research and development university ranking

2023 Best National Research Uni­ver­si­ties Top 50 Consensus Ranked National Research Uni­ver­si­ties for 2023

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Students who want a place at one of the best research universities are in the right place with College Consensus. With the Top Consensus Ranked National Research Universities for 2023, College Consensus brings prospective college students all they need to know about the best research universities nationwide. For future professionals, researchers, scientists, and scholars, College Consensus gathers data from national and international ranking agencies and verified student reviews for a complete view of their educational options.

How Did We Rank the Best Research Universities?

College Consensus rankings combine the results of the most respected college ranking systems with the averaged ratings of thousands of real student reviews from around the web to create a unique college meta-ranking. This approach offers a comprehensive and holistic perspective missing from other college rankings. Visit our about page for information on which rankings and review sites were included in this year’s consensus rankings.

The National Research Universities category is limited to schools with a national or international reach offering a broad range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral-level programs and a demonstrated commitment to research. These are schools designated Doctoral Universities by the Carnegie Classification.

The top research universities include some of the most prestigious and world-renowned names in higher education. We define national research universities as institutions that draw a student body from across the US and world, rather than a primarily regional population. These are universities that are classified by the Carnegie Foundation as research universities: R1 (Highest Research Activity), R2 (Higher Research Activity), or R3 (Moderate Research Activity). These designations include well over 300 universities nationwide. National research universities are dedicated not only to teaching, but on creating new knowledge through scientific, social scientific, and humanities research.

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What’s Different About the College Consensus Ranking?

The difference between College Consensus and other ranking sites is the difference between Rotten Tomatoes and your favorite movie reviewer. College Consensus is comprehensive. It’s not just one voice stating an opinion – it’s many, many voices, computed objectively and equally. Students who are actually there day to day have as much say about their college as experts who have never visited. And all of those perspectives mean an even playing field for every college and university, from the richest and best-known university to the smallest and hardest-working regional college.

This ranking focuses on the best nationally-recognized, major research universities. For students who are interested in the more traditional atmosphere of a small college, College Consensus has also ranked the Best National Liberal Arts Colleges . For the full, comprehensive ranking of all American colleges and universities, regardless of size or class, see the Best Colleges and Universities . For online schools, see the Best Online Colleges & Universities .

The Top Consensus Ranked National Research Universities are listed in descending order by their Consensus score. In the event of ties, schools are ranked in alphabetical order with the same rank number.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA

Stanford university stanford, ca, yale university new haven, ct, princeton university princeton, nj, harvard university cambridge, ma, vanderbilt university nashville, tn, cornell university ithaca, ny, dartmouth college hanover, nh, brown university providence, ri, university of notre dame notre dame, in, recommended online colleges & universities.

Visit sites to learn more about enrollment, tuition, and aid

Duke University Durham, NC

Rice university houston, tx, university of pennsylvania philadelphia, pa, university of california-los angeles los angeles, ca, california institute of technology pasadena, ca, columbia university in the city of new york new york, ny, washington university in st louis saint louis, mo, university of california-berkeley berkeley, ca, university of chicago chicago, il, university of michigan-ann arbor ann arbor, mi, northwestern university evanston, il, university of north carolina at chapel hill chapel hill, nc, university of southern california los angeles, ca, university of california-davis davis, ca, georgetown university washington, dc, university of virginia-main campus charlottesville, va, university of florida gainesville, fl, johns hopkins university baltimore, md, carnegie mellon university pittsburgh, pa, emory university atlanta, ga, university of wisconsin-madison madison, wi, university of illinois urbana-champaign champaign, il, georgia institute of technology-main campus atlanta, ga, university of california-san diego la jolla, ca, wake forest university winston-salem, nc, university of california-irvine irvine, ca, university of washington-seattle campus seattle, wa, university of california-santa barbara santa barbara, ca, boston college chestnut hill, ma, the university of texas at austin austin, tx, tufts university medford, ma, virginia polytechnic institute and state university blacksburg, va, lehigh university bethlehem, pa, new york university new york, ny, purdue university-main campus west lafayette, in, brigham young university provo, ut, william & mary williamsburg, va, texas a & m university-college station college station, tx, tulane university of louisiana new orleans, la, university of maryland-college park college park, md.

Why choose a research university? The best research universities offer opportunities for students to engage with faculty who are expanding their fields. Because professors are making new breakthroughs all the time, the learning environment is charged with excitement and students are able to learn about the latest studies before the results make it into their textbooks.

In addition, attending a research university often affords students opportunities they would not have at other schools. For example, they may have access to internships and have opportunities to do research with experts in their fields. They may even be invited to networking events with well-known professors, which could introduce them to valuable contacts and mentors.

What Makes a University a Research University?

So what is the difference between a research university vs. a teaching university? A focus on research is what makes a university a research university. The definition of a research university is a university that is committed to furthering our collective body of knowledge through research. 

Unlike teaching universities, which put teaching above everything else, research universities place a higher importance on research. This does not mean that the teaching at a research university is sub-par, however. At the best research universities, professors who are excited about their research often carry their enthusiasm into the classroom. They ignite passion in their students by sharing the results of their research with their classes.

If you’re looking for the best research universities, look through our research university rankings. We have carefully considered each school’s strengths and weaknesses and compiled a list of the top research universities in the country. Our research university rankings will help you choose the right university for you.

What is the Relationship Between Government Funding and Research Universities?

Government funding to universities is currently around 60% of the total R&D budget. This is down from a high of 73% in the late 1960s. However, in inflation-adjusted dollars, the amount has actually increased from around $8 billion per year to over $30 billion in spite of the lower percentage. This indicates that, adjusted for inflation, R&D budgets at research universities have grown over the past few decades.

Still, federal research grants to universities account for over half of the R&D funding for these schools. However, since federal funding covers less of the costs than it has in the past, schools have had to cover a larger share of their R&D budgets themselves. The percentage paid by the schools was less than 10% in the late 60s, but has risen to more than 20% today.

Since government funding to universities now covers a smaller percentage of research costs, many universities have responded by charging higher tuition and fees to make up the difference. However, public outcry against the burgeoning student debt crisis is forcing research universities to come up with an alternative way to make up for the reduced federal research grants to universities.

Many research universities have come up with new ways to gain additional funding or reduce expenses. These include partnerships with corporations and cooperative agreements with other schools that allow for expanded research efforts at all of the partner schools. Some schools are also engaging in their own development projects in order to raise additional funding.

Top Research Universities by Funding

Looking at the top research universities by funding, Johns Hopkins University receives more than twice as much federal funding as the #2 school. Around $2 billion of Johns Hopkins’s $2.3 billion R&D budget comes from the federal government. The school is followed by the University of Washington in 2nd place ($960.6 million), the University of Michigan in 3rd ($756.1 million), Stanford University in 4th ($679.6 million), and the University of California, San Diego in 5th ($643.0 million).

