Students gather around a faculty member in KU's Natural History Museum.

Research & Discovery

KU is committed to conducting broad and impactful research that addresses the key challenges faced by the state, nation and world.

Objectives

Three students work in a lab wearing blue lab coasts, two are in conversation and another is studying a book.

Grow KU Research

Research at KU has an acclaimed record of discovery and innovation at the local, regional, national, and global level. Growing KU research across the university allows us to continue to solve problems, ask new questions, inform leaders and policy makers, and inspire others.
Two professors sit at the front of a class laughing. A student looks at the professors, facing away from the camera.

Recruit, Retain and Recognize Top Researchers

Central to a robust and impactful research enterprise are exceptional humans. Attracting highly productive and innovative researchers enhances KU’s ability to conduct research that advances society. Retaining these gifted individuals requires KU to build a research support system that matches their ambitions to make discoveries that change the world and gain recognition for their work. Through financial and administrative support, KU will recruit, retain and recognize researchers working at the highest level, building a research enterprise that is impactful to the state, nation and beyond.
Five students study a lizard with flashlights in the dark.

Expand the Impact of KU Research in Kansas and Beyond

The University of Kansas aims to be an exceptional learning community that lifts each other, contributes to the wider scholarly enterprise and advances society. To measure and expand the impact of our research, KU focuses on research contributions in three key areas: academia; projects focused on core communities in our home state and beyond; involvement of students in research and their training to become future researchers.
A student stands in the middle of a spot-lit stage and swirls a baton leaving blue laser light in circles.

Promote Innovation and Entrepreneurship

KU research impacts society in ways that go way beyond contributing to the more traditional idea of academic knowledge. Notably, KU research translates into inventions, products and business startups that provide health, economic, education and other benefits for society.

Metrics

Total research expenditures

Expenditures in the Total R&D category are the sum of all expenditures in Federal R&D, including USDA, state and local government, business, non-profit organizations, institutional funding, and other nonfederal sources.  

Federal R&D expenditure

Federal research grants are awarded through a competitive peer-review process by subject matter experts.  KU and other institutions of higher education use the sum of Federal Research & Development Expenditures as an indication of the quality and strength of their researchers.  Federal R&D expenditures cut across all academic disciplines and across all federal agencies.  USDA Expenditures, however, are included in Total R&D. 

Recognition of faculty excellence

Endowed professorships

Endowed professorships are one of the highest recognitions for scholars who have positively impacted their field of inquiry through exceptionally productive records of scholarship and teaching. Endowed professorships are made possible through the generosity of donors and help KU recruit, retain and recognize top researchers by publicly acknowledging and supporting continued excellence. As a metric, endowed professorships indicate the number of researchers working at the highest level.

NRC Prestigious+ Faculty Honors and Awards

The National Research Council maintains a list of faculty awards considered “prestigious” and “highly prestigious.” These awards are important components of institutional reputation. Used as a metric, these awards reflect excellence in KU research and scholarship that helps recruit and retain top researchers. It also indicates the university’s commitment to provide support through nominating faculty at various stages of their careers for appropriate external awards.  

This data is only available to those with a KU online ID. 

Scholarly Activity

Citation Count

When research is cited by others in scholarly work, this demonstrates that published research is being consumed and is contributing to ongoing scholarship in a field with potential benefit to society. Citation counts are one of the few metrics that can easily assess the impact of scholarship globally and over a long period of time. Publication rates and citation numbers vary between disciplines, and citation counts can be interpreted within a disciplinary context.