College of Arts and Sciences provides strong contribution to National Science Foundation report ranking MSU in top 100 research universities

Reporting $280 million in research and development expenditures in fiscal year 2020, Mississippi State University moved up four spots in the nation’s top 100 research universities, from 92 to 88, according to the latest NSF Higher Education Research and Development Report.

The prestigious ranking highlights the contributions made by researchers across the university. Many of the disciplines ranked in the top 100 are housed in, or work closely with, academic units within the College of Arts and Sciences including chemistry (90), humanities (76), visual and performing arts (67), communication and communication technologies (64), anthropology (59), political science and government (59), atmospheric sciences and meteorology (48), mathematics and statistics (38), geological and earth sciences (25), other sciences (18), and sociology, demographics, and population studies (8).

MSU is positioned as the number one university in the SEC for the social sciences for the 9th consecutive year.

“We are very proud of our academic research faculty, staff and students and their collaborative spirit,” said Giselle Thibaudeau, associate dean for research for the College of Arts and Sciences. “It is this spirit and the resulting interdisciplinary efforts with researchers in other academic colleges and research centers that led to the growth and success of MSU’s research portfolio.”

The NSF report emphasizes MSU as an outstanding institution that is nationally competitive across a range of fields including the natural, physical and social sciences, as well as the humanities.