Are Research Universities Only for STEM Majors?

Although the best undergraduate research universities include the best science colleges in the world, research universities are not just for STEM majors . In fact, a recent study by Drexel University found that non-STEM students are just as likely to benefit from undergrad research experiences as STEM students.

The results were based on a survey of students who participated in the STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) program at Drexel University, one of the best science colleges in the world. Students indicated that they felt that the research benefited them in all areas of study, not just in STEM subject areas.

Some of the benefits students reported included improvements in their ability to work independently, feeling more comfortable discussing concepts or explaining projects to people outside of their fields, and gaining hands-on experience that they feel will help enhance their resumes.

At the best research universities, students have plenty of opportunities to participate in research. Regardless of major, being involved in a research project increases the chances that the student will remain in the program and eventually graduate. This effect is stronger when the research is conducted earlier in the program.

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World University Rankings 2023

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 include 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.

The table is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

This year’s ranking analysed over 121 million citations across more than 15.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 40,000 scholars globally. Overall, we collected over 680,000 datapoints from more than 2,500 institutions that submitted data.

Trusted worldwide by students, teachers, governments and industry experts, this year’s league table reveals how the global higher education landscape is shifting.

View the World University Rankings 2023 methodology

The University of Oxford tops the ranking for the seventh consecutive year. Harvard University remains in second place, but the University of Cambridge jumps from joint fifth last year to joint third.

The highest new entry is Italy’s Humanitas University, ranked in the 201-250 bracket.

The US is the most-represented country overall, with 177 institutions, and also the most represented in the top 200 (58).

Mainland China now has the fourth-highest number of institutions in the top 200 (11, compared with 10 last year), having overtaken Australia, which has dropped to fifth (joint with the Netherlands).

Five countries enter the ranking for the first time – all of them in Africa (Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Mauritius).

Harvard tops the teaching pillar, while Oxford leads the research pillar. Atop the international pillar is the Macau University of Science and Technology.

Overall, 1,799 universities are ranked. A further 546 universities are listed with “reporter” status, meaning that they provided data but did not meet our eligibility criteria to receive a rank, and agreed to be displayed as a reporter in the final table.

Read our analysis of the World University Rankings 2023 results

Download a copy of the World University Rankings 2023 digital report

To raise your university’s global profile with Times Higher Education , contact [email protected]

To unlock the data behind THE ’s rankings and access a range of analytical and benchmarking tools, click here

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Billion-dollar business: These are higher ed’s top 30 R&D performers

Innovation is alive and well on campus as R&D on campus is seeing increased investment by college and university leaders. Academic institutions spent $89.9 billion on research and development in math, science, engineering and other major fields during FY 2021, an increase of $3.4 billion from 2020, according to the latest data from the National Science Foundation.

Higher ed R&D got a jolt from the largest increase in federal R&D spending since 2011, when Great Recession relief funding came to the rescue. Campus leaders also reported increases in state and local contributions though nonprofit spending dropped, according to the latest Higher Education Research and Development Survey .

The top 30 R&D universities—more than half of which were public institutions—accounted for 42% of total R&D spending, a number that has remained consistent over the last several years. Twenty-four of those universities invested more than $1 billion and all but three reported R&D expenditures for their medical schools.

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Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center moved into the top 30 (see the full list below) after making changes to their accounting systems while the University of California, Berkeley fell off the list. More effective accounting also helped Ohio State University make a big jump—from No. 24 to No. 12.​

Institutions that dropped down the list include the University of Minnesota, which slipped two positions even though the flagship spent $31 million more on R&D in 2021. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology moved down six positions to No. 29 after a decrease in R&D spending.

The top 30 R&D performers:

• Johns Hopkins University: $3.2 billion
• University of California, San Francisco: $1.7 billion
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: $1.6 billion
• University of Pennsylvania: $1.6 billion
• University of Washington, Seattle: $1.5 billion
• University of California, Los Angeles: $1.45 billion
• University of California, San Diego: $1.42 billion
• University of Wisconsin-Madison: $1.4 billion
• Stanford University: $1.3 billion
• Harvard University: $1.25 billion
• Duke University: $1.2 billion
• Ohio State University: $1.2 billion
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: $1.2 billion
• Cornell University: $1.2 billion
• Yale University: $1.2 billion
• Texas A&M University, College Station and Health Science Center: $1.1 billion
• University of Maryland: $1.1 billion
• University of Pittsburgh: $1.1 billion
• University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center: $1.1 billion
• Georgia Institute of Technology: $1.1 billion
• Columbia University in the City of New York: $1.1 billion
• University of Minnesota, Twin Cities: $1.1 billion
• New York University: $1.1 billion
• Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center: $1.billion
• Washington University in St. Louis: $989 million
• Pennsylvania State University, University Park and Hershey Medical Center: $971 million
• University of Florida: $960 million
• University of Southern California: $956 million
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: $949 million
• Northwestern University: $913 million

Check the chart below for R&D spending in specific academic fields:

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Herd survey reveals top u.s. universities for r&d funding in engineering.

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American universities totaled more than $15 billion in R&D funding in engineering in FY 22, ... [+] according to the National Science Foundation.

Which American universities conduct the most sponsored research in engineering and its various subfields such as chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering? The definitive answer to that question can be found in the latest Higher Education Research and Development Survey .

Released by the National Science Foundation on Nov. 30, 2023, the HERD survey measures the dollars spent annually on research and development at American colleges and universities.

Total R&D expenditures at American colleges and universities topped $97 billion in Fiscal Year 2022, an increase of more than $8 billion over FY 2021, making it the largest annual growth on record as measured in current dollars.

Sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within NSF, the HERD survey collected R&D expenditures from 900 universities and colleges that grant a bachelor’s degree or higher and expended at least $150,000 in R&D in the prior fiscal year. For most of the surveyed institutions, FY 2022 covered the period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022.

The HERD survey summarizes the federal, state, industry and other funds a university spends on all its research activities, and it also breaks those expenditures out by ten major fields: computer and information sciences; engineering; geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences; life sciences; mathematics and statistics; physical sciences; psychology; social sciences; other sciences; and non-science and engineering (fields like education, law and the humanities).

