5
      Pharmaceutical sciences 7 4 11 11 8 8 6 5 4 6
      Public health 5 5 3 4 5 4 4 4 7 7
      Health sciences, other 32 28 19 19 24 23 33 23 28 36
    Mathematics and statistics 31 37 40 35 33 34 29 36 29 28
      Applied mathematics 5 7 7 4 4 5 1 2 3 3
      Mathematics 5 4 5 12 6 11 10 6 12 14
      Statistics 14 17 14 10 9 9 9 11 12 8
      Mathematics and statistics, other 7 9 14 9 14 9 9 17 2 3
    Physical sciences 86 82 88 70 81 81 80 79 100 74
      Astronomy and astrophysics 5 11 7 3 11 6 8 5 7 4
      Chemistry 58 56 51 43 43 54 44 51 55 42
      Physics 23 15 30 24 27 21 28 23 38 28
    Psychology 21 28 24 21 31 29 23 29 18 31
      Clinical psychology 2 3 4 5 4 3 1 1 3 5
      Counseling and applied psychology 8 12 9 5 10 15 3 10 3 11
      Research and experimental psychology 6 7 10 4 9 5 11 11 6 6
      Psychology, other 5 6 1 7 8 6 8 7 6 9
    Social sciences 67 62 79 74 80 69 72 86 86 74
      Anthropology 1 3 3 6 5 3 4 5 4 8
      Economics 30 23 27 18 34 26 27 28 29 23
      Political science and government 6 7 8 8 6 9 9 16 11 13
      Public policy analysis 1 . . . . . . 1 1 .
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 12 10 22 17 12 14 15 22 27 17
      Social sciences, other 17 19 19 25 23 17 17 14 14 13
  Non-science and engineering 176 174 123 171 164 169 210 175 205 187
    Business 13 13 11 10 8 4 8 8 12 14
      Business 13 13 11 10 8 4 8 8 12 14
    Education 79 77 48 67 56 54 74 67 67 70
      Education leadership and administration 17 18 4 12 7 6 16 5 16 12
      Education research 50 44 37 43 39 33 43 44 43 44
      Teacher education and teaching fields 10 10 6 10 9 15 14 13 8 13
      Education, other 2 5 1 2 1 . 1 5 . 1
    Humanities and arts 61 66 46 71 85 83 107 80 96 87
      Letters 17 16 12 22 18 18 33 17 31 26
      Foreign languages and literature 16 23 8 20 32 25 27 31 23 27
      History 11 8 12 10 14 22 24 15 20 15
      Philosophy and religious studies 5 4 5 3 9 6 5 5 6 7
      Music and performing arts 5 2 4 7 1 4 7 4 7 5
      Humanities and arts, other 7 13 5 9 11 8 11 8 9 7
    Other non-science and engineering 23 18 18 23 15 28 21 20 30 16
      Communication 17 14 10 14 7 22 14 14 25 13
      Public administration and social services 3 3 6 4 5 2 4 3 4 .
      Non-science and engineering, other 3 1 2 5 3 4 3 3 1 3

