Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U.

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 32 93.3 459 37 94.1 602 57 93.9 914
2022 35 92.6 457 36 94.9 680 53 94.3 900
2021 26 94.4 447 37 94.8 691 39 93.5 583 54 94.2 908
2020 28 94 450 38 94.7 697 49 94.8 916
2019 39 91.6 447 40 94.4 696 39 93.6 589 48 94.9 914
2018 36 91.9 428 41 94.3 698 47 95 911
2017 33 92.5 425 34 95.2 684 39 93.4 575 46 95 898
2016 30 93.3 430 34 95.3 697 43 95.4 896
2015 32 92.8 426 35 95.1 693 41 93 570 44 95.2 898
2014 28 93.6 422 36 95 688 39 95.8 889
2013 36 93.8 555
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 502 459 465 495 405 426 438 472 451 473
  Science and engineering 427 388 399 431 344 362 374 400 388 390
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 40 31 39 51 39 33 37 38 38 30
      Agricultural sciences 31 24 28 39 33 25 24 24 23 21
      Natural resources and conservation 9 7 11 12 6 8 13 14 15 9
    Biological and biomedical sciences 53 43 48 45 43 40 48 51 50 48
      Biochemistry and biophysics 3 5 5 4 1 4 2 4 3 5
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 11 4 7 8 7 5 7 6 4 1
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 4 2 5 4 2 4 6 11 4 8
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy 1 . . . 1 . . . 1 1
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 5 4 5 3 5 1 2 1 14 4
      Genetics and genomics 1 1 1 . . . 2 2 . 2
      Microbiology and immunology 13 6 5 6 8 9 6 8 11 7
      Molecular biology . 1 2 1 3 3 2 2 1 5
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 3 5 7 3 3 1 2 1 1 1
      Pharmacology and toxicology 2 . . . . . . . . .
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 4 2 1 . 2 2 1 1 1 3
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 6 13 10 16 11 11 18 15 10 11
    Computer and information sciences 23 20 31 25 15 24 28 22 25 18
      Computer science 15 17 27 23 14 20 26 19 25 17
      Computer and information sciences, other 8 3 4 2 1 4 2 3 . 1
    Engineering 208 178 166 195 144 165 154 171 168 193
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 25 13 15 16 7 11 9 12 12 14
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 21 7 13 13 14 15 12 13 12 16
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 11 14 11 11 11 3 4 8 8 17
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 41 30 13 28 17 24 34 30 30 26
      Electrical and computer engineering 45 51 51 40 34 49 46 39 44 45
      Industrial engineering and operations research 11 10 8 12 9 8 7 13 9 11
      Materials and mining engineering 10 9 10 13 12 4 5 5 8 8
      Mechanical engineering 27 25 32 37 21 36 22 31 22 29
      Engineering, other 17 19 13 25 19 15 15 20 23 27
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 9 8 11 9 6 8 13 7 8 10
      Geological sciences 6 6 9 7 3 7 13 5 5 8
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 3 2 2 2 3 1 . 2 3 2
    Health sciences 5 6 6 4 6 4 1 5 1 3
      Nursing science . . . . . . . . . 1
      Public health . 1 1 2 2 3 1 4 1 1
      Health sciences, other 5 5 5 2 4 1 . 1 . 1
    Mathematics and statistics 13 13 16 15 11 13 12 20 17 8
      Applied mathematics 2 1 2 3 . 3 4 6 3 3
      Mathematics . . 2 1 1 1 2 . 1 2
      Statistics 5 5 7 5 4 4 4 6 12 3
      Mathematics and statistics, other 6 7 5 6 6 5 2 8 1 .
    Physical sciences 27 40 37 36 36 29 29 32 38 22
      Astronomy and astrophysics 1 2 . 1 . . . 1 . 1
      Chemistry 19 27 19 19 20 20 18 18 26 14
      Physics 7 11 18 16 16 9 11 13 12 7
    Psychology 15 21 15 21 12 16 25 21 13 27
      Clinical psychology 5 4 2 5 2 6 4 8 3 10
      Counseling and applied psychology 3 3 3 9 4 3 9 2 2 1
      Research and experimental psychology 1 8 4 2 2 1 4 4 3 5
      Psychology, other 6 6 6 5 4 6 8 7 5 11
    Social sciences 34 28 30 30 32 30 27 33 30 31
      Anthropology . . 1 . . . . 2 1 .
      Economics 8 10 9 3 4 8 8 7 6 7
      Political science and government 1 1 4 2 3 2 3 4 6 4
      Public policy analysis . . . . . 1 . . . .
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 6 5 5 4 7 4 7 5 3 4
      Social sciences, other 19 12 11 21 18 15 9 15 14 16
  Non-science and engineering 75 71 66 64 61 64 64 72 63 83
    Business 16 14 9 10 6 10 13 8 16 14
      Business 16 14 9 10 6 10 13 8 16 14
    Education 37 35 36 38 36 40 36 45 30 45
      Education leadership and administration 2 . 4 . . 5 2 3 2 6
      Education research 19 22 23 25 16 26 25 31 21 34
      Teacher education and teaching fields 14 12 8 10 15 6 8 8 6 3
      Education, other 2 1 1 3 5 3 1 3 1 2
    Humanities and arts 4 10 7 5 3 4 7 1 6 4
      Letters 2 6 5 2 3 2 5 . 4 1
      History . 1 . . . 1 . 1 1 .
      Philosophy and religious studies . 1 1 . . 1 1 . 1 1
      Music and performing arts . 1 . . . . . . . .
      Humanities and arts, other 2 1 1 3 . . 1 . . 2
    Other non-science and engineering 18 12 14 11 16 10 8 18 11 20
      Communication . . . . . . . 1 . .
      Public administration and social services 5 4 3 5 9 4 3 5 6 9
      Non-science and engineering, other 13 8 11 6 7 6 5 12 5 11