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Of the total R&D expenditures in fiscal year 2022, $15.6 billion was in engineering, more than 60% of which came from federal agencies ($9.7 billion). The top 10 universities, ranked by total engineering R&D in FY22 were:

Johns Hopkins University: $1.3 billion

Georgia Institute of Technology: $936 million

SUNY, Polytechnic Institute: $412 million

Texas A&M University., College Station and Health Science Center: $403 million

Massachusetts Institute of Technology: $398 million

Pennsylvania State University, University Park and Hershey Medical Center: $386 million

University of Texas: $320 million

Purdue University: $312 million

University of Michigan: $299 million

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: $260 million

Rounding out the top 20 were:

Utah State University: $259 million

University of Illinois: $229 million

Wichita State University: $226 million

Ohio State University: $219 million

University of California, San Diego: $213 million

University of California, Berkeley: $207 million

University of Dayton: $196 million

Arizona State University: $193 million

University of Colorado: $192 million

University of Washington: $172 million

Engineering Subfields

Research expenditures topped $1 billion in six of the eight engineering subfields that are reported. Here are those subfields and the top five universities for R&D spending in each:

Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering: $3.437 billion

• Johns Hopkins University: $567 million
• Georgia Tech: $378 million
• Penn State University: $123 million
• University of California, Berkeley: $121 million
• University of California, San Diego: $102 million

Mechanical engineering: $2.063 billion

• Johns Hopkins University: $247 million
• Penn State University: $107 million
• Ohio State University: $84 million
• University of Texas: $70 million
• Georgia Tech: $66 million

Bioengineering and biomedical engineering: $1.726 billion

• MIT: $105 million
• Johns Hopkins University: $82 million
• University of California, San Diego: $66 million
• Harvard University: $63 million
• Georgia Tech: $49 million

Civil engineering: $1.647 billion

• Texas A & M University: $110 million
• University of North Dakota: $52 million
• University of California, Davis: $48 million
• University of Texas: $42 million
• University of Maryland: $39 million

Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering: $1.647 billion

• Georgia Tech: $282 million
• Utah State University: $230 million
• Wichita State University: $220 million
• Johns Hopkins University: $164 million
• University of Colorado: $115 million

Chemical engineering: $1.108 billion

• University of Delaware: $74 million
• University of Texas: $50 million
• MIT: $49 million
• North Carolina State University: $36 million
• Georgia Tech: $29 million

Unlike many university rankings, which tend to be dominated by private institutions, 17 of the 20 top universities in R&D engineering expenditures are public institutions (Johns Hopkins, MIT and the University of Dayton are private). The leading universities also show considerable geographic spread, an important distribution given the value of engineering discoveries, inventions and technology to a region’s economic development.

Six universities ranked in the top five in two or more of the engineering subfields with $1 billion or more in expenditures: Georgia Tech (5), Johns Hopkins (4), University of Texas (3), MIT (2), Penn State (2), and the University of California, San Diego (2). Eighteen different institutions (15 publics) were represented in the top five schools across those six subfields.

R&D expenditures are not the only way to measure the heft of an institution’s engineering contributions. Publications in refereed journals; the number of Ph.D.’s awarded and the number of post-docs trained; citation counts; scholarly honors and awards; patents, licenses and the commercialization of intellectual property; and the post-degree careers of both undergraduate and graduate students are other quantifiable outcomes that reflect a university’s cumulative impact.

However, research expenditures carry a particular significance in measuring an institution’s overall contributions to a field of study, particularly in STEM disciplines. Because federal dollars, which constitute the largest share of external funding, are awarded through a competitive process involving peer review, R&D expenditures indicate a professional consensus about the potential worth of proposed research and a judgment about what work is likely to advance basic understanding and useful applications.

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Ohio State jumps 12 spots in national ranking of research universities

University now ranks 7th among public institutions, 12th overall, in research expenditures.

The Ohio State University’s record-breaking research and development expenditures in 2021 helped boost the university’s standing among research universities nationwide, according to a new survey by the National Science Foundation.

Ohio State is ranked 12th among all universities in overall research expenditures in fiscal year (FY) 2021, an increase of 12 positions from a previous ranking of 24th in FY2020.  The university ranking also increased among public colleges and universities, moving up from 15th in 2020 to 7th in 2021. 

The NSF’s annual Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey rankings show that Ohio State’s research and creative expression community conducted $1.236 billion in research and development expenditures in FY2021.

“Ohio State has an ambitious goal to double research and development expenditures over the next decade to address societal challenges and improve people’s lives. Our advancing rankings among our peer institutions are proof of the hard work and relentless innovation on the part of our faculty, students and staff,” said Peter Mohler, vice president for research at Ohio State.

“The university has long been committed to groundbreaking, convergent research to advance robotics, artificial intelligence, biomedical sciences and other fields of research and creative expression,” said Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, Ohio State's vice president for knowledge enterprise. “While we are pleased to see this recognition, our effort to use science and discovery to solve large, complex societal challenges continues unabated.”

For industry-sponsored research, Ohio State is 6th among all universities, with $129.9 million in expenditures.

Overall, research and development spending by academic institutions in the United States totaled $89.9 billion in FY 2021, an increase of $3.4 billion (4%) from FY 2020.

The HERD survey is the primary source of information on research and development expenditures at U.S. colleges and universities. The survey collects information on research and development expenditures by field of research and source of funds and gathers information on types of research, expenses and personnel.

Year over year, federal research spending at Ohio State grew 7.7%, from $539 million in FY 2020 to $581 million in FY 2021. Ohio State’s institutional investment in research grew to $404 million in FY 2021, up from $152 million the previous fiscal year.

The university said that in addition to increased university investment in FY 2021, better alignment across colleges, units and affiliated entities allowed Ohio State to identify additional institutional investment that was previously not reported as part of the HERD survey.

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NYU Ranked #1 in NYC on National Science Foundation’s Research Ranking

With more than $1.27 billion in annual R&D spending, NYU jumped into the top 15 nationally, and is #7 among private universities

For the first time, NYU leads New York City universities in annual research spending according to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) annual HERD survey.  NYU had the greatest climb in rankings among the top 50 U.S. research universities, moving up eight spots to #15 nationally and #7 among private universities.

“NYU is really proud of this achievement. Our research enterprise—across all of our schools and locations—continues its strong trajectory of growth, and thanks to the ongoing efforts of many across NYU, has proven to be a powerhouse of innovation and impact,” said Stacie Grossman Bloom, NYU’s vice provost for research and chief research officer. 

Each year, the NSF conducts the Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey to measure annual research spending at U.S. colleges and universities, a key measure of a university’s research performance. The latest analysis, covering fiscal year 2022, shows NYU’s research expenditures increased by 20% to exceed $1.27 billion—a sharper increase than any other U.S. institution ranked in the top 50—and marks the second year in a row that NYU has exceeded $1 billion in research spending. 

Year-over-year growth was strong for both the Grossman School of Medicine / NYU Langone (18%) and the University (24%). Funding for geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences research at NYU grew 83% from last year. Expenditures in math and statistics, social sciences, and engineering also all grew by more than 20%. 

Examples of notable research projects that contributed to NYU’s growth in funding include:

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in partnership with the Army, awarded NYU Dentistry researchers $21 million for an evidence-based program addressing family maltreatment in the military.
• NYU created the Simons Center for Computational Physical Chemistry , a multidisciplinary hub for computational physical chemistry research, with $10 million from the Simons Foundation.
• NYU Abu Dhabi researchers are studying the use of biotechnology to address non-communicable diseases as part of the Abu Dhabi Precision Medicine Virtual Research Institute , funded by $5 million from ASPIRE UAE.
• NYU Tandon researchers received $5 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an artificial intelligence-driven augmented reality assistant .

