State Among Top 50 for Humanities

STARKVILLE, Miss.–Frequently recognized for its achievements in science and engineering, Mississippi State is also a top 50 university for the humanities, according to data in a new report from the National Science Foundation.

The recently released NSF Higher Education Research and Development Survey for Fiscal Year 2011 places Mississippi State at 49th overall in the humanities among public and private institutions based on $1.7 million in research and development expenditures.

“Our faculty includes excellent teachers and researchers who are serving the people of Mississippi through innovative and internationally-recognized research,” said Greg Dunaway, dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Dunaway’s counterpart in the College of Architecture, Art and Design agreed.

“Research in our college and its multifaceted research centers is helping to improve communities around the state and well beyond, and it also upholds the highest standards of architecture, art, design and construction,” said CAAD’s dean, Jim West.

Of note, Mississippi State also held a top 50 humanities ranking in FY 2009 at No. 46 and in FY 2010 at No. 50.

“Our research enterprise is exceptionally diverse,” said David Shaw, MSU’s vice president for research and economic development.

“From labs to the library and to fieldwork around the world, Mississippi State faculty, staff and students are engaged in research programs that are solving challenging problems, creating new knowledge and unlocking the secrets of the past,” he added.

MSU’s expenditures in non-science and engineering fields by subfield for FY 2011 totaled $8.3 million, which in addition to humanities included business and management, $993,000; communication, journalism and library science, $324,000; education, $2.5 million; visual and performing arts, $197,000; and other, $2.5 million (amounts have been rounded).

Overall, Mississippi State is ranked 91st among all public and private institutions based on $226.1 million in total FY 2011 research and development expenditures.

Nationally, MSU is ranked 53rd in non-medical school R&D expenditures.

The land-grant institution remains a top 10 school in the U.S. for agricultural sciences, as well as a top 50 university in engineering. In computer science, MSU climbed from 39th to 37th. It also achieved top 30 status in social sciences, and rose from 82nd to 75th in environmental science, according to the NSF survey.

The full report is online at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf13325/pdf/nsf13325.pdf

In addition to its NSF rankings, Mississippi State is designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as “a very high research activity university,” which represents the highest level of research activity for doctorate-granting universities in the country. MSU is the only school in the state with the distinction. Additionally, MSU also holds the Carnegie Foundation classification for community engagement.