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: 2022–13
All races 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
All full-time students 4,068 3,843 3,236 3,395 3,255 3,360 3,683 3,607 3,407 3,417
    Male 2,534 2,436 2,031 2,136 2,084 2,154 2,353 2,284 2,162 2,188
    Female 1,534 1,407 1,205 1,259 1,171 1,206 1,330 1,323 1,245 1,229
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 2,016 1,993 1,821 1,796 1,753 1,775 1,923 1,920 1,871 1,991
    Hispanic or Latino 159 146 134 136 133 121 136 125 103 98
    Not Hispanic or Latino 1,822 1,806 1,641 1,618 1,581 1,613 1,749 1,761 1,744 1,868
      American Indian or Alaska Native 4 5 4 4 6 5 3 3 1 1
      Asian 187 167 131 122 119 119 110 117 105 116
      Black or African American 134 131 120 114 101 107 118 119 109 113
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
      White 1,407 1,420 1,308 1,295 1,274 1,314 1,456 1,463 1,474 1,578
      More than one race 90 83 78 83 80 68 62 59 55 60
    Unknown ethnicity and race 35 41 46 42 39 41 38 34 24 25
  Temporary visa holders 2,052 1,850 1,415 1,599 1,502 1,585 1,760 1,687 1,536 1,426
  Science and engineering 4,002 3,787 3,190 3,308 3,173 3,280 3,630 3,489 3,290 3,292
    Science 2,169 2,029 1,628 1,665 1,590 1,577 1,664 1,684 1,647 1,601
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 224 205 185 141 143 158 280 292 316 284
      Biological and biomedical sciences 373 351 329 336 325 279 347 350 303 290
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 17 14 14
      Computer and information sciences 635 576 312 297 241 231 227 211 225 203
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 52 53 57
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 60 57 44 50 53 54 58 58 58 60
      Mathematics and statistics 129 119 107 108 109 118 127 137 109 122
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 24 28 25 30 22 23 24 26 26 26
      Natural resources and conservation 177 173 141 152 153 143 0 0 0 0
      Psychology 91 90 97 58 50 59 64 70 71 67
      Physical sciences 228 197 195 204 218 214 213 212 207 207
      Social sciences 228 233 193 289 276 298 265 259 265 271
    Engineering 1,833 1,758 1,562 1,643 1,583 1,703 1,966 1,805 1,643 1,691
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 217 220 172 152 123 117 114 122 95 92
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 73 71 58 54 64 56 54 59 49 58
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 82 93 89 91 98 100 47 39 33 38
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 288 283 256 289 279 309 324 289 273 333
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 516 457 424 457 421 467 484 439 439 397
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 166 149 120 121 118 138 168 135 89 95
      Mechanical engineering 266 254 215 241 237 256 281 285 265 247
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 68 77 82 87 92 94 133 123 116 123
      Other engineering 157 154 146 151 151 166 361 314 284 308
    Health 66 56 46 87 82 80 53 118 117 125
      Clinical medicine 66 56 46 43 45 44 53 62 54 65
      Other health 0 0 0 44 37 36 0 56 63 60

