Contact: Jim Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State continues to rank among the nation's top research universities, according to new data from the National Science Foundation.
The recently released NSF Higher Education Research and Development Survey for Fiscal Year 2011 places Mississippi State at 91st overall among public and private institutions based on $226.1 million in total research and development expenditures.
Nationally, MSU is ranked 53rd in non-medical school R&D expenditures.
The land-grant institution remains a top 10 school in the U.S. for agricultural sciences, as well as a top 50 university in engineering. In computer science, MSU climbed from 39th to 37th. It also achieved top 30 status in social sciences, and rose from 82nd to 75th in environmental science, according to the NSF.
"These significant totals are the result of very hard work by our faculty, and they represent the commitment we have as a university to providing innovative solutions, creative works and new scholarship that address pressing local, state, regional, national and global needs," said David Shaw, the university's vice president for research and economic development.
At 48 percent, MSU's research expenditures accounted for nearly half of the total for Mississippi institutions, the survey found.
Additionally, the university had more than 4,000 research personnel -- accounting for 60 percent of the total for the state.
"We have an innovation ecosystem in place on campus that is leveraging our research to grow capacity and the economy by creating jobs, enhancing quality of life and providing new opportunities in communities around our state," Shaw said.
The full NSF report is online at www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf13325/pdf/nsf13325.pdf.
In addition to its NSF status, Mississippi State is designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a "Very High Research Activity University," which represents the highest level of research activity for doctorate-granting universities in the country. MSU is the only school in the state with the distinction, and one of only 108 nationwide.
Visit www.research.msstate.edu to learn more about Mississippi State's research and economic development activities.