By Graham Andrews and Amanda Shaffer
AAU recently updated its “By the Numbers” pages with the latest data on the impact and value of America’s leading research universities.
In 2024, AAU’s 69 members in the United States awarded more than 645,000 degrees, including 361,273 bachelor’s degrees and half of all the country’s research doctorates in science and engineering. In addition to educating the next generation of scientists and engineers, AAU member universities also play a vital role in keeping the country healthy; in 2024, our universities awarded more than 24,000 degrees in medicine, dentistry, and nursing.
The data also underscore the reality that research universities are engines of innovation and economic growth. As of 2024, more than 4,500 operational startups are bringing AAU university research to market and, last year alone, AAU research generated nearly 5,000 patents and originated 592 new companies. AAU universities are also major employers in their local communities; in 2023, they employed more than 912,000 people and paid $127.5 billion in salaries.
Leading scientists and researchers at AAU institutions continue to win competitive funding grants from nonprofit organizations, businesses, state and local governments, and the federal government. In 2023, AAU member universities earned $38.2 billion in competitively awarded research funding by the federal government (64% of the total research funding awarded to universities by the federal government that year), making our nation healthier, safer, and more prosperous.
Explore the updated pages for more information on how AAU institutions continue to perform groundbreaking research, prepare the future workforce, and fuel economic growth nationwide.
Graham Andrews is research analyst at AAU; Amanda Shaffer is junior research analyst at AAU.