Last month, the National Science Foundation released a study ranking the nation’s top research schools in terms of expenditure during the 2008 fiscal year. Among public institutions, Penn State ranked 8th with $701 million being spent on Science and Engineering research. The study also mentions the research expenditures that were financed through federal grants, of which Penn State spent $407 million.

The $701 million puts Penn State at 8th among public schools and 11th among all research schools. Interestingly, the Penn State Live story on the matter cites only Penn State’s expenditures funded by the federal government, which places us 9th. Among Big 10 schools, Penn State sits 4th, behind Wisconsin (3rd overall), Michigan (4th), and Ohio State (10th).

I think the most interesting piece of information about this study is that Penn State spent $13 million more than Stanford, $41 million more than MIT, and $47 million more than Cornell, three schools generally regarded as being “better” schools. Perhaps this just goes to show that perception of schools being better than others is misguided, as every school has its various strengths and weaknesses.

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