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: 2022–13
All races 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
All part-time students 1,355 1,319 1,297 1,243 1,272 1,258 1,322 1,329 1,182 1,162
    Male 836 839 855 836 860 856 869 849 769 702
    Female 519 480 442 407 412 402 453 480 413 460
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents 1,206 1,216 1,168 1,108 1,093 1,077 1,129 1,176 1,044 1,020
    Hispanic or Latino 105 98 79 60 51 60 58 57 42 33
    Not Hispanic or Latino 1,037 1,038 1,011 1,011 1,003 984 1,040 1,087 969 959
      American Indian or Alaska Native 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 1 1 4
      Asian 131 140 138 130 130 127 104 87 79 78
      Black or African American 65 68 62 71 63 60 85 92 81 61
      Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1 0 0 1 2 2 1 0 2 2
      White 784 781 772 768 763 754 825 882 781 791
      More than one race 54 46 36 39 43 38 23 25 25 23
    Unknown ethnicity and race 64 80 78 37 39 33 31 32 33 28
  Temporary visa holders 149 103 129 135 179 181 193 153 138 142
  Science and engineering 1,350 1,311 1,283 1,212 1,234 1,219 1,312 1,289 1,133 1,115
    Science 971 979 962 911 894 850 927 895 796 795
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 134 118 107 82 77 92 162 187 157 140
      Biological and biomedical sciences 22 25 18 25 27 13 47 46 25 33
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 3 1
      Computer and information sciences 523 519 561 564 542 477 407 317 295 281
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 45 34 50
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 4 3 3 2 4 5 4 4 2 3
      Mathematics and statistics 16 22 22 11 11 8 14 6 9 7
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 29 30 28 29 29 30 29 31 28 29
      Natural resources and conservation 123 124 103 64 71 74 0 0 0 0
      Psychology 14 25 20 8 13 12 10 14 4 8
      Physical sciences 5 11 8 14 9 11 11 6 7 11
      Social sciences 101 102 92 112 111 128 202 236 232 232
    Engineering 379 332 321 301 340 369 385 394 337 320
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 83 81 63 44 50 56 42 36 27 22
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 7 2 6 6 1 2 1 4 5 4
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 3 7 8 9 6 4 2 6 1 4
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 41 28 39 60 68 75 52 51 54 45
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 112 103 84 78 88 91 127 115 96 102
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 58 45 40 36 43 59 50 43 48 40
      Mechanical engineering 36 24 37 34 40 38 42 47 36 34
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 10 7 11 11 23 19 17 19 15 12
      Other engineering 29 35 33 23 21 25 52 73 55 57
    Health 5 8 14 31 38 39 10 40 49 47
      Clinical medicine 5 8 14 7 5 13 10 15 19 18
      Other health 0 0 0 24 33 26 0 25 30 29