“The NSF data demonstrate our researchers’ ability to attract significant funding from government, industry, and non-profit sources, and for that funding to spur breakthroughs in areas ranging from artificial intelligence and public health to applied social sciences, the arts, and humanities,” added Bloom. 

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Dec. 16, 2022

VCU breaks into top 50 of public research universities in the U.S.

New ranking from the national science foundation is achieved ahead of the schedule set by the university., share this story.

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By A.J. Hostetler Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health

Bolstered in part by the intense drive to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia Commonwealth University now ranks among the top 50 public research universities in the United States for the first time.

The  National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development fiscal year 2021 survey , released Thursday, ranks VCU as No. 50 in the country for fiscal research expenditures. Reaching this ranking comes well ahead of the timeline set out by VCU’s Quest 2028 goals. VCU ranked No. 58 last year.

“The importance of this achievement is more than just hitting a target number,” said Michael Rao, Ph.D., president of VCU and VCU Health System. “The NSF ranking shows where VCU stands related to our peers and more importantly, to how far and fast we’ve come. Our growth is one of the fastest among Virginia universities and demonstrates our impact and continued success and stature as a public research university committed to transformative innovation. We are in a unique position to influence the long-term economic, social and physical health and well-being of the communities we serve.”

“Our new ranking reflects the talented researchers and scholars who conduct collaborative, transformational and outstanding research, as well as the engagement of VCU’s dedicated staff, postdoctoral trainees and students who help facilitate VCU's increased national and global prominence,” said P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation at VCU.

The National Science Foundation calculates expenditures based on the portion of awarded research grants from various institutions, initiatives, endowments and foundations spent in a fiscal year. The remaining grant amounts carry over to future years. In this annual survey, the NSF defines research and development funding as expenditures from all funding types related to creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge, including STEM, health, arts and humanities faculty.

The NSF HERD ranking typically follows the announcement of total sponsored programs activity by 12 to 18 months. In FY21, VCU received a then-institutional record $363 million in sponsored program activity. Industry funding accounted for $56.6 million, including $32.5 million for clinical trials. Earlier this fall, VCU announced that the university had passed the $400 million mark for sponsored program activities, and  VCU’s finalized total for FY22  is now  $405.6 million , a nearly 50% increase from FY18.

“I expect our current upward trend in sponsored funding to continue,” Vice President Rao. “This means that more students and other trainees will have the opportunity to contribute to research led by our top faculty and outstanding scholars in various fields of arts, engineering, humanities, social sciences and medicine. They can in turn engage with the community and share newly acquired knowledge to promote innovation for the public good.”

VCU’s inventive faculty have a strong impact on Richmond, Virginia and beyond. In FY 2021, 27 patents were issued and 24 inventions were licensed or optioned, with seven start-ups launched, to advance transformative innovation and enhance the economic and social well-being of the region. One such licensed invention is a potentially life-saving therapeutic that could work against variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The new ranking recognizes the university’s investment in research aligned with the four initiatives that ground the  One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan , designed to capitalize on VCU strengths to shape the future through transformative innovation. For example, the university earlier this year encouraged team-based efforts among VCU’s diverse community of research leaders on its campuses, including VCUarts Qatar, providing nearly $4.4 million in new internal funding to 55 transdisciplinary projects to address societal grand challenges.

Based on federally financed research and development expenditures for FY21, several of VCU’s research areas featured in the top 100 of  the national rankings  among all public research universities and include:

• No. 1: Visual and performing arts
• No. 7: Non-science / engineering fields
• No. 13: Education
• No. 31: Social work
• No. 34: Health sciences
• No. 35: Psychology
• No. 37: Department of Health and Human Services
• No. 41: Biological and biomedical sciences
• No. 45: Life sciences
• No. 58: Expenditures in science and engineering fields
• No. 66: Computer and information sciences
• No. 82: Engineering 

In FY 2021, VCU received a $16 million gift to the Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research aimed at fostering collaborative science and health care research among VCU investigators and students. New federal funding that year also allowed VCU’s oyster shell recycling program to expand the community project into Northern Virginia, helping to replace oyster beds that play a critical role in sustaining the Chesapeake Bay.

VCU received several impactful federal grant renewals to address societal challenges. One such renewal funds the pursuit of developing a drug to target a specific, tumor-growing protein that causes pancreatic cancer. Another renewal continues VCU’s investigations into the genetic components of alcohol use disorder. VCU’s Medicines for All Institute is partnering with a Richmond-based firm, Phlow Corp., on a $354 million federal contract to secure the domestic pharmaceutical supply chain.

“The foundation of our strength is our collaborative community of field-shapers with diverse experiences among our three campuses, including VCUarts Qatar,” Vice President Rao said. “We see this in the effort going into the creation of the new Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health. Collaboration among disciplines is essential for achieving transformative innovation that impacts our community, nation and even our world.”

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UD ranks #26 in the nation

Article by UDaily Staff Photo by Evan Krape September 09, 2024

New Wall Street Journal rankings recognize UD’s high graduation rates and graduates’ salaries

The University of Delaware ranks #26 overall among 500 colleges and universities nationwide and #10 out of 235 in best public universities, according to The Wall Street Journal ’s 2025 WSJ/College Pulse best colleges in the U.S. rankings . The 2025 rankings reflect immense growth in UD’s accomplishments and reputation, rising from #86 overall in the nation in the 2024 survey . 

“This prominent recognition by The Wall Street Journal of the University of Delaware’s excellence is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our outstanding faculty and staff to prepare our students for success in their careers and throughout their lives,” said President Dennis Assanis. “Student success has always been — and will continue to be — a critical focus for the University.” 

According to The Wall Street Journal, the ranking “measures how well each college sets graduates up for financial success. We look at how much a school improves students’ chances of graduating and their future earnings, balancing these outcomes with feedback from students on college life.”

Over the past two years, the WSJ/College Pulse survey has increased its focus on the importance of student outcomes, primarily graduation rates and graduates’ salaries. The survey puts more emphasis on the value added by colleges and universities — not only students’ success but also the contribution the institution makes to that success.

Assanis noted that these metrics in the survey recognize the advancements that UD has made over the past several years. 

“I’m extraordinarily proud of the investments we have made in strengthening our faculty ranks, providing accessible pathways for students to achieve their educational goals, expanding our research enterprise to propel discovery and innovation in so many critical fields, and engaging with people here in Delaware and around the world to help solve our most complex challenges,” Assanis said. “We will continue to build on these achievements to make an even greater impact on the future.”

In the WSJ/College Pulse survey, UD also ranked #48 for best salaries and #86 for best value . 

UD boasts a 73% four-year graduation rate, which is among the best in the nation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS 2022-23 graduation rates survey. Additionally, 94% of students are employed or continuing their education within six months of their graduation from UD. 

