In 1996, Georgia State University earned a prestigious R1 designation by the Carnegie Foundation. Joining this elite category, reserved for the nation’s top research institutions, was a remarkable achievement.

From there, the doors opened to possibility — and we’ve never looked back.

Since 1996, our research expenditures have increased tenfold, from less than $20 million to more than $200 million. In 2023, university faculty earned $224.72 million in research funding — the highest total in university history. Twenty investigators were awarded $1 million or more.

Our metamorphosis isn’t just about metrics. We’re home to world-class research facilities, dozens of collaborative research centers and numerous institutes focused on disciplines that range from neuroimaging to data science and health policy. Each day, our scientists are making life- and world-changing discoveries.

We’re proud to say Georgia State has risen as a dynamic research institution and earned a competitive seat among the country’s best.

Few institutions have come so far, so fast. How did we do it?

• Visionary leaders who compelled the research community to invest in Georgia State’s potential.
• Strategic investment in a research infrastructure with innovative centers and advanced labs.
• Recruitment of renowned faculty to take the helm, advancing new ideas and bringing about record-setting research funding and expenditures for the university.

Our efforts are a testament to the power of human ingenuity and imagination — proof of what we can do when we put our minds together and are determined to find a brighter future for ourselves. It’s the way Georgia State has approached everything over more than a century of operation.

It’s #THESTATEWAY^®