The UMass system has reached another new high in annual research spending, up $65 million from last year to hit a total of $752 million, the university said Wednesday.
The UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester is a standout in the five-campus system. Its $347 million research expenditure last year was not only by far the highest among the campuses but also grew by the most, at one-fourth in just one year.
UMass says it has the third-largest research portfolio among Massachusetts colleges and the fourth-largest in New England. Its research growth comes at a time when many colleges are putting a higher emphasis on research for faculty initiatives, student learning opportunities and to potentially lead to spin-off startups.
Of $752 million spent on research last year at UMass, 94% was spent in science, technology, math or engineering fields. Almost 60%, or $441 million, was in life sciences.
Major increases in federal research funding have had a lot to do with UMass’ expenditures rising by nearly one-fifth in the last five years. The National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health make up the largest bulk, and combined, federal sources made up $446 million of UMass’ research dollars last year, a one-fourth rise in five years.
Research at UMass Amherst hit $214 million, with lesser amounts on the Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell campuses.
UMass President Marty Meehan has been among the proponents of Massachusetts trying to land a planned new federal biomedical and health research center known as ARPA-H, an effort from Massachusetts leaders that touts the state’s private sector and higher education capabilities in those areas.
Total FTE student enrollment for Fall 2021
| Rank | Prior Rank | School/Prior rank (*unranked in 2021)/ |
|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | Northeastern University |
2 | 1 | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
3 | 2 | Boston University |