In August, UD also made The Princeton Review ’s Best 390 Colleges list for 2025. UD was listed among the top colleges for Best Value and Best Mid-Atlantic colleges. UD’s excellent entrepreneurship programs were also recognized as #3 in the Mid-Atlantic and in the top 50 nationally.

About UD rankings

A complete listing of UD’s high-profile rankings is available on   UD’s Institutional Research and Effectiveness Rankings webpage . Please note that programs and specialties used in rankings might vary slightly from the names of degree programs used by UD.

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Comprehensive Analysis Reviews Methodologies of College Rankings

For Media Inquiries:

CHICAGO, September 9, 2024 — A new report examining methodologies used in various rankings of U.S. colleges and universities provides recommendations to support transparent evaluation of higher education institutions.

For decades, college rankings have sought to distill many abstract qualities into a digestible, numbered list. For this analysis, researchers reviewed the methodologies of five popular rankings to assess whether they accurately capture the qualities that form an overall “ranking.”  

The analysis was independently conducted by researchers from NORC at the University of Chicago, a 501c3 organization. Funding for the analysis was provided by the Vanderbilt University Office of the Chancellor. 

Key findings include:

• Methodologies are unclear, and the rationale for the relative weights of various attributes included in rankings is unknown. The concepts captured by the rankings also are not clear. Researchers say this makes it impossible to know exactly what is being measured and how much it should “count” in a final assessment. 
• Data quality is inconsistent, which hinders accurate assessments of various measures, even openly defined ones like graduation rates, student debt, and value-added earnings. 
• Some factors assessed are highly subjective but are critical components in the ranking process, which makes it difficult to establish definitive comparisons between institutions.

NORC’s analysis provides recommendations to significantly enhance clarity and transparency in the assessment and ranking process, such as convening higher education experts and other stakeholders to establish common standards, measures, and definitions for future college rankings.

NORC is an independent affiliate of the University of Chicago. The University of Chicago was not involved in this research at any stage, including commissioning the analysis, conducting the methodological review, synthesizing findings, or forming recommendations.

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About NORC at the University of Chicago

NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, we have studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, we partner with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.

www.norc.org

Contact:  For more information, please contact Eric Young at NORC at  young-eric@norc.org  or (703) 217-6814 (cell).

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SCIENCE & ENGINEERING INDICATORS

Research and development: u.s. trends and international comparisons.

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Cross-National Comparisons of R&D Performance

Two key indicators of national R&D performance are gross domestic expenditures on R&D (GERD)—a measure of a country’s total R&D investment—and national R&D intensity (GERD-to-GDP ratio)—a measure of a country’s investment in R&D relative to its overall economic activity. Together, they paint a broad picture of the current distribution of global R&D activities and the changing global R&D landscape as countries build capabilities in science and technology to improve their national economy and society.

This section compares R&D performance in the United States with other major R&D-performing nations globally, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom as well as key regional and geopolitical groupings, such as the European Union (EU-27) and East-Southeast and South Asia. It also presents cross-national analyses of trends in the composition of R&D by sector and by R&D type.

The national R&D expenditures presented in this report are from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Main Science and Technology Indicators and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics. The global R&D total is estimated by NCSES based on these sources and reflects R&D performance by 119 countries with reported annual R&D expenditures of $50 million or more. Main Science and Technology Indicators (September 2021 edition) and from R&D statistics for additional countries assembled by UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (March 2021 release). Presently, no database on R&D spending is comprehensive and consistent for all nations performing R&D. The OECD and UNESCO databases together provide R&D performance statistics for 163 countries, although the data are not current or complete for all. NCSES’s estimate of total global R&D reflects 119 countries, with reported annual R&D expenditures at or above \$50 million annually, which accounts for most of the current global R&D." data-bs-content="NCSES’s estimates for total global R&D are based on OECD’s Main Science and Technology Indicators (September 2021 edition) and from R&D statistics for additional countries assembled by UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (March 2021 release). Presently, no database on R&D spending is comprehensive and consistent for all nations performing R&D. The OECD and UNESCO databases together provide R&D performance statistics for 163 countries, although the data are not current or complete for all. NCSES’s estimate of total global R&D reflects 119 countries, with reported annual R&D expenditures at or above \$50 million annually, which accounts for most of the current global R&D." data-endnote-uuid="fdd3a1ee-d294-44c2-80ae-2e2eab5b201a">​ NCSES’s estimates for total global R&D are based on OECD’s Main Science and Technology Indicators (September 2021 edition) and from R&D statistics for additional countries assembled by UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (March 2021 release). Presently, no database on R&D spending is comprehensive and consistent for all nations performing R&D. The OECD and UNESCO databases together provide R&D performance statistics for 163 countries, although the data are not current or complete for all. NCSES’s estimate of total global R&D reflects 119 countries, with reported annual R&D expenditures at or above $50 million annually, which accounts for most of the current global R&D. These countries account for most of the current global R&D.

R&D expenditures for all countries are reported in current U.S. dollars (not adjusted for inflation) using purchasing power parities (PPPs). PPPs convert different currencies to a common currency while adjusting for differences in price levels between economies. The use of PPPs thus enables direct comparisons of R&D expenditures across countries. (See the Technical Appendix for more details.)

The regional analysis focuses on the regions with the largest R&D expenditures: North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (including the EU-27 member countries), and the portion of Asia that includes the regions of East-Southeast Asia (including China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan), and South Asia (including India and Pakistan). The groupings of countries into regions are from The World Factbook (CIA 2021) .

Patterns and Trends in Total National R&D

Country and regional patterns in total national r&d, 2019.

The estimated total for global R&D expenditures in 2019 is just over $2.4 trillion ( Figure RD-5 ). Global R&D performance is concentrated in the following geographic regions: East-Southeast and South Asia (combined R&D expenditures of $955.0 billion, or a 39% share of global R&D), North America ($706.1 billion, or 29%), and Europe ($529.6 billion, or 22%). All other regions combined account for 10% of global R&D performance.

Global R&D expenditures, by region: 2019

PPP = purchasing power parity.

Foreign currencies are converted to dollars through PPPs. Some country data are estimated. Countries are grouped according to the regions described by The World Factbook (CIA 2021).

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, estimates as of December 2021. Based on data from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, M ain Science and Technology Indicators (September 2021 edition), and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Institute for Statistics, Science Technology and Innovation data set (March 2021 release).