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: 2023–14
All races 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
    Male 3,109 2,936 2,842 2,759 2,745 2,976 3,044 3,120 3,205 3,323
    Female 2,597 2,355 2,252 2,149 2,091 2,131 2,069 2,183 2,180 2,158
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 3,192 3,069 3,114 3,035 2,931 3,117 3,116 3,292 3,337 3,462
    Hispanic or Latino 361 324 318 294 254 267 258 280 262 236
    Not Hispanic or Latino 2,739 2,664 2,707 2,658 2,581 2,758 2,759 2,900 2,967 3,093
      American Indian or Alaska Native 16 14 12 14 13 11 11 10 10 12
      Asian 325 274 260 216 219 207 212 209 208 203
      Black or African American 90 80 81 76 71 81 80 90 99 94
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1 1 1 2 0 0 3 2 1 2
      White 2,158 2,169 2,231 2,224 2,166 2,338 2,340 2,483 2,548 2,679
      More than one race 149 126 122 126 112 121 113 106 101 103
    Unknown ethnicity and race 92 81 89 83 96 92 99 112 108 133
  Temporary visa holders 2,514 2,222 1,980 1,873 1,905 1,990 1,997 2,011 2,048 2,019
  Science and engineering 5,322 4,890 4,734 4,568 4,466 4,722 4,750 4,914 4,965 5,039
    Science 4,102 3,713 3,593 3,500 3,415 3,612 3,615 3,808 3,785 3,759
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 169 156 136 128 122 135 138 330 327 316
      Biological and biomedical sciences 1,091 1,024 995 949 917 905 915 816 847 878
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 132 139 141
      Computer and information sciences 493 339 304 249 252 295 306 322 325 281
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 68 71 64
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 119 119 126 94 77 90 99 120 128 123
      Mathematics and statistics 314 331 285 292 280 319 298 306 275 249
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 173 157 183 169 185 200 175 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 600 584 588 547 546 548 523 526 521 546
      Psychology 240 194 196 222 213 217 234 228 227 225
      Social sciences 884 809 780 850 823 903 927 908 867 874
    Engineering 1,220 1,177 1,141 1,068 1,051 1,110 1,135 1,106 1,180 1,280
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 128 125 119 101 99 104 96 92 85 100
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 115 95 90 104 117 101 117 114 114 111
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 98 106 95 108 87 102 106 107 108 106
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 298 304 284 256 255 267 263 263 283 344
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 122 123 117 93 103 100 117 114 119 151
      Mechanical engineering 234 219 217 194 180 196 186 178 196 187
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 99 94 108 102 106 118 110 94 122 121
      Other engineering 126 111 111 110 104 122 140 144 153 160
  Health 384 401 360 340 370 385 363 389 420 442
    Clinical medicine 112 128 111 119 111 120 113 152 158 184
    Other health 272 273 249 221 259 265 250 237 262 258

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: 2023–14
All races 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
    Male 732 691 641 599 662 443 420 350 385 446
    Female 556 509 434 369 388 223 205 217 189 210
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 932 881 833 737 779 567 530 461 466 525
    Hispanic or Latino 77 70 55 52 69 36 35 28 30 28
    Not Hispanic or Latino 831 783 758 655 680 503 476 417 426 485
      American Indian or Alaska Native 3 3 3 2 2 0 4 5 2 2
      Asian 82 71 59 67 51 38 32 30 27 38
      Black or African American 26 16 14 12 21 23 16 11 13 14
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 2 0 0 0 1 3 1 1 1 1
      White 688 662 652 548 578 424 414 361 376 421
      More than one race 30 31 30 26 27 15 9 9 7 9
    Unknown ethnicity and race 24 28 20 30 30 28 19 16 10 12
  Temporary visa holders 356 319 242 231 271 99 95 106 108 131
  Science and engineering 1,128 1,104 997 908 985 636 578 528 540 612
    Science 766 693 630 580 615 311 270 258 227 250
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 7 12 11 5 9 8 10 31 31 40
      Biological and biomedical sciences 133 66 64 55 67 28 29 29 45 48
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 7 13
      Computer and information sciences 187 158 129 122 108 46 35 25 29 21
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 6
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 9 10 12 15 11 5 4 5 9 11
      Mathematics and statistics 79 84 60 55 67 11 6 10 10 7
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 34 48 40 41 36 15 19 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 31 40 23 30 32 7 11 11 9 10
      Psychology 132 119 103 70 69 47 35 47 43 44
      Social sciences 152 156 188 187 216 144 121 83 39 50
    Engineering 362 411 367 328 370 325 308 270 313 362
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 10 6 3 4 6 2 3 3 7 7
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 0 1 1 1 1 1 3 0 0 1
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 25 31 31 25 38 34 37 29 34 25
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 75 83 65 58 76 52 45 43 68 89
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 49 35 14 11 7 19 19 10 17 24
      Mechanical engineering 21 22 20 27 32 23 36 36 30 34
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 9 3 3 5 13 5 3 3 3 6
      Other engineering 173 230 230 197 197 189 162 146 154 176
  Health 160 96 78 60 65 30 47 39 34 44
    Clinical medicine 33 23 32 24 22 21 25 18 20 27
    Other health 127 73 46 36 43 9 22 21 14 17