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: 2022–13
Field 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
All surveyed fields 973 964 883 834 795 756 759 775 784 847 0
  Science and engineering 969 964 881 824 783 748 755 765 776 838 0
    Science 444 410 341 320 314 312 317 350 345 366 0
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 55 48 39 20 29 26 58 75 81 71 0
      Biological and biomedical sciences 112 106 104 89 79 71 74 74 69 72 0
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 100 74 56 70 75 75 80 89 87 89 0
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 10 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 19 19 7 10 16 16 18 15 16 18 0
      Mathematics and statistics 9 15 18 17 12 11 22 18 11 20 0
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 0
      Natural resources and conservation 39 42 24 28 35 40 0 0 0 0 0
      Physical sciences 70 63 59 45 33 37 29 38 32 49 0
      Psychology 11 9 9 11 9 9 12 14 12 12 0
      Social sciences 27 31 23 28 24 26 18 20 30 23 0
    Engineering 525 554 540 504 469 436 438 415 431 472 0
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 67 75 67 56 42 31 29 35 36 32 0
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 22 29 19 15 18 15 15 18 18 23 0
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 27 28 23 23 27 23 9 11 11 4 0
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 70 64 61 49 42 50 56 60 67 69 0
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 152 155 178 173 170 153 145 116 141 136 0
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 29 32 35 23 19 11 9 12 9 18 0
      Mechanical engineering 79 83 71 69 68 73 78 77 70 88 0
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 35 33 44 50 35 32 39 30 32 51 0
      Other engineering 44 55 42 46 48 48 58 56 47 51 0
    Health 4 0 2 10 12 8 4 10 8 9 0
      Clinical medicine 4 0 2 5 5 3 4 1 1 6 0
      Other health 0 0 0 5 7 5 0 9 7 3 0

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

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

Full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health, by type and primary source of support: 2022–13
Type and primary source of support 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
All types and sources of support 4,068 3,843 3,236 3,395 3,255 3,360 3,683 3,607 3,407 3,417
  Fellowships 87 78 70 77 65 76 61 70 59 71
    Federal 61 53 52 48 38 28 35 38 30 33
    Institutional 21 15 17 24 13 33 24 29 27 35
    Nonfederal 5 10 1 5 14 15 2 3 2 3
  Research assistantships 1,805 1,710 1,592 1,574 1,550 1,538 1,561 1,569 1,542 1,540
    Federal 900 907 821 781 749 720 714 726 745 806
    Institutional 686 595 576 591 558 591 619 600 554 507
    Nonfederal 219 208 195 202 243 227 228 243 243 227
  Teaching assistantships 1,136 1,096 1,025 1,157 1,068 1,065 1,159 1,111 1,105 1,087
    Federal 3 1 4 2 6 6 1 7 3 2
    Institutional 1,127 1,093 1,016 1,149 1,056 1,056 1,154 1,101 1,092 1,070
    Nonfederal 6 2 5 6 6 3 4 3 10 15
  Other types of support 1,040 959 549 587 572 681 902 857 701 719
    Federal 9 3 6 3 2 2 9 4 6 6
    Institutional 138 110 79 80 109 101 117 148 109 90
    Nonfederal 5 3 2 7 1 2 2 0 3 14
    Personal resources 888 843 462 497 460 576 774 705 583 609

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: 2022–13
All races 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
  Science and engineering 240 229 220 199 207 221 205 203 204 206
    Science 171 162 151 124 126 127 116 120 122 123
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 33 34 27 16 12 14 29 28 28 33
      Biological and biomedical sciences 30 27 30 24 21 21 21 44 49 48
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 3 4 4 2 4 2 2 5 5 6
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 4 5 3 1 2 3 2 4 5 4
      Mathematics and statistics 9 5 5 5 3 3 1 1 1 3
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 29 28 34 23 35 32 35 8 7 6
      Natural resources and conservation 15 15 10 12 10 12 0 0 0 0
      Psychology 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 1 1
      Physical sciences 39 37 36 38 34 35 22 25 23 19
      Social sciences 9 7 2 2 3 4 3 4 3 3
    Engineering 69 67 69 75 81 94 89 83 82 83
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 3 4 3 4 3 2 1 4 5 4
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 6 4 6 8 6 4 4 5 6 10
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 4 1 2 0 1 4 4 3 1 1
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 16 16 10 10 23 24 23 21 18 15
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 15 14 18 23 20 21 17 16 13 16
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 3 3 3 4 1 2 5 4
      Mechanical engineering 16 19 15 13 13 22 22 13 12 9
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 2 4 5 4 4 5 9 8 10 8
      Other engineering 7 5 7 10 8 8 8 11 12 16
    Health 4 5 2 10 11 9 9 22 22 29
      Clinical medicine 4 5 2 3 1 2 2 14 14 23
      Other health 0 0 0 7 10 7 7 8 8 6