Science and Engineering Indicators

R&D performance is even more concentrated when comparing individual countries. The United States and China lead R&D performance globally, jointly accounting for half of global R&D ( Figure RD-6 ). The United States performed $668.4 billion (28%) of global R&D in 2019. trends section. For consistency with international standards, U.S. GERD includes federal capital funding for federal intramural and nonprofit R&D (typically totaling just over \$1 billion annually) in addition to what is reported as U.S. total R&D." data-bs-content="U.S. GERD in this section differs slightly from the U.S. total R&D reported in the U.S. trends section. For consistency with international standards, U.S. GERD includes federal capital funding for federal intramural and nonprofit R&D (typically totaling just over \$1 billion annually) in addition to what is reported as U.S. total R&D." data-endnote-uuid="7947339f-3ff7-40b9-b0a7-46abb64245f0">​ U.S. GERD in this section differs slightly from the U.S. total R&D reported in the U.S. trends section. For consistency with international standards, U.S. GERD includes federal capital funding for federal intramural and nonprofit R&D (typically totaling just over $1 billion annually) in addition to what is reported as U.S. total R&D. China followed, with $525.7 billion (22%) of global R&D.

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GERD and R&D intensity for world's top 17 R&D-performing countries and economies: 2019 or most recent data year

GERD = gross domestic expenditure on R&D; PPP = purchasing power parity.

Top 17 R&D-performing countries or economies (based on annual GERD). Data for most countries are from 2019; data for India, Brazil, and Australia are 1 year or 2 years earlier. National R&D intensity is the ratio of gross domestic expenditures on R&D to gross domestic product.

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Patterns of R&D Resources (2019–20 edition); Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Main Science and Technology Indicators (September 2021 edition); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Institute for Statistics, Science Technology and Innovation data set (March 2021 release).

The next tier of top R&D performers includes Japan (7% of global R&D), Germany (6%), and South Korea (4%), each with R&D expenditures above $100 billion. Together with the United States and China, these countries accounted for two-thirds of global R&D in 2019.

France, India, and the United Kingdom make up the third tier of top R&D performers, each with R&D expenditures above $50 billion, or around 2%–3% of the global R&D total. The fourth tier includes Russia, Taiwan, Italy, and Brazil, each with R&D expenditures from $36 billion to $45 billion, or 1.5%–2.0% of the global R&D total. Canada, Spain, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Australia follow, with R&D expenditures between $22 billion and $30 billion, or about 1% of the global R&D total each.

These top 17 R&D-performing countries collectively performed 87% of the global R&D in 2019 ( Figure RD-6 ). Many other countries also perform R&D but do so at a comparatively much smaller scale ( Table RD-5 ).

International comparisons of gross domestic expenditures on R&D and R&D share of gross domestic product, by region, country, or economy: 2019 or most recent year

GDP = gross domestic product; GERD = gross domestic expenditure on R&D; G20 = Group of Twenty; OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; PPP = purchasing power parity.

a Data for U.S. GERD differ slightly from the U.S. total R&D data tabulated earlier in this report. For better consistency with international standards, U.S. GERD includes federal capital funding for federal intramural and nonprofit R&D, in addition to what is reported as U.S. total R&D.

b Data for the European Union (EU) include the 27 EU member countries.

Year of data is listed in parentheses. Foreign currencies are converted to dollars through PPPs. Countries in this table have an annual GERD of $500 million or more. Countries are grouped according to the regions described by The World Factbook (CIA 2021). Data for Israel are civilian R&D only. See sources below for GERD statistics on additional countries.

Trends in Total National R&D

Total global R&D expenditures continue to rise substantially as countries intensify their R&D efforts. Global R&D expenditures increased more than threefold from 2000 ($725.0 billion) to 2019 ($2.4 trillion) ( Figure RD-7 ). The annual increase in global total R&D averaged 6.9% over the 2000–10 period and 6.2% for 2010–19.

Global R&D expenditures, by region: 2000, 2010, and 2019

The global concentration of R&D performance continues to shift from North America and Europe to the East-Southeast and South Asia regions ( Figure RD-7 ). R&D performed in North America accounted for 40% of the global total R&D in 2000 but only 29% in 2019. Europe accounted for 27% of global R&D in 2000 but declined to 22% in 2019. In contrast, the East-Southeast and South Asia regions accounted for 25% of the global total R&D in 2000, and their global share rose to 39% in 2019.

China accounted for 29% ($492.8 billion) of the global increase in R&D since 2000 ( Figure RD-8 ). The United States accounted for 24% ($399.8 billion), and the EU-27 member countries accounted for 17% ($281.5 billion). The increases of several other major Asian R&D performers were also noticeable: South Korea and Japan jointly accounted for 9% of the increase ($158.3 billion).

Total R&D expenditures and contributions to the increase in worldwide R&D expenditures, by selected region, country, or economy: 2000 and 2019

EU = European Union; PPP = purchasing power parity.

Other East-Southeast and South Asia include Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The United States remains the leader among the world’s R&D-performing nations; its rate of increase in R&D expenditures has averaged 4.3% over the 2000–10 period and 5.6% in 2010–19 ( Figure RD-9 ; Table RD-6 ; Table SRD-1 ). R&D expenditures in China continue to increase at the world’s fastest pace. The rate of China’s increase in R&D performance has been remarkably high for many years, although it has slowed down in the last decade, averaging 10.6% annually over the 2010–19 period compared to 20.5% over the 2000–10 period.

Gross domestic expenditures on R&D, by selected region, country, or economy: 1990–2019

Data are for the top eight R&D-performing countries and the EU. Data are not available for all countries for all years. Data for U.S. gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) differ slightly from the U.S. total R&D data tabulated earlier in this report. For better consistency with international standards, U.S. GERD includes federal capital funding for federal intramural and nonprofit R&D in addition to what is reported as U.S. total R&D. Data for Japan from 1996 onward may not be consistent with earlier data because of changes in methodology. Data for the EU include the 27 EU member countries. See also Table SRD-1 .

Comparative growth rates for gross domestic expenditures on R&D and gross domestic product, top R&D-performing countries: 2000–10 and 2010–19

GDP = gross domestic product; GERD = gross domestic expenditure on R&D; PPP = purchasing power parity.

a Data for U.S. GERD differ slightly from the U.S. total R&D data tabulated earlier in this report. For better consistency with international standards, U.S. GERD includes federal capital funding for federal intramural and nonprofit R&D in addition to what is reported as U.S. total R&D.

b Most recent data for India are 2018. The listed growth rates for India for both GERD and GDP are 2010–18.

Table shows the top eight R&D-performing countries in 2019. The growth rates are calculated as compound average annual rates. Year of data is listed in parentheses. By way of comparison, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics estimates that the average annual pace of growth of the global total of R&D was 6.9% for 2000–10 and 6.2% for 2010–19.