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: 2023–14
Field 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All surveyed fields 1,911 1,828 1,796 1,643 1,547 1,613 1,679 1,714 1,815 1,857
  Science and engineering 1,810 1,711 1,696 1,563 1,444 1,489 1,579 1,579 1,686 1,723
    Science 1,319 1,242 1,234 1,135 1,060 1,050 1,134 1,136 1,241 1,219
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 77 67 61 41 34 39 55 117 120 94
      Biological and biomedical sciences 574 532 524 484 466 445 470 391 446 445
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 6
      Computer and information sciences 92 81 72 78 75 79 87 99 108 109
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 5
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 42 59 61 43 30 34 47 67 65 59
      Mathematics and statistics 33 30 30 32 21 27 35 40 48 44
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Natural resources and conservation 47 53 55 58 43 42 48 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 297 289 295 275 249 252 242 230 252 266
      Psychology 64 38 49 46 57 53 63 61 62 64
      Social sciences 93 93 87 78 85 79 87 88 94 87
    Engineering 491 469 462 428 384 439 445 443 445 504
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 48 55 50 39 36 41 40 40 47 46
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 47 58 54 61 52 53 49 58 55 50
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 30 25 24 27 20 32 25 29 35 42
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 106 93 90 86 93 101 96 97 94 120
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 28 31 30 23 22 26 27 22 24 32
      Mechanical engineering 95 85 84 68 45 49 51 48 38 45
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 53 56 60 58 55 65 72 57 68 80
      Other engineering 84 66 70 66 61 72 85 92 84 89
  Health 101 117 100 80 103 124 100 135 129 134
    Clinical medicine 47 59 48 40 36 49 34 70 63 62
    Other health 54 58 52 40 67 75 66 65 66 72

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: 2023–14
Type and primary source of support 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All types and sources of support 5,706 5,291 5,094 4,908 4,836 5,107 5,113 5,303 5,385 5,481
  Fellowships 733 725 710 656 671 673 733 721 771 712
    Federal 374 378 373 343 355 363 415 380 404 390
    Institutional 233 233 238 207 193 195 187 266 284 259
    Nonfederal 126 114 99 106 123 115 131 75 83 63
  Research assistantships 2,436 2,259 2,203 2,099 1,942 1,945 1,953 1,994 2,079 2,184
    Federal 1,474 1,412 1,384 1,288 1,133 1,186 1,191 1,243 1,307 1,343
    Institutional 538 487 464 451 395 393 401 356 374 430
    Nonfederal 424 360 355 360 414 366 361 395 398 411
  Teaching assistantships 989 968 931 902 902 1,201 1,167 1,214 1,209 1,231
    Federal 3 0 0 5 3 0 5 3 4 0
    Institutional 973 950 913 885 891 1,190 1,140 1,174 1,169 1,204
    Nonfederal 13 18 18 12 8 11 22 37 36 27
  Other types of support 1,548 1,339 1,250 1,251 1,321 1,288 1,260 1,374 1,326 1,354
    Federal 60 38 39 7 56 64 68 88 100 124
    Institutional 83 47 45 6 82 97 96 133 138 148
    Nonfederal 37 40 40 3 53 50 73 94 90 83
    Personal resources 1,368 1,214 1,126 1,235 1,130 1,077 1,023 1,059 998 999

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: 2023–14
All races 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
  Science and engineering 581 541 538 531 533 533 561 547 558 552
    Science 451 436 441 438 431 435 460 449 462 468
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 73 53 53 52 27 23 31 46 46 42
      Biological and biomedical sciences 148 178 177 163 169 193 190 189 192 203
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 8 6 9 7 5 2 8 7 7 5
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 1
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 16 11 12 20 15 12 11 15 8 8
      Mathematics and statistics 8 7 5 3 2 2 6 6 11 8
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 49 35 32 43 69 69 102 74 81 86
      Natural resources and conservation 43 33 34 33 13 20 14 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 72 78 81 76 72 65 68 69 72 73
      Psychology 13 9 8 14 11 10 7 9 9 12
      Social sciences 21 26 30 27 48 39 23 15 15 12
    Engineering 130 105 97 93 102 98 101 98 96 84
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 7 2 2 5 6 10 13 9 7 6
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 26 20 15 14 20 19 15 24 20 20
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 13 6 11 12 13 8 7 6 6 2
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 15 13 10 13 16 19 18 11 8 8
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 2 2 1 2 0 4 3 1 0 2
      Mechanical engineering 17 17 15 11 13 9 14 8 6 8
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 25 20 20 18 18 15 21 31 30 27
      Other engineering 25 25 23 18 16 14 10 8 19 11
  Health 203 187 207 221 217 207 183 198 207 215
    Clinical medicine 163 160 175 187 148 150 136 153 156 158
    Other health 40 27 32 34 69 57 47 45 51 57

