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USF Moves into Top 25 in Research Rankings

Students in a USF laboratory.
USF University Communications & Marketing
Students in a USF laboratory.

The now ranks 25th among the country's public research universities for research spending, up two spots from a year ago.

The rankings, which were put together by the , also puts USF at 41st in the nation among the 895 public and private research universities surveyed. That's up two spots from 43rd, a ranking the school held the previous two years.

USF also came in second in the state in both categories, trailing only the University of Florida (17th among public research universities, and 26th among all universities).

“Ranking among the top 25 public research universities is a tremendous accomplishment for our university,” USF System President Judy Genshaft said in a statement. “The new NSF report provides national recognition for the hard work and dedication of our faculty, students and staff.  USF is committed to making a difference in people’s lives and in the economy of our state.

USF's total research expenditures of $488.6 million in fiscal 2014 was up 6.4 percent from fiscal 2013's total of $459.4 million.

Research money from the federal government fell 1.2 percent to $222.8 million. Privately-funded and corporate-funded research grants and contracts make up 42 percent of USF’s research funding.

“This ranking is a tribute to the accomplishments of our researchers and partners in the region and state,” Paul R. Sanberg, USF Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation and Economic Development, said in a statement. “It reflects real-world research that is making an impact through new knowledge, products, companies, economic growth and jobs.”

The NSF says total public and private university research expenditures were $67.2 billion in fiscal 2014, up 0.2 percent from a year earlier. That came despite a 5.1 percent decrease in federal funding.

See the rankings for public universities here and all universities here.

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Mark Schreiner has been the producer and reporter for "University Beat" on WUSF 89.7 FM since 2001 and on WUSF TV from 2007-2017.