The latest data show a more pronounced gap in R&D expenditures between the United States and China than previously measured. Indicators 2020 reported China’s R&D expenditures for 2017 at $496.0 billion, or 90% of the U.S. level of $549.0 billion (NSB Indicators 2020 : Figure 4-7 ). In comparison, current data place China’s level of annual total R&D expenditures in 2017 at $420.8 billion, or 76% of the U.S. level of $555.1 billion. This reset in China’s R&D expenditure levels stems entirely from the conversion of China’s R&D data to U.S. PPP dollars following the latest release of PPP data by the International Comparison Program (ICP) at the World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/icp ." data-bs-content="The International Comparison Program (ICP) is a global statistical initiative established to produce, among other measures, PPPs and internationally comparable price level indexes. It is managed by the World Bank with the support of the United Nations Statistical Commission. It is the largest data collection initiative for global price data. More information on the program is available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/icp ." data-endnote-uuid="b01ec8a6-9400-43c8-abcd-651056e91f80">​ The International Comparison Program (ICP) is a global statistical initiative established to produce, among other measures, PPPs and internationally comparable price level indexes. It is managed by the World Bank with the support of the United Nations Statistical Commission. It is the largest data collection initiative for global price data. More information on the program is available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/icp . This release included benchmark PPP data for the new reference year 2017, revised PPP data for reference year 2011, and annual PPPs for non-benchmark years (2012–16). https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/icp ." data-bs-content="The ICP 2017 results were released in May of 2020. As part of this release, the 2011 benchmark data were also revised to incorporate updated data on expenditures, regional PPPs, population, and market exchange rates. More information on the data, methodology, and ICP revision policy is available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/icp ." data-endnote-uuid="b4e146d1-a789-45e5-99fb-7c6bfbf44a34">​ The ICP 2017 results were released in May of 2020. As part of this release, the 2011 benchmark data were also revised to incorporate updated data on expenditures, regional PPPs, population, and market exchange rates. More information on the data, methodology, and ICP revision policy is available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/icp . According to OECD (2020), the revised PPPs for China imply a higher cost of performing R&D because China’s relative price of investment had been previously underestimated. In addition to the reset in China’s R&D expenditure levels, the U.S. R&D expenditure total for 2017 was also revised upward by several billions of dollars as a result of a number of revisions. Even so, China continues to move closer to the United States ( Figure RD-9 ). China’s total R&D expenditures in 2019 were 79% of the U.S. level.

Among other top R&D-performing Asian countries, the rise in R&D expenditures in South Korea has also been quite high, averaging 10.9% annually over 2000–10 and 7.8% for 2010–19 ( Figure RD-9 ; Table RD-6 ; Table SRD-1 ). India’s increase in R&D expenditures averaged 9.4% annually over 2000–10 and 4.4% for 2010–19. Japan’s corresponding increases of R&D have been considerably slower, at 3.6% and 2.4%, respectively.

Total R&D expenditures by the EU-27 nations have been increasing at an annual average rate of about 5.5% over both 2000–10 and 2010–19, with Germany at 4.9% and 6.1% and France at 4.3% and 4.1%, respectively ( Table SRD-1 ). Over the same periods, the R&D expenditures in the United Kingdom have been increasing at 4.1% and 4.7%, respectively.

Patterns and Trends in National R&D Intensity

Country patterns in national r&d intensity, 2019.

Despite ranking at the top of the R&D-performing countries by total R&D expenditures, the United States ranked ninth in national R&D intensity (the GERD-to-GDP ratio) among the economies tracked by OECD and UNESCO data ( Table RD-5 ). The United States is one of ten countries overall and one of five top R&D-performing countries with R&D intensities above 3.0% ( Figure RD-6 ; Table RD-5 ). Other top R&D-performing countries with R&D intensities above 3.0% are Japan (3.20%), Germany (3.19%), and South Korea (4.64%).

Israel and South Korea have the highest R&D intensities across all countries. Israel continues to hold the top spot, with an R&D intensity of 4.93% ( Table RD-5 ). Israel, however, ranks 19th by total R&D expenditures. South Korea (4.64%) is second and the only country among the largest R&D-performing countries with an R&D intensity above 4.50%. Taiwan comes in third (3.49%), followed by Sweden (3.39%). Other countries with comparatively high R&D intensity ratios are Austria (3.13%) and Switzerland (3.18%). The R&D intensities of the remaining top R&D performers are as follows: China at 2.23%, France at 2.20%, the United Kingdom at 1.76%, and India at 0.65%.

Trends in National R&D Intensity

R&D intensity increased across several of the top R&D-performing countries in 2019 ( Figure RD-10 ). U.S. R&D intensity has ranged from 2.5% to under 3.0% since 2000 and, for the first time, reached 3.13% in 2019 ( Figure RD-10 ; Table SRD-1 ). The U.S. rank in this indicator has changed over time, fluctuating between 8th and 11th (NSB Indicators 2012 , Indicators 2014 , Indicators 2016 , Indicators 2018 , Indicators 2020 ). Despite historically high U.S. R&D intensity levels, these rank changes are not surprising as other countries have been expanding their R&D efforts.

Gross domestic expenditures on R&D as a share of gross domestic product, by selected region, country, or economy: 1990–2019

EU = European Union.

Data are for the top eight R&D-performing countries and the EU. Data are not available for all countries for all years. Data for U.S. gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) differ slightly from the U.S. total R&D data tabulated earlier in this report. For better consistency with international standards, U.S. GERD includes federal capital funding for federal intramural and nonprofit R&D in addition to what is reported as U.S. total R&D. Data for Japan in 1996 onward may not be consistent with earlier data because of changes in methodology. Data for the EU include the 27 EU member countries. See also Table SRD-1 .

R&D intensity has been rising gradually for European countries. For EU-27 member countries, R&D intensity has increased from about 1.68% in 2000 to 2.12% in 2019 ( Figure RD-10 ; Table SRD-1 ). For the largest R&D performers among the EU-27 countries, Germany’s ratio has risen the most over this period, from 2.41% to 3.19%, while France’s ratio has had modest increases, from 2.09% to 2.20%. The R&D intensity for the United Kingdom has also increased modestly from 1.62% to 1.76%.

Among top R&D-performing Asian countries, China and South Korea have had the largest increases in R&D intensity in the last two decades ( Figure RD-10 ; Table SRD-1 ). China’s ratio more than doubled, from 0.89% in 2000 to 2.23% in 2019. South Korea’s ratio has also more than doubled from 2.13% in 2000 to 4.64% in 2019; its growth in R&D intensity has been particularly rapid since the late 1990s ( Figure RD-10 ). Japan’s R&D intensity has fluctuated around 3.10%–3.30% for most of the last decade, having increased from 2.86% in 2000.

Comparisons of the Composition of Country R&D Performance and Funding

Trends in composition, by sector.

The business sector dominates R&D performance in seven of the eight top R&D-performing nations ( Table RD-7 ). This sector accounted for three-fourths of R&D performance in the United States (75%) in 2019. Business shares were even larger among the leading Asian R&D performers: China (76%), Japan (79%), and South Korea (80%). The European countries had comparatively lower shares, with Germany at 69%, France at 66%, and the United Kingdom at 67%. India’s business share was the lowest at 37%.