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: 2023–14
Field 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
All surveyed fields 563 521 519 500 501 496 493 501 518 531
  Science and engineering 417 392 378 353 349 369 385 373 393 408
    Science 312 312 306 286 275 295 330 308 323 346
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 50 39 37 33 16 14 19 28 28 34
      Biological and biomedical sciences 108 139 133 121 121 139 129 130 139 151
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 6 3 5 4 2 2 7 4 5 3
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 7 3 6 11 10 9 9 11 7 8
      Mathematics and statistics 6 6 5 1 2 2 5 5 11 8
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 33 21 21 27 48 48 77 56 57 59
      Natural resources and conservation 34 25 25 21 8 12 12 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 51 59 57 53 46 51 56 50 51 58
      Psychology 10 7 7 9 8 8 6 6 5 5
      Social sciences 7 10 10 6 14 10 10 7 6 5
    Engineering 105 80 72 67 74 74 55 65 70 62
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 7 1 1 3 3 7 4 3 5 2
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 19 17 13 11 16 15 8 14 13 14
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 9 3 7 10 9 8 4 3 4 1
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 14 11 6 9 12 14 5 6 7 8
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 1
      Mechanical engineering 14 11 14 7 9 5 5 4 2 4
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 19 17 14 14 16 12 19 28 27 25
      Other engineering 23 20 17 13 9 10 8 6 12 7
  Health 146 129 141 147 152 127 108 128 125 123
    Clinical medicine 122 111 123 125 99 84 75 101 95 87
    Other health 24 18 18 22 53 43 33 27 30 36

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: 2023–14
(Dollars in thousands)
Field 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
  All R&D fields 1,731,949 1,523,513 1,380,075 1,363,931 1,297,331 1,205,518 1,193,413 1,157,680 1,069,077 1,108,564
    Science 1,444,613 1,279,069 1,163,175 1,138,453 1,082,637 995,392 956,312 903,996 802,809 837,218
      Computer and information sciences 38,571 30,295 23,678 28,241 20,372 22,024 20,155 21,226 22,416 21,284
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 77,933 68,178 65,814 65,000 58,701 50,280 52,105 54,306 50,144 48,810
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 46,930 39,134 39,038 40,482 35,945 27,613 28,265 29,507 28,589 28,857
        Geological and earth sciences 18,251 17,782 17,180 15,574 14,233 13,501 14,809 14,915 8,769 7,663
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4,232 3,861
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 12,752 11,262 9,596 8,944 8,523 9,166 9,031 9,884 8,554 8,429
      Life sciences 1,058,529 952,068 861,558 839,302 814,119 740,883 707,668 654,896 589,652 626,184
        Agricultural sciences 144,969 128,234 114,940 104,300 74,783 75,310 81,313 73,532 55,099 55,720
        Biological and biomedical sciences 347,583 318,077 273,356 277,654 261,715 220,658 194,360 188,386 175,884 181,024
        Health sciences 560,021 500,026 467,332 451,868 472,274 440,649 427,141 388,222 351,361 381,954
        Natural resources and conservation 1,009 1,058 997 935 626 441 387 614 0 0
        Life sciences nec 4,947 4,673 4,933 4,545 4,721 3,825 4,467 4,142 7,308 7,486
      Mathematics and statistics 8,838 7,005 6,394 6,675 6,405 5,825 5,983 6,950 6,170 6,251
      Physical sciences 113,636 97,161 87,587 83,687 75,231 73,381 71,282 75,530 73,139 71,503
        Astronomy and astrophysics 6,804 6,382 5,556 5,564 5,765 5,780 5,399 4,903 6,193 5,791
        Chemistry 39,292 36,183 33,896 31,441 26,369 24,620 23,685 25,147 23,673 18,734
        Materials science 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Physics 41,543 33,045 26,135 24,984 27,643 24,980 24,903 26,704 28,531 30,135
        Physical sciences nec 25,997 21,551 22,000 21,698 15,454 18,001 17,295 18,776 14,742 16,843
      Psychology 13,198 10,208 10,944 12,090 12,498 10,555 9,902 9,103 6,352 5,151
      Social sciences 75,982 65,924 63,043 59,239 48,019 47,110 43,324 41,370 45,158 49,188
        Anthropology 1,287 1,513 682 1,022 1,178 1,072 1,121 653 0 0
        Economics 9,665 9,483 8,813 8,756 3,791 3,102 2,181 2,038 7,961 8,198
        Political science and government 7,602 8,183 8,695 6,515 5,719 5,317 4,631 4,239 4,089 3,446
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 8,975 7,258 6,042 6,535 7,402 7,461 7,925 9,160 10,980 13,852
        Social sciences nec 48,453 39,487 38,811 36,411 29,929 30,158 27,466 25,280 22,128 23,692
      Sciences nec 57,926 48,230 44,157 44,219 47,292 45,334 45,893 40,615 9,778 8,847
    Engineering 171,445 148,673 131,709 133,600 126,587 118,576 148,949 147,315 135,557 147,612
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 16,300 16,734 16,836 15,701 14,141 12,099 30,306 36,360 29,677 39,971
      Chemical engineering 18,535 15,061 10,886 12,549 11,045 11,199 13,533 12,609 10,821 13,400
      Civil engineering 16,818 14,220 13,124 13,952 11,430 12,401 16,092 16,003 16,691 16,206
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 24,312 20,315 15,878 16,300 17,001 15,368 14,579 13,904 11,611 12,010
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 6,560 5,387 4,997 4,798 4,678 4,879 4,788 4,817 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 23,196 16,882 12,365 12,790 10,510 8,423 8,090 7,963 7,607 5,769
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 13,459 13,129 12,706 11,362 10,701 10,767 13,316 11,036 9,471 8,824
      Engineering nec 52,265 46,945 44,917 46,148 47,081 43,440 48,245 44,623 49,679 51,432
    Non-S&E 115,891 95,771 85,191 91,878 88,107 91,550 88,152 106,369 130,711 123,734
      Business management and business administration 13,381 12,255 11,664 11,647 11,470 14,871 15,549 14,888 62,325 48,318
      Communication and communications technologies 8,154 6,059 5,267 4,152 4,135 3,352 3,293 2,888 3,508 3,243
      Education 39,358 30,239 28,245 29,494 25,084 30,441 31,325 30,779 38,323 31,923
      Humanities 19,710 17,166 14,791 14,630 14,555 12,229 11,746 11,006 14,278 13,707
      Law 6,555 3,958 3,389 3,865 3,258 2,266 3,182 1,995 1,742 1,698
      Social work 951 1,314 745 815 1,895 296 442 1,233 1,223 4,271
      Visual and performing arts 3,153 2,423 2,087 2,099 1,938 1,940 1,950 1,939 1,305 1,291
      Non-S&E nec 24,629 22,357 19,003 25,176 25,772 26,155 20,665 41,641 8,007 19,283

