Georgia State is one of the nation’s premier urban public research universities. The university ranks among the top 115 public and private universities in the Carnegie Foundation’s elite category of R1: Highest Research Activity. This category represents the highest level of research activity for doctorate-granting universities in the U.S.

In the past decade, Georgia State has been distinguished by the tremendous expansion of its research program. Total research expenditures exceeded $200 million for the first time in fiscal year 2017, as reported in the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey, a nationally recognized barometer of university research activity.

From fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2017, expenditures increased by 148 percent, making Georgia State one of the nation’s fastest-growing research universities. The university ranks 108th out of 902 institutions in the U.S. for research expenditures, and has climbed more than 50 places in the HERD Survey rankings since fiscal year 2010. For the past two years, Georgia State has been the highest-ranked university without an engineering or medical school.

Georgia State has also significantly increased its research award funding over the past several years. Total annual research awards of $122.7 million were received in fiscal year 2018, the fourth year in a row the university has earned more than $100 million in external investment.