The University of Arizona has jumped into the top 20 among all U.S. public research institutions with more than $687 million in total research activity in fiscal year 2018, according to data released Wednesday by the National Science Foundation.
The NSF's Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey ranks more than 900 colleges and universities based on their research and development expenditures. It is viewed as the primary source of information on R&D expenditures at U.S. colleges and universities.
The university saw an increase of more than $55 million over its total in FY 2017, resulting in a three-spot increase in the NSF's rankings – No. 20 among all public institutions and No. 35 overall, which puts the 
University of Arizona in the top 4 percent of all U.S. universities, both public and private. The university also retained its No. 1 ranking in astronomy and astrophysics expenditures.
"The research enterprise at the University of Arizona has life-improving results on a global scale," said UArizona President Robert C. Robbins, MD. "From exploring the deepest corners of our solar system to solving the issues we face on Earth, University of Arizona students and faculty are at the forefront of some truly groundbreaking discoveries."
EXTRA INFO: Health Sciences Move Up, Too!
In health sciences, the University of Arizona ranked 48th in the 2019 HERD survey with $618.2 million in federally financed research projects and $167.7 million in overall research dollars in 2018. The university fell between Oregon Health and Science University and State University of New York’s University of Buffalo. The figures point to a 21.5 percent increase in federal funding and a 14.6 percent increase in overall research funding for the UArizona Health Sciences. See related year-over-year changes since 2015 at this link.
The HERD survey also found that the University of Arizona is the second-largest research university nationwide among schools with high Hispanic enrollment. In 2018, the university earned the designation of Hispanic-Serving Institution from the U.S. Department of Education for its success in the enrollment of Hispanic students and in providing educational opportunities to them.
The University of Arizona also ranked No. 5 in the physical sciences, and No. 6 in NASA-funded activity.
"The University of Arizona has a long history of research quality and intensity, and these HERD survey results demonstrate our continued commitment to thought leadership and public impact research for Arizona," said Elizabeth Cantwell, PhD, senior vice president for research and innovation. "We focus on delivering the highest scholarship driven by our sense of wonder into the most meaningful societal and scientific grand challenges of today."
The University of Arizona earned top 50 placements in the following research categories:
- No. 23: Biological and biomedical sciences
- No. 29: Agricultural sciences, natural resources and conservation
- No. 29: Geosciences, atmospheric sciences and ocean sciences
- No. 35: Social sciences
- No. 36: Life sciences
- No. 40: Chemistry
- No. 47: Computer information sciences
- No. 48: Health sciences
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