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: 2023
(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 1,731,949 816,814 125,524 542,782 46,133 153,068 47,628
    Science 1,444,613 699,107 104,549 442,956 41,914 119,907 36,180
      Computer and information sciences 38,571 21,627 1,297 5,745 1,191 7,717 994
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 77,933 44,661 6,781 21,696 246 3,122 1,427
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 46,930 31,905 2,428 11,739 90 476 292
        Geological and earth sciences 18,251 7,341 3,264 6,163 0 1,316 167
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 12,752 5,415 1,089 3,794 156 1,330 968
      Life sciences 1,058,529 484,792 79,724 353,636 35,972 77,079 27,326
        Agricultural sciences 144,969 55,114 20,473 48,373 4,147 14,268 2,594
        Biological and biomedical sciences 347,583 206,133 23,974 76,299 7,742 29,332 4,103
        Health sciences 560,021 223,386 32,700 225,987 24,083 33,271 20,594
        Natural resources and conservation 1,009 86 207 508 0 208 0
        Life sciences nec 4,947 73 2,370 2,469 0 0 35
      Mathematics and statistics 8,838 5,225 347 1,616 0 1,588 62
      Physical sciences 113,636 73,094 3,628 21,929 2,153 10,009 2,823
        Astronomy and astrophysics 6,804 2,731 478 1,901 0 1,565 129
        Chemistry 39,292 23,545 1,795 7,779 1,353 3,740 1,080
        Materials science 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Physics 41,543 27,280 871 8,679 800 3,847 66
        Physical sciences nec 25,997 19,538 484 3,570 0 857 1,548
      Psychology 13,198 5,201 877 3,377 10 3,665 68
      Social sciences 75,982 30,209 7,680 23,906 298 12,706 1,183
        Anthropology 1,287 30 198 500 0 532 27
        Economics 9,665 1,698 2,012 4,393 0 1,542 20
        Political science and government 7,602 1,109 1,095 3,284 52 1,780 282
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 8,975 2,512 930 2,651 0 2,655 227
        Social sciences nec 48,453 24,860 3,445 13,078 246 6,197 627
      Sciences nec 57,926 34,298 4,215 11,051 2,044 4,021 2,297
    Engineering 171,445 93,870 9,973 43,586 3,654 13,186 7,176
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 16,300 5,381 2,289 5,700 504 2,170 256
      Chemical engineering 18,535 11,182 141 4,874 53 1,712 573
      Civil engineering 16,818 6,924 2,862 5,349 196 1,041 446
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 24,312 14,571 283 5,311 1,059 1,976 1,112
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 6,560 3,563 124 1,558 644 467 204
      Mechanical engineering 23,196 15,561 235 3,844 680 1,759 1,117
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 13,459 7,150 239 3,843 69 2,115 43
      Engineering nec 52,265 29,538 3,800 13,107 449 1,946 3,425
    Non-S&E 115,891 23,837 11,002 56,240 565 19,975 4,272
      Business management and business administration 13,381 0 161 9,903 0 2,001 1,316
      Communication and communications technologies 8,154 1,608 1,066 2,999 8 2,037 436
      Education 39,358 19,805 1,560 13,345 411 4,023 214
      Humanities 19,710 1,276 3,161 9,075 0 5,663 535
      Law 6,555 204 772 3,599 0 1,010 970
      Social work 951 21 141 430 13 300 46
      Visual and performing arts 3,153 0 73 1,222 0 1,707 151
      Non-S&E nec 24,629 923 4,068 15,667 133 3,234 604

