Latest NSF survey ranks Texas A&M at 16th among nation’s research institutions
Texas A&M University maintained its 16th overall ranking based on total annual research and development expenditures in the latest survey from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which was released today. The NSF noted in its report that this year’s survey reflects “remarkable stability in the year-to-year composition of the largest university R&D performers.”
The NSF’s latest Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey ranked Texas A&M on fiscal year 2016 total expenditures of $892.7 million. Texas A&M also ranked 16th in fiscal year 2015 with research and development expenditures of $866.7 million.
Among other Texas-based universities in the top 50, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center remained at 19th on the latest survey with $852 million; The University of Texas at Austin fell from 30th to 34th with $622 million; and the Baylor College of Medicine came in at 39th with $572 million. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center fell to 51st with $442.6 million.
Texas A&M also remained ninth overall among the top 10 public research universities cited by the survey.
“I congratulate our hard-working faculty and staff for their life-changing research that makes Texas A&M the top research university in the Southwest,” said Chancellor John Sharp of The Texas A&M University System. “Our research efforts help Texans live better lives and grow our state economy.”
Texas A&M President Michael K. Young said, “We have seen continued growth in research funding over the years. Funding agencies, like the NSF, trust that their investment dollars are being put to work effectively at Texas A&M. We are closing in on $1 billion in research expenditures and our students, faculty and staff are responsible for that trajectory.”
“The scope, depth and diversity of our outstanding research is aimed at solving the world’s most daunting challenges. Thanks to our renowned faculty-researchers’ efforts and innovations, this pioneering research impacts our students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and provides them with numerous opportunities to engage in transformational learning experiences that expand their knowledge and skills sets while enhancing the value of their academic degrees,” said Texas A&M’s Interim Vice President for Research Karen Butler-Purry.
The NSF survey provides a census of 902 degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States, with a minimum budget of at least $150,000 in research and development expenditures. The latest survey found that U.S. universities recorded $72.0 billion in research and development expenditures in fiscal 2016, an increase of 4.8 percent from fiscal year 2015’s total of $68.6 billion.
Two of the nation’s top three research institutions retained their rankings from the previous NSF survey. Johns Hopkins University led the survey with $2.431 billion in expenditures, followed by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor with $1.436 billion. The University of Pennsylvania jumped from 17th to third with $1.296 billion. “Their 50 percent increase in one year was also due to new reporting of institution funding of R&D within their medical school,” the NSF said.
Link to Higher Education R&D Expenditures, ranked by all R&D expenditures, by R&D field: FY 2016: https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/herd/2016/.
