The University of California leads the nation in academic research, new ranking finds

The University of California sets the pace for university-led research, a new Washington Monthly ranking finds, with UC San Diego and UC Berkeley its top two public institutions and eight campuses in its top 60 among public and private universities.

The "Best Colleges for Research" ranking, released August 24, focuses on "a university's research prowess - its record of producing the new scholarship and scholars that drive economic growth and human flourishing," in the words of editor Nate Weisberg. It rates 139 institutions that each spend at least $100 million annually on research and development across equally weighted indicators including research spending, science and engineering Ph.D.s awarded, faculty receiving national awards, and faculty elected to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Washington Monthly "Best Colleges for Research" rankings by campus

The ranking is intended to be an "MRI" of the decentralized, competitive, and entrepreneurial system founded in the wake of World War II, when the United States' became the global leader in research and development, fueled by the talent of scientists like UC Berkeley lecturer Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer and dozens of other European scientists found safe harbor in the U.S. during the war, and devoted themselves to providing a competitive edge for the Allied forces from inside nationally-funded labs.

Since that time, nearly every major scientific and technological breakthrough of the modern era has spun out of federally-funded, university research. In the case of the University of California and its faculty and alumni, the list of breakthroughs is long and truly world-changing: the internet, microchips, biotechnology, and the protocol underpinning successful organ transplants.

But the ranking comes with a warning: "This MRI was taken when the patient was at peak health," Weisberg writes. The data, from 2023, predates the threats that universities now face, with federal research grants frozen or cut, and lawmakers considering the administration's proposed cuts in research funding for the federal science agencies. Potential ramifications are broad and will ripple into the private sector.

Public universities across the nation "outperform Ivy League schools in awarding the STEM Ph.D.s that keep the economy humming and America competitive in the world," writes Weisberg by way of introducing a separate ranking of the top 30 institutions awarding science and engineering Ph.D.s. The ranking includes five UC campuses, demonstrating the outsized impact of UC in cultivating a workforce that powers new discoveries and develops new industries across the country.

Washington Monthly Top 30 Schools by Science and Engineering Ph.D.s Awarded by campus

Washington Monthly's rankings echo other highly-regarded measures of global research influence, including the Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list, which found the University of California to be North America's leader in scientific research, with 289 faculty and scientists from across all 10 campuses named as among the most influential in their fields. Many projects spanning those fields, from farming to health care to artificial intelligence, are now at risk.

Read about 5 critical research projects currently hanging in the balance at the link and find out how you can Speak Up for Science below.

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