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: 2023–14
(Dollars in thousands)
Source of funds 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Federal Agencies 816,814 740,854 646,764 632,558 608,925 574,048 570,796 567,132 533,286 548,388
  DOD 44,782 42,075 33,479 37,336 36,636 32,200 26,672 26,141 24,840 23,450
  DOE 90,201 78,676 75,231 69,108 71,131 61,302 60,766 65,226 60,023 70,548
  HHS 465,199 423,835 374,530 364,173 347,705 318,421 314,827 298,817 273,732 280,579
  NASA 16,235 13,728 11,307 13,109 11,862 12,428 12,527 12,000 12,688 12,546
  NSF 113,712 109,834 90,800 89,371 80,297 84,920 84,367 89,389 89,464 89,532
  USDA 36,525 30,025 26,285 22,764 22,377 23,693 27,370 28,778 25,228 22,552
  Other 50,160 42,681 35,132 36,697 38,917 41,084 44,267 46,781 47,311 49,181

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: 2023–17 [temporarily discontinued]
Year
2023 . . . .
2022 . . . .
2021 . . . .
2020 . . . .
2019 17,123 2,980 14,143 .
2018 17,391 2,931 14,460 .
2017 17,396 2,880 14,516 .

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

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

Science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field: 2023–14
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space 2023 2021 2019 2017 2015
  All research space 3,261 3,293 3,132 2,825 2,925
    Agricultural sciences 413 449 315 265 336
    Biological and biomedical sciences 903 885 851 726 706
    Computer and information sciences 31 32 24 24 24
    Engineering 451 444 434 428 433
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 108 129 129 126 131
    Health sciences 645 618 715 408 513
    Mathematics and statistics 8 8 8 8 8
    Natural resources and conservation 35 41 45 116 74
    Physical sciences 340 383 312 312 307
    Psychology 150 153 154 271 302
    Social sciences 114 111 104 100 55
    Other 63 42 41 41 37

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 34,000 49,875 56,250 56,843 15,342
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 56,250 34,145 13,342
    Biological and biomedical sciences 0 7,875 0 11,205 0
    Computer and information sciences 0 42,000 0 0 0
    Engineering 0 0 0 0 2,000
    Health sciences 0 0 0 11,493 0
    Social sciences 34,000 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 14,860 37,062 19,773 4,314 1,566
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 4,130 0 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 3,147 7,552 6,086 2,700 0
    Computer and information sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 3,636 23,034 857 0 756
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 1,575 0 0
    Health sciences 3,332 0 5,280 1,614 0
    Mathematics and statistics 0 0 0 0 0
    Natural resources and conservation 0 0 0 0 0
    Physical sciences 2,870 6,476 1,845 0 810
    Psychology 0 0 0 0 0
    Social sciences 1,875 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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