Mississippi invests least into research: analysis
JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Though many Mississippi institutions actively pursue groundbreaking research, a report finds that the state is an environment that makes doing so difficult.
Annual spending on research and development nationwide climbed from $406 billion in 2010 to nearly $886 billion in 2022. Though the trend is likely to continue, some states create better environments for professional and aspiring researchers than others. According to SmileHub , Mississippi is the worst such environment.
Mississippi ranked 25th nationally for research education. However, its low score largely stemmed from being ranked the worst and sixth worst place for research workforce and innovation and research funding and support, respectively. Below is a further breakdown of Mississippi's research environment compared to all states.
– Research charities per capita
– Research facilities per capita
– Average salary for researchers
– Research universities per capita
– Share of science and engineering graduates
– Research and development spending per capita
Is the Milky Way sweet? UM researcher says it depends
The business sector is by far the largest performer of U.S. research and development. In 2021, it accounted for $608.6 billion, or 77% of the $789.1 billion national total. The business sector's annual share of overall research ranged from 69% to 77% since 2000. The state significantly lags in this area of research.
To make up for that, Mississippi does have more research universities than many states with similar and greater population sizes. The state's three largest institutions: the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University and The University of Southern Mississippi- are R1 research universities.
This distinction from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education indicates that these universities have very high levels of research activity. Among other things, these schools must spend at least $50 million on research and development and produce at least 70 research doctorates annually.
Watch for us in your inbox.
Subscribe Now
