Florida State University – History, Ranking and Cost

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ranks Florida State as a doctoral research institution which performs very high levels of research. Florida State presently rates second in the state of Florida as a public university by the Nature Index for research output.

The university engages in many areas of academic inquiry at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. Florida State University was awarded over $355 million in annual research expenditures in sponsored research in fiscal year 2022, ranking it 82nd out of 890 ranked. FSU receives the highest National Science Foundation funding in the state of Florida.

Florida State currently has 37 degree programs in interdisciplinary research fields. Interdisciplinary programs merge academic disciplines into common areas where discoveries may be exploited by more than one method. Interdisciplinary research at FSU covers traditional subjects such as chemistry, physics and engineering to social sciences.

The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) or “Mag Lab” at Florida State develops and operates high magnetic field facilities that scientists use for research in physics, biology, bioengineering, chemistry, geochemistry, biochemistry, materials science, and engineering. It is a unique facility in the United States and one of only nine worldwide. Significant records have been set at the Mag Lab to date.

The Magnetic Field Laboratory is a 440,000 sq. ft (40,877 square meter) complex employing 715 faculty, staff, graduate, and postdoctoral students. This facility is the largest and highest powered laboratory of its kind in the world.

In 1990 the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Florida State University the right to host the new National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. Rather than improve the existing Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory controlled by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) together with a consortium of other universities, the NSF elected to move the Lab mainly to Florida State University, with a smaller facility at the University of Florida.

MIT contested the award in an unprecedented request to the National Science Board (NSB) for a review of the award, accusing NSF officials of manipulating facts, in that the NSB overruled a peer-reviewed process awarding the lab to MIT in favor of long-term State of Florida support for the facility and faculty.^[253] The NSB denied the appeal, and the NSF considered the matter closed.

The High Energy Physics program at Florida State was established in 1950 and collaborates with the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (also known as Fermilab), near Chicago, IL, and with CERN, the European Center of Nuclear Research located near Geneva, Switzerland. Current interests include the basic structure of matter.

The High-Performance Materials Institute (HPMI) is a multidisciplinary research institute investigating materials suitable for advanced applications including artificial limbs and space travel.

FSU’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory researches coastal and marine ecosystems. The facility is located in St. Teresa, Florida (on the coast) and can house students and researchers for extended times.

The Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University-FSU College of Engineering is a partnership between an HBCU, a public Research 1 University and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. Students complete basic studies at their respective university, then complete requirements at the College of Engineering. The college has undergraduate and graduate degree programs in chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial, biomedical and mechanical engineering.