Introduction to the Tables for 
The Top 200 Institutions

Click here for the complete list of tables 
(available in Microsoft Excel format).

The following tables list the top 200 universities and colleges on each of the nine performance measures, along with National Merit and Achievement Scholars. (The Source Notes section provides detailed information on each of the ten data elements.) Unlike the previous tables, this section includes data for all academic institutions regardless of their federal research activity level.

TheCenter provides each institution’s rank nationally among all universities as well as its rank by institutional control (i.e., rank among private or public peers). In cases where several institutions tie for last place, we use a different cutoff point. For National Academy members, we list all institutions with at least one National Academy member among their faculty. In the case of faculty awards, we limit institutions to those with at least three faculty awards. Tables in this section include:

  • Total Research Expenditures: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
  • Federal Research Expenditures: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
  • Endowment Assets: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
  • Annual Giving: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
  • National Academy Membership: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
  • Faculty Awards: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
  • Doctorates Awarded: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
  • >Postdoctoral Appointees: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
  • National Merit and Achievement Scholars: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

Data found in these tables may not always match the figures published by the original source. TheCenter makes adjustments, when necessary, to ensure that the data reflect the activity at a single campus rather than that of a multiple campus institution or state university system. When data are missing from the original source, TheCenter may substitute another figure if available. A full discussion of this subject, and the various adjustments or substitutions made to the original data, is in the Data Notes section of this report.

Every effort is made to find actual or estimated data for any institution with more than $20 million in federal research that did not report to the original data source. For institutions below the $20 million cutoff, we typically do not use a substitute value.

In this section, prior year tables are not updated to reflect changes due to revised figures or estimates from the data source or institution since our last report. Tables located in the Universities Reporting Any Federal Research in 1990-2003 section are a better source for earlier data.