UArizona Research Activity & Rankings
The University of Arizona (UArizona) is one of the nation’s leading public research universities with an extensive institutional track record, depth of experience, and resources to effectively manage, administer, and support hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants and awards annually. As Arizona's Land Grant University, we have Cooperative Extension offices in all 15 of Arizona's counties and a total economic impact of $8.3 billion per year in Arizona.
- UArizona is ranked 19th in research expenditures for public institutions in FY19 (34th overall) as reviewed by the National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey (HERD). This places UArizona in the top 4% of all universities (public or private). FY20 rankings are anticipated in the winter of 2022.
- FY20 research expenditures for UA: $761M
- FY19 research expenditures: $734M
- FY18 research expenditures: $696M
- UArizona is also a member of the prestigious Association for American Universities (AAU) comprised of 62 distinguished institutions in the U.S. and Canada that advance society through education, research, and discovery
- 1st in Astronomy and Astrophysics expenditures nationwide (HERD)
- 6th in NASA funding among all institutions (HERD)
- 1st in conferring PhDs to American Indian or Alaska Natives (table 7-4 of National Science Foundation Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2021 data tables)
- 8th in conferring PhDs to Hispanics or Latinos (table 7-4 of National Science Foundation Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2021 data tables)
UArizona Designations
- UArizona is a U.S. Department of Education Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) under the Department of Education’s Definition of Hispanic Serving Institutions. To view the institutional information for Title V proposals, see the Research Gateway Administration section.
- UArizona is listed as an American Indian and Alaska Native-Serving Institution per White House Executive Order 13592 "Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities", signed December 2, 2011; this category is distinct from the category of institutions that are eligible for the grant programs administered by the Dept. of Education including the Native American-Serving Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTI) and the Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNH)
- UArizona is not a Native American-Serving Non-Tribal Institution (NASNTI) or a minority institution as defined by U.S.C., Chapter 20.
Resources & Activities Only at UArizona
- UArizona's Lunar and Planetary Lab has partnered with NASA on every mission since Apollo and currently leads the OSIRIS-REx mission, NASA's first return mission to an asteroid
- UArizona helped capture the first image of a Black Hole using the Event Horizon Telescope
- The Water and Energy Sustainability Technology (WEST) Center brings industry, academia, and government together to work side-by-side on the water/food/energy nexus as a scale-size lab
- Home to CyVerse, the NSF-funded cyberinfrastructure for research data
- Biosphere 2, the largest living laboratory in the world, providing scientists with the unique opportunity to explore complex environmental systems and questions
- James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences is the largest institute for optics education in the U.S.
- Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab produces the world's largest mirrors for telescopes
- Original cohort for the All of Us Research Program to accelerate the pursuit of precision health
- Home to the world's largest robotic field scanner at the Maricopa Ag Center
- Home to the National Science Foundation's Engineering Research Center (ERC) Center for Quantum Networks
UArizona Research Infrastructure
The UArizona's Research, Innovation and Impact (RII) provides pre-award, post-award, compliance, and contracting services across UArizona. Research Service units under RII include Research Development Services, Sponsored Projects Services, and the Contract & Research Support Program. In addition to these services, RII provides programs that promote the safe, legal, and ethical conduct of research including: Office for Responsible Outside Interests, Export Controls Program, Human Subjects Protection Program, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, HIPAA Privacy Program, Research Laboratory & Safety Services, Research Integrity Program, and Responsible Conduct of Research Program. College and department business units comply with RII guidance and policies for sponsored research financial reporting and management.
Recent examples of large, multi-institute research and education projects include the Phoenix Mars Mission (NASA), the OSIRIS-REx Mission (NASA), the NSF CyVerse, USDA Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions (SBAR), and the NSF ERC for Center for Quantum Networks (as well as two graduate centers, Center for Integrated Access Networks and Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing).