Research Rankings

Texas A&M University is one of the world’s leading research institutions, dedicated to advancing knowledge and serving the public good. As a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant university, Texas A&M engages in research that spans multiple disciplines and addresses global challenges.

National Science Foundation Rankings

Texas A&M University is one of the world’s leading research institutions, dedicated to advancing knowledge and serving the public good. As a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant university, Texas A&M conducts research that spans multiple disciplines and addresses global challenges. According to the National Science Foundation’s most recent Higher Education Research and Development Survey, Texas A&M ranks 13th nationally among public universities based on research expenditures of more than $1.394 billion in fiscal year 2024, a more than 9% increase from fiscal year 2023’s total.

Graph showing breakdown of research expenditures.

About Our Rankings

The NSF survey puts A&M 22nd overall among the 681 research universities (private and public) that were ranked. The university also ranked fourth among all surveyed universities for non-medical school research expenditures with $1.340 billion.

Annual total research and development expenditures include figures from Texas A&M’s flagship university in College Station; its campus in Galveston; and agencies of The Texas A&M University System. NSF released the report on Dec. 23.

Other Texas universities ranked in the top 50 were the University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 23rd with $1.36 billion; the University of Texas at Austin, 31st with $1.14 billion; the Baylor College of Medicine, 42nd with $881 million; and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 43rd with $869 million.

The NSF HERD survey is an annual census of all known eligible U.S. institutions that expended at least $150,000 in separately accounted for research and development in the fiscal year. The latest survey found that U.S. universities recorded a total of $117.6 billion in research and development expenditures in fiscal 2024, an increase of 8.1% from fiscal year 2023’s total of $108.7 billion.

Texas A&M ranked among the top 25 universities — public and private — in the nation. Leading the NSF’s rankings were Johns Hopkins University, with $4.13 billion in expenditures; the University of Pennsylvania, with $2.17 billion; and the University of California, San Francisco, with $2.13 billion.

Texas A&M was also the first research institution in Texas to surpass $1 billion in annual research expenditures, a milestone achieved in fiscal year 2021.

Rankings by Academic Discipline and Federal Agency

According to the HERD survey, Texas A&M is ranked first nationally in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, reporting $298.7 million in total research and development expenditures. The university also holds top 25 national rankings in several other fields:

  • Engineering: third ($464.8 million).
  • Geosciences, Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences: sixth ($122.8 million).
  • Mathematics and Statistics: 20th ($10.8 million).
  • Computer and Information Sciences: 21st ($35.5 million).
  • Chemistry: 21st ($30.4 million).
  • Social Sciences: 24th ($38.3 million).
  • Physical Sciences: 25th ($72.5 million).

The survey also categorizes expenditures by the federal agency providing the funding. Texas A&M’s rankings there include:

  • Department of Agriculture: second ($67.9 million).
  • National Science Foundation: fifth ($144.7 million).
  • Department of Energy: 11th ($50.6 million).
  • Department of Defense: 16th ($99.8 million).
  • All other federal agencies: fifth ($81.5 million).