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: 2022–13
Field 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
All surveyed fields 138 123 116 113 126 115 113 114 111 126
  Science and engineering 137 122 116 109 122 110 108 101 103 113
    Science 103 91 85 71 82 63 61 64 64 72
      Agricultural and veterinary sciences 20 20 12 10 7 8 16 17 16 18
      Biological and biomedical sciences 19 17 17 12 15 10 14 27 30 36
      Communication 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Computer and information sciences 3 2 1 0 4 1 2 4 4 3
      Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 2
      Mathematics and statistics 2 1 2 2 2 3 1 0 1 1
      Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 15 13 15 12 20 14 17 2 1 1
      Natural resources and conservation 9 10 7 5 4 5 0 0 0 0
      Psychology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
      Physical sciences 33 26 29 29 28 20 10 11 9 9
      Social sciences 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
    Engineering 34 31 31 38 40 47 47 37 39 41
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 2 2 1 3 2 1 0 2 1 1
      Biological, biomedical, and biosystems engineering 5 2 4 1 3 2 0 1 2 3
      Chemical, petroleum, and chemical-related engineering 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
      Civil, environmental, transportation and related engineering fields 6 5 2 5 13 10 14 8 7 7
      Electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering 6 4 6 13 9 11 10 11 8 8
      Industrial, manufacturing, systems engineering and operations research 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 2 3
      Mechanical engineering 8 13 8 9 6 14 12 6 10 7
      Metallurgical, mining, materials and related engineering fields 1 2 5 3 2 3 5 0 3 5
      Other engineering 4 3 3 4 4 5 4 7 5 6
    Health 1 1 0 4 4 5 5 13 8 13
      Clinical medicine 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 7 6 10
      Other health 0 0 0 3 3 4 4 6 2 3

