Association of American Universities facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Association of American Universities

Formation	February 28, 1900; 125 years ago (1900-02-28)
Founded at	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Type	501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Headquarters	William T. Golden Center for Science and Engineering, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Location	United States Canada
Membership	71
President	Barbara Snyder
Chair	Robert J. Jones

The Association of American Universities (AAU) is a group of top research universities in the United States and Canada. It was started in 1900. Its main goal is to make sure that academic research and education stay strong and excellent.

The AAU includes 69 universities in the United States and 2 in Canada. To join the AAU, a university must be invited. Three-quarters of the current members must vote yes for a new university to be accepted.

About the AAU

The AAU was created on February 28, 1900. It was started by 14 universities in the U.S. that offered Doctor of Philosophy degrees. At that time, American universities were trying to be more like the research-focused universities in Germany.

However, there were no clear rules for these advanced programs in the U.S. This made European universities think less of American degrees. Many American students chose to study in Europe instead of staying in the U.S.

To fix this, leaders from universities like Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago invited other schools to meet. They wanted to improve and set standards for American doctoral programs. The first president of the AAU was Charles William Eliot from Harvard.

In the past, the AAU also helped check the quality of undergraduate programs. This was called "accrediting." German universities used the AAU's "Accepted List" to see if a college's graduates were ready for advanced studies. By the 1920s, other groups started doing this work. So, the AAU stopped accrediting schools in 1948.

For its first 60 years, the AAU was mostly a place for university leaders to talk about education. In the 1970s, the AAU changed. It became more active in speaking up for its members. It hired more staff and its leader became more public.

Today, the AAU has 71 universities in the U.S. and Canada. These universities are different sizes but all care deeply about research. In 2023, six new universities joined. These included Arizona State University, George Washington University, and the University of Miami. The AAU's main goal is to help create and carry out plans that make research and education stronger at all levels.

Why Universities Want to Join

Many universities, especially those not yet in the AAU, want to join because it brings a lot of respect. Being part of the AAU shows that a university is among the best in the American university world. New university presidents often make it a goal to get their school into the AAU.

For example, in 2010, the leader of North Carolina State University called the AAU "the most important research group." He said his university hoped to join. Joining the AAU is seen as proof of a university's high quality. This is important to school leaders, lawmakers, and people who donate money.

The AAU also works in Washington, D.C., to help its members. It talks to the government about getting money for research and higher education. It also discusses rules that affect research universities. The AAU holds two private meetings each year in Washington. These meetings are for university presidents and other leaders. Because the meetings are private, people can talk openly. Important government and business leaders often speak at these meetings.

AAU Leaders

AAU Facts and Figures

As of 2004, AAU member universities received 58 percent of all research money given to U.S. universities. They also awarded 52 percent of all advanced degrees called doctorates in the United States. Since 1999, many Nobel Prize winners have been connected to an AAU university. About 74 percent of Nobel winners at U.S. schools were from AAU universities.

Joining the AAU

To become an AAU member, a university must be invited. Then, at least three-fourths of the current members must vote yes. The AAU looks at how good a university's research programs, graduate programs, and undergraduate programs are.

The association uses four main things to rank universities:

• How much money they spend on research.
• The percentage of their teachers who are members of the National Academies (a group of top experts).
• Awards won by their teachers.
• How often their research is mentioned by others (citations).

If a university that is not a member has very strong research and education, it might be invited to join. If a current member's research and education fall far below the standards, they might lose their membership. Two-thirds of the members can vote to remove a university for low rankings. As of 2022, the yearly fee to be a member was $139,500.

Current Members

All 71 U.S. members of the AAU are also known as "Highest Research Activity (R1) Universities." This is a special classification for top research schools.

