Arizona State University (Tempe)

Arizona State University, ranked No. 1 “Most Innovative School” in the United States by U.S. News & World Report for seven years in succession, has forged the model for a New American University. ASU is a comprehensive public research institution, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.

ASU operates on the principle that learning is a personal and original journey for each student; that they thrive on experience, and the process of discovery cannot be bound by traditional academic disciplines. Through innovation and a commitment to accessibility, ASU has drawn pioneering researchers to its faculty even as it expands opportunities for qualified students, attracting some of the highest caliber students from all 50 states and more than 158 countries.

Building on a legacy of excellence, ASU has rapidly enriched its research enterprise. In just 10 years, the university has more than doubled its research funding. By redefining the 21st-century university as a knowledge enterprise, ASU has inspired its faculty and students to lead discovery, most notably in space exploration, health and well-being, sustainability, energy, water, and more.

Our interdisciplinary, solutions-focused approach to research, entrepreneurship, and economic development is centered on discovery that translates into impact and the fusion of intellectual disciplines in order to solve complex problems.

ASU is ranked first in the U.S. and ninth in the world by Times Higher Education for advancing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, including global impact on poverty and hunger, developing solutions for clean water and energy, and promoting gender equality.

Arizona State University is ranked first in the U.S. and ninth in the world by Times Higher Education for advancing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, including global impact on poverty and hunger, developing solutions for clean water and energy, and promoting gender equality.

One of the core design aspirations that has guided ASU’s transformation is to engage globally. With the guiding belief that universities are engines of social transformation and economic impact, we take responsibility to reach learners and communities around the world and link innovation to public value. We carry out use-inspired research that addresses issues of international significance, develop impactful international partnerships and networks, and deploy inclusive educational models that serve global learners everywhere. ASU consistently ranks among the top choices for international students studying in the U.S., with 10,800 students from 158 countries enrolled in fall 2021. Additionally, ASU maintains more than 200 collaborative agreements with institutions in 45 countries.

ASU is touching the lives of learners around the world and working to solve the most pressing challenges of our time. We are mobilizing our resources, intellectual capital, and global reach to set a new standard for how universities engage globally to promote educational access and inclusion, human well-being, and social impact.

Enrollment and academics

134,500

ASU’s total student enrollment of 134,500 for fall 2021 makes it one of the largest public universities in the world.

350

ASU offers more than 350 academic undergraduate programs and majors led by expert faculty in highly ranked colleges and schools.

87

U.S. News & World Report ranks 87 ASU degree programs, in the top 25 in the U.S., including 39 programs ranked in the nation's top 10.

450

Through more than 450 graduate degree programs and certificates, ASU master’s and doctoral students work directly with the top researchers in the U.S.

Faculty excellence

The ASU faculty is at the forefront nationally in advancing research and discovery. Our more than 4,800 faculty members inspire new ways of thinking, innovating, and solving problems socially, culturally and economically in our region and in the international community.

5 Nobel laureates

6 MacArthur fellows

9 Pulitzer Prize winners

9 National Academy of Engineering members

26 American Academy of Arts and Sciences members

23 National Academy of Sciences members

40 Guggenheim fellows

149 National Endowment for the Humanities fellows

270 Fulbright U.S. Scholars

Just a few of our outstanding faculty:

• Sidney Altman shared the Nobel Prize in 1989 for the discovery that RNA actively aids chemical reactions in cells.
• 2018 MacArthur fellow and sociologist Rebecca Sandefur is bridging legal scholarship and practice, providing the empirical evidence necessary to guide and implement wide-scale reforms to address the civil legal needs of low-income people.
• Natalie Diaz received the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and is a 2018 MacArthur Foundation Fellow. Born and raised in the Fort Mojave Indian Village in Needles, California, Diaz is an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Tribe. Her latest collection, “Postcolonial Love Poem,” has stirred timely conversations about systemic racism, Indigeneity and intimacy.
• Bert Höelldobler and his research team explore the behavioral mechanisms that underlie communication and division of labor systems in ant societies. He received a Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for his nonfiction book “The Ants,” coauthored with E. O. Wilson.

Research and innovation

#1

ASU has topped U.S. News & World Report’s “Most Innovative Schools” list each year since the inception of the category in 2016. In the 2022 ranking, ASU again placed ahead of MIT and Stanford on the list, based on a survey of peers.

#1 in U.S. and #9 in the world

Times Higher Education ranked ASU in the top 9 globally and No. 1 in the U.S. in fulfilling the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals to build a better world for people and our planet. 

#7

In just 10 years, ASU has rapidly enriched its discovery enterprise, more than doubling its research funding and rising to No. 7 in the U.S. among universities without a medical school.

$640 million

ASU is one of the fastest-growing research enterprises in the U.S., with $673 million total research expenditures in FY20.

$833+ million

Since 2003, ASU research has resulted in more than 3,800 invention disclosures and more than 845 U.S. issued patents. Startups based on ASU intellectual property have generated more than $833 million in investment capital.

Top 10

Arizona State University ranks top 10 in the U.S. and #11 globally for U.S. patents awarded to universities in 2020, along with MIT, Stanford and Harvard. This notable ranking highlights ASU's entrepreneurial and innovative approach toward solving global challenges.

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