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 598,113 591,861 542,045 556,341 541,969 531,636 522,425 521,773 504,282 513,149
    Science 311,809 313,070 284,517 282,461 273,941 274,820 284,530 284,052 269,800 273,916
      Computer and information sciences 30,263 28,642 25,466 30,405 23,536 27,614 33,035 27,386 24,646 21,151
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 6,047 4,652 3,534 3,068 4,185 3,867 4,503 4,385 6,107 7,515
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 140 149 185 61 0 0 0 0 52 56
        Geological and earth sciences 5,696 4,480 3,349 3,007 4,181 3,807 4,503 4,385 6,055 7,459
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 36 0 0 0 4 60 0 0 0 0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 175 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Life sciences 221,029 223,775 207,204 199,798 198,424 198,326 198,911 221,801 209,678 211,993
        Agricultural sciences 84,682 92,790 80,513 84,380 73,691 69,788 72,715 79,726 104,627 103,451
        Biological and biomedical sciences 45,172 49,745 46,515 40,276 46,123 51,145 50,905 66,005 62,429 68,047
        Health sciences 51,779 48,844 51,942 47,236 49,883 48,797 45,406 45,498 39,101 36,819
        Natural resources and conservation 28,412 27,874 26,106 25,921 26,604 26,896 28,219 28,518 0 0
        Life sciences nec 10,984 4,522 2,128 1,985 2,123 1,700 1,666 2,054 3,521 3,676
      Mathematics and statistics 12,051 12,917 8,107 6,776 5,031 5,765 10,281 2,901 2,734 3,612
      Physical sciences 22,452 23,394 24,374 24,214 26,835 21,049 18,453 15,547 14,025 14,856
        Astronomy and astrophysics 394 19 130 39 176 64 212 23 0 0
        Chemistry 13,571 13,810 14,389 14,242 16,338 12,149 9,149 8,691 8,526 9,316
        Materials science 1,448 1,292 1,184 1,025 1,188 960 1,017 942 0 0
        Physics 6,660 7,798 7,913 7,831 7,909 6,511 5,637 5,366 4,901 4,839
        Physical sciences nec 379 475 758 1,077 1,224 1,365 2,438 525 598 701
      Psychology 6,359 5,111 4,169 4,899 4,286 4,350 4,359 3,535 4,425 4,564
      Social sciences 13,608 14,507 11,574 13,082 11,273 13,299 14,604 7,799 7,001 7,822
        Anthropology 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 0 0 0
        Economics 6,332 6,429 5,176 5,163 1,340 2,070 2,871 1,334 1,932 1,216
        Political science and government 507 421 302 96 163 46 405 151 1,132 1,303
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 3,054 2,482 2,391 3,247 4,823 6,179 7,247 2,246 1,361 1,890
        Social sciences nec 3,715 5,175 3,705 4,576 4,947 5,004 4,052 4,068 2,576 3,413
      Sciences nec 0 72 89 219 371 550 384 698 1,184 2,403
    Engineering 261,707 260,158 246,965 263,711 258,213 245,755 226,810 228,281 225,702 228,570
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 23,321 26,384 20,824 18,219 14,890 12,490 9,738 12,215 11,344 9,658
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 33,666 28,433 20,998 22,519 28,445 15,709 20,463 12,374 12,522 9,248
      Chemical engineering 6,407 5,291 4,473 5,494 5,688 6,123 6,195 5,294 3,517 4,278
      Civil engineering 36,974 32,674 29,264 31,117 28,401 29,334 31,472 63,326 59,867 60,940
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 61,525 67,367 56,194 62,349 60,818 51,152 51,376 50,139 49,920 48,466
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 35,838 34,760 30,945 34,468 37,892 46,078 30,624 5,892 0 0
      Mechanical engineering 25,011 24,678 24,718 31,040 32,422 36,786 32,164 34,041 30,596 45,423
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 11,824 13,007 17,397 19,216 13,812 16,703 12,588 17,076 13,080 13,500
      Engineering nec 27,141 27,564 42,152 39,289 35,845 31,380 32,190 27,924 44,856 37,057
    Non-S&E 24,597 18,633 10,563 10,169 9,815 11,061 11,085 9,440 8,780 10,663
      Business management and business administration 4,983 4,875 3,748 3,232 2,426 288 902 770 352 446
      Communication and communications technologies 103 307 445 159 258 258 44 1 44 361
      Education 2,639 2,006 1,992 2,437 3,435 7,470 7,770 5,423 6,145 7,803
      Humanities 306 291 534 461 348 368 357 392 352 180
      Law 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 0
      Social work 0 0 72 73 67 0 0 3 88 0
      Visual and performing arts 743 901 413 522 578 930 771 1,206 804 1,067
      Non-S&E nec 15,823 10,253 3,359 3,285 2,703 1,747 1,241 1,631 995 806

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 598,113 282,152 78,279 179,590 35,761 13,021 9,310
    Science 311,809 138,464 60,366 95,777 7,538 6,074 3,590
      Computer and information sciences 30,263 14,280 5,820 8,449 1,102 512 100
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 6,047 3,961 343 1,367 0 85 291
        Atmospheric science and meteorology 140 123 0 17 0 0 0
        Geological and earth sciences 5,696 3,704 343 1,303 0 75 271
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences 36 6 0 30 0 0 0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec 175 128 0 17 0 10 20
      Life sciences 221,029 89,893 51,723 67,770 4,491 4,520 2,632
        Agricultural sciences 84,682 25,457 28,753 25,216 2,664 1,908 684
        Biological and biomedical sciences 45,172 25,110 7,169 10,508 526 1,059 800
        Health sciences 51,779 25,649 6,631 18,183 352 681 283
        Natural resources and conservation 28,412 12,255 7,083 6,516 946 768 844
        Life sciences nec 10,984 1,422 2,087 7,347 3 104 21
      Mathematics and statistics 12,051 6,803 146 3,965 921 105 111
      Physical sciences 22,452 15,624 22 6,013 546 193 54
        Astronomy and astrophysics 394 310 0 39 0 44 1
        Chemistry 13,571 9,822 0 3,089 505 120 35
        Materials science 1,448 360 0 1,085 0 0 3
        Physics 6,660 5,006 22 1,548 41 29 14
        Physical sciences nec 379 126 0 252 0 0 1
      Psychology 6,359 3,775 0 1,837 338 220 189
      Social sciences 13,608 4,128 2,312 6,376 140 439 213
        Anthropology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
        Economics 6,332 2,572 1,843 1,529 93 212 83
        Political science and government 507 23 327 115 0 41 1
        Sociology, demography, and population studies 3,054 1,236 0 1,755 0 28 35
        Social sciences nec 3,715 297 142 2,977 47 158 94
      Sciences nec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Engineering 261,707 128,941 17,817 75,591 27,100 6,831 5,427
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 23,321 13,103 940 4,602 3,744 182 750
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 33,666 17,105 3,484 9,372 2,466 673 566
      Chemical engineering 6,407 3,914 0 1,884 519 48 42
      Civil engineering 36,974 16,742 6,936 9,145 1,038 2,332 781
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering 61,525 35,043 2,335 16,035 5,813 1,767 532
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering 35,838 17,067 1,497 9,761 5,488 645 1,380
      Mechanical engineering 25,011 12,892 102 6,009 4,611 758 639
      Metallurgical and materials engineering 11,824 7,248 39 3,646 314 425 152
      Engineering nec 27,141 5,827 2,484 15,137 3,107 1 585
    Non-S&E 24,597 14,747 96 8,222 1,123 116 293
      Business management and business administration 4,983 223 0 4,579 1 0 180
      Communication and communications technologies 103 86 7 10 0 0 0
      Education 2,639 1,443 40 1,007 0 80 69
      Humanities 306 73 0 185 0 14 34
      Law 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Social work 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      Visual and performing arts 743 0 0 742 0 0 1
      Non-S&E nec 15,823 12,922 49 1,699 1,122 22 9