Gross expenditures on R&D for selected countries, by performing sector and source of funds: 2019 or most recent year

na = not applicable; country does not recognize the category or does not report the data item. NA = not available.

a The private nonprofit sector comprises all nonprofit institutions serving households except those classified as part of the higher education sector.

b Data for U.S. GERD differ slightly from the U.S. total R&D data tabulated earlier in this report. For better consistency with international standards, U.S. GERD includes federal capital funding for federal intramural and nonprofit R&D in addition to what is reported as U.S. total R&D. The data for U.S. funding from the rest of the world include funding for business R&D and academic R&D.

c For India, the most recent year of available data on GERD and the distribution of R&D performance is 2018, whereas the most recent year available for data on distribution of R&D expenditures by source of funds is 2017.

d For the United Kingdom, the most recent year available for data on distribution of R&D expenditures by source of funds is 2018.

Table shows the top eight R&D-performing countries in 2019. Year of data is listed in parentheses. Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding. Germany's expenditures of the nonprofit sector are included in data for other performing sectors. Classification of sectors follows Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development surveys.

The government sector performed more than half of India’s R&D (56%) ( Table RD-7 ). Government-performed R&D ranged from about 7% to 15% for the remaining top eight R&D-performing countries, with China (15%) and Germany (14%) on the higher end and the United Kingdom (7%) and Japan (8%) on the lower end. The higher education sector accounted for 20% or more of R&D performance in France (20%) and the United Kingdom (23%) and for 7%–17% of R&D performance in the remaining top eight countries. India (7%), China (8%), and South Korea (8%) had the lowest shares of R&D performance by this sector.

The business sector is also the predominant source of R&D funding for most top R&D-performing countries; government is the second-largest source ( Table RD-7 ). The business sector accounted for 55%–79% of R&D funding, while the government sector accounted for 15%–33% among the top eight countries, except for India. The government sector is the largest source of R&D funding in India (63%), with the rest (37%) funded by the business sector.

Funding from r est of world refers to funding from businesses, universities, governments, nonprofits, and other organizations located outside of the country. The United Kingdom is the most notable in this category, with about 14% of R&D funding in 2018 coming from foreign sources. Foreign funding was also sizable in France, Germany, and the United States (around 7%–8%), while the rest of the top R&D-performing countries had much lower shares for this funding source.

The distributions of R&D performance and funding have been relatively stable for these countries since 2011 (NSB Indicators 2012 , Indicators 2014 , Indicators 2016 , Indicators 2018 , Indicators 2020 ).

Trends in Composition, by Type of R&D

Cross-national comparisons of R&D levels and shares of national R&D performance devoted to basic research, applied research, and experimental development provide useful insights into how countries prioritize their allocation of resources for R&D.

France leads the top eight R&D-performing countries in the share of basic research (23%), although France’s R&D expenditures spent on basic research ($15.6 billion) are relatively low compared to other top R&D-performing countries ( Table RD-8 ). In contrast, China’s basic research share is the lowest among the top R&D-performing countries (6%), but the R&D expenditures for basic research in China ($31.7 billion) are higher than in France. By volume of spending, the United States leads performance of global basic research with $102.9 billion in R&D expenditures in 2019, which accounts for 15% of its total R&D expenditures.

Gross expenditures on R&D for selected countries, by type of R&D: 2019 or most recent year

NA = not available.

GERD = gross domestic expenditure on R&D; nec = not elsewhere classified; PPP = purchasing power parity.

a Expressed as a share of GDP, the country expenditures for basic research are United States (0.49%), China (0.12%), Japan (0.41%), Germany (NA), South Korea (0.64%), France (0.50%), India (0.09%), and United Kingdom (0.32%).

b This category includes capital expenditures nec. Capital expenditures are the annual gross amount paid for the acquisition of fixed assets such as R&D plant and equipment.

c Data for U.S. GERD differ slightly from the U.S. total R&D data tabulated earlier in this report. For better consistency with international standards, U.S. GERD includes federal capital funding for federal intramural and nonprofit R&D in addition to what is reported as U.S. total R&D.

Table shows the top eight R&D-performing countries in 2019. Year of data is listed in parentheses. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Data are not presently available for Germany.

The United Kingdom and France have the largest shares of R&D expenditures devoted to applied research among these countries (each above 40%). Shares for the remaining countries range from 11% (China) to 22%–23% (India and South Korea). By volume of spending, the United States also dominates this category with $132.0 billion of applied research spending in 2019, which accounts for 20% of its total R&D expenditures. The overall volume of spending by the second- and third-ranked countries in this category are comparatively far behind: China, at $59.3 billion, and Japan, at $32.2 billion.

China has the highest share of experimental development by far—83% of its R&D total in 2019, or $434.7 billion of spending in this category. For the United States, the experimental development share was 65%, although the amount of spending was virtually identical to China ($432.0 billion). Other countries with comparatively high shares for experimental development are Japan (65%) and South Korea (63%); the dollar amounts of these countries’ performances, however, were well below the levels for China and the United States.

The R&D expenditure shares by type of R&D reported by the countries have been largely stable over the past several years (NSB Indicators 2012 , Indicators 2014 , Indicators 2016 , Indicators 2018 , Indicators 2020 ).

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U of T ranked fourth in the world in research-focused NTU World University Rankings 

The national taiwan university ranking evaluates universities based on research output and impact.

The University of Toronto climbed one spot to fourth place globally in the latest National Taiwan University ranking, which evaluates universities based on their research output and impact.

U of T’s strong performance in the 2024 edition of the  NTU World University Rankings puts it in elite global company. The four other schools in the top five were Harvard University, Stanford University, University College London and the University of Oxford. 

Second globally among public universities

Among public universities, U of T placed second globally and first in North America. 

“This ranking is yet another reminder that the research produced at the University of Toronto is truly world-class,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.

“It also reflects our reputation for research excellence and impact across a broad range of fields – from medicine to the social sciences.”

This ranking is yet another reminder that the research produced at the University of Toronto is truly world-class.

The NTU ranking analyzes scholarly papers and research citations, scoring each institution based on productivity, impact and excellence. The top 1,000 universities were ranked this year with more than 1,500 considered.

In addition to the overall ranking, NTU ranked universities by six broad fields and 27 specific subjects. 

U of T ranked among the top 50 institutions worldwide – and first in Canada – in four of the six broad fields. Notably, that includes a rank of second globally in medicine, the same as last year, and third globally in social sciences – up three spots.

Among top 10 globally in five subject categories

U of T also ranked among the top 10 universities globally in five subject categories: clinical medicine (second), neurosciences and behaviour (third), social sciences (third), psychiatry and psychology (fourth) and biology and biochemistry (sixth). 

Two other Canadian universities made the top 100 in the main NTU ranking: University of British Columbia (37th) and McGill University (57th).       

Overall, U of T continues to be the highest-ranked Canadian university and one of the top-ranked public universities in the five most closely watched international rankings:  Times Higher Education ’s World University Rankings, QS World University Rankings, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy’s Academic Ranking of World Universities,  U.S. News & World Report ’s Best Global Universities and National Taiwan University World University Rankings.

By Mariam Matti