Institution	State or province	Control	Established	Year joined	Total students	Medical school (LCME accredited)	Engineering program (ABET accredited)	Land-Grant Institution (NIFA)	Federally funded FY23 R&D exp. (Dollars in thousands)
Arizona State University	Arizona	Public	1885	2023	144,800		Y		340,880
Boston University	Massachusetts	Private	1839	2012	36,729	Y	Y		409,551
Brandeis University	Massachusetts	Private	1948	1985	5,808				46,654
Brown University	Rhode Island	Private	1764	1933	8,619	Y	Y		239,744
California Institute of Technology	California	Private	1891	1934	2,231		Y		310,519
Carnegie Mellon University	Pennsylvania	Private	1900	1982	12,908		Y		279,954
Case Western Reserve University	Ohio	Private	1826	1969	12,201	Y	Y		431,736
Columbia University	New York	Private	1754	1900	29,250	Y	Y		988,670
Cornell University	New York	Private	1865	1900	21,904	Y	Y	Y	705,132
Dartmouth College	New Hampshire	Private	1769	2019	6,571	Y	Y		168,740
Duke University	North Carolina	Private	1838	1938	14,600	Y	Y		974,202
Emory University	Georgia	Private	1836	1995	14,513	Y			664,370
George Washington University	District of Columbia	Private	1821	2023	26,457	Y	Y		162,892
Georgia Tech	Georgia	Public	1885	2010	29,370		Y		1,083,903
Harvard University	Massachusetts	Private	1636	1900	21,000	Y	Y		639,953
Indiana University Bloomington	Indiana	Public	1820	1909	42,731		Y		432,223
Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	Private	1876	1900	23,073	Y	Y		3,324,551
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts	Private	1861	1934	11,319		Y	Y	559,766
McGill University	Quebec	Public	1821	1926	36,904	Y	Y		N/A
Michigan State University	Michigan	Public	1855	1964	51,316	Y	Y	Y	435,564
New York University	New York	Private	1831	1950	61,950	Y	Y		787,204
Northwestern University	Illinois	Private	1851	1917	21,208	Y	Y		678,062
Ohio State University	Ohio	Public	1870	1916	60,540	Y	Y	Y	694,647
Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania	Quasi-public	1855	1958	45,518	Y	Y	Y	781,303
Princeton University	New Jersey	Private	1746	1900	8,010		Y		219,600
Purdue University	Indiana	Public	1869	1958	52,211		Y	Y	385,738
Rice University	Texas	Private	1912	1985	8,212		Y		119,853
Rutgers University–New Brunswick	New Jersey	Public	1766	1989	41,565	Y	Y	Y	400,930
Stanford University	California	Private	1891	1900	15,877	Y	Y		943,669
Stony Brook University	New York	Public	1957	2001	26,814	Y	Y		192,448
Texas A&M University	Texas	Public	1876	2001	77,491	Y	Y	Y	546,481
Tufts University	Massachusetts	Private	1852	2021	11,024	Y	Y		154,458
Tulane University	Louisiana	Private	1834	1958	13,462	Y	Y		152,468
University at Buffalo	New York	Public	1846	1989	30,183	Y	Y		257,857
University of Arizona	Arizona	Public	1885	1985	40,223	Y	Y	Y	434,700
University of California, Berkeley	California	Public	1868	1900	36,204		Y	Y	496,298
University of California, Davis	California	Public	1905	1996	34,175	Y	Y	Y	494,847
University of California, Irvine	California	Public	1965	1996	29,588	Y	Y	Y	335,393
University of California, Los Angeles	California	Public	1919	1974	42,163	Y	Y	Y	878,571
University of California, Riverside	California	Public	1954	2023	26,809	Y	Y	Y	120,524
University of California, San Diego	California	Public	1960	1982	30,310	Y	Y	Y	1,083,790
University of California, Santa Barbara	California	Public	1944	1995	25,057		Y	Y	179,896
University of California, Santa Cruz	California	Public	1965	2019	19,457		Y	Y	112,847
University of Chicago	Illinois	Private	1890	1900	14,954	Y	Y		476,689
University of Colorado Boulder	Colorado	Public	1876	1966	32,775	Y	Y		538,715
University of Florida	Florida	Public	1853	1985	55,781	Y	Y	Y	529,391
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Illinois	Public	1867	1908	44,520	Y	Y	Y	460,491
University of Iowa	Iowa	Public	1847	1909	31,065	Y	Y		331,824
University of Kansas	Kansas	Public	1865	1909	27,983	Y	Y		211,111
University of Maryland, College Park	Maryland	Public	1856	1969	37,631		Y	Y	825,546
University of Miami	Florida	Private	1925	2023	19,402	Y	Y		291,783
University of Michigan	Michigan	Public	1817	1900	43,426	Y	Y		1,041,430
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities	Minnesota	Public	1851	1908	52,376	Y	Y	Y	702,483
University of Missouri	Missouri	Public	1839	1908	35,441	Y	Y	Y	217,091
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina	Public	1789	1922	29,390	Y			907,710
University of Notre Dame	Indiana	Private	1842	2023	12,809		Y		147,985
University of Oregon	Oregon	Public	1876	1969	22,980				100,265
University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	Private	1740	1900	24,630	Y	Y		936,469
University of Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	Quasi-public	1787	1974	28,649	Y	Y		916,735
University of Rochester	New York	Private	1850	1941	10,290	Y	Y		368,190
University of South Florida	Florida	Public	1956	2023	49,766	Y	Y		242,224
University of Southern California	California	Private	1880	1969	48,500	Y	Y		683,819
University of Texas at Austin	Texas	Public	1883	1929	51,913	Y	Y		621,223
University of Toronto	Ontario	Public	1827	1926	97,678	Y	Y		N/A
University of Utah	Utah	Public	1850	2019	32,994	Y	Y		416,079
University of Virginia	Virginia	Public	1819	1904	24,360	Y	Y		354,748
University of Washington	Washington	Public	1861	1950	43,762	Y	Y		1,188,836
University of Wisconsin–Madison	Wisconsin	Public	1848	1900	43,275	Y	Y	Y	816,814
Vanderbilt University	Tennessee	Private	1873	1950	12,795	Y	Y		751,019
Washington University in St. Louis	Missouri	Private	1853	1923	14,117	Y	Y		758,464
Yale University	Connecticut	Private	1701	1900	13,609	Y	Y		741,198

Past Members

Some universities were once part of the AAU but are no longer members.

Map of AAU Schools

How the AAU Helps

The AAU helps its member universities by supporting them in Washington, D.C.. For example, in 2014, the AAU supