UC San Diego Ranks 6th
in Nation for R&D Dollars

October 26, 2009

By Paul K. Mueller

UC San Diego

The University of California, San Diego again ranks sixth among top U.S. universities in federal research and development expenditures for fiscal-year 2008, with $491 million in federal R&D money and $842 million in total R&D expenditures. The numbers were announced by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Arthur B. Ellis, vice chancellor for research, noted that UC San Diego has consistently ranked among the top 10 research universities in R&D obligations and expenditures for more than a decade.  The NSF research rankings show useful trends over time, he said, and the extramural funding is a key leading indicator of the impact of the campus’ research enterprise.

“UC San Diego continues to attract these investments in R&D through the outstanding and tireless efforts of our faculty and researchers,” Ellis said. “Our campus is also among the national leaders in the life sciences, which account for more than half of all R&D at universities and colleges.”

Johns Hopkins University led the survey, followed by UC San Francisco, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the University of Michigan (all campuses combined), UCLA, UC San Diego, Duke University, the University of Washington, the University of Pennsylvania, and Ohio State University. UC Davis and UC Berkeley ranked 16th and 18th, respectively.

UC San Diego’s faculty and alumni have created nearly 200 start-up companies, including many regional biotech companies.  According to a recent study of the university’s economic impact, UC San Diego contributes more than $7.2 billion in direct and indirect spending and personal income each year to the California economy, generating more than 39,000 jobs.

Media Contact: Paul K. Mueller, 858-534-8564 or pkmueller@ucsd.edu