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 282,152 240,305 216,733 210,792 209,607 199,897 186,054 195,859 196,096 204,308
  DOD 71,734 56,414 47,432 49,263 54,557 48,716 42,806 42,177 41,359 42,559
  DOE 19,297 21,423 24,072 24,180 16,887 14,322 11,918 13,976 12,857 14,538
  HHS 61,996 48,876 40,865 38,223 37,013 37,715 35,745 36,715 36,079 39,069
  NASA 8,028 5,171 4,581 4,951 4,914 6,100 4,647 3,860 3,386 2,815
  NSF 58,394 51,087 48,740 46,235 43,603 41,651 39,598 37,153 32,749 38,002
  USDA 26,449 22,949 20,941 18,511 19,204 18,806 19,374 23,430 21,408 18,580
  Other 36,254 34,385 30,102 29,429 33,429 32,587 31,966 38,548 48,258 48,745

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 8,395 1,156 7,239 .
2018 8,251 1,103 7,148 .
2017 8,116 1,061 7,055 .

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

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

Science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field: 2023–14
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space 2023 2021 2019 2017 2015
  All research space 1,819 1,760 1,658 1,591 1,518
    Agricultural sciences 638 455 438 385 343
    Biological and biomedical sciences 202 220 227 242 215
    Computer and information sciences 24 21 19 18 18
    Engineering 490 563 548 523 507
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 22 22 21 23 20
    Health sciences 143 307 196 196 215
    Mathematics and statistics 1 1 1 1 1
    Natural resources and conservation 70 71 73 74 63
    Physical sciences 68 68 68 75 66
    Psychology 15 14 13 14 14
    Social sciences 1 2 1 1 1
    Other 143 15 53 39 55

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 186,550 152,320 95,773 113,568 4,875
    Agricultural sciences 0 0 77,451 18,785 4,875
    Biological and biomedical sciences 0 0 0 55,254 0
    Computer and information sciences 0 86,164 0 9,632 0
    Engineering 186,550 66,156 18,322 18,977 0
    Health sciences 0 0 0 10,920 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 20,872 7,297 11,750 8,391 10,436
    Agricultural sciences 2,732 2,698 1,340 433 0
    Biological and biomedical sciences 854 2,594 0 1,253 4,204
    Computer and information sciences 300 0 0 881 3,337
    Engineering 2,285 1,291 6,232 976 1,200
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 0 0 0
    Health sciences 0 273 3,193 349 1,695
    Mathematics and statistics 0 441 0 0 0
    Natural resources and conservation 14,700 0 0 1,900 0
    Physical sciences 0 0 985 2,600 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

Open printer friendly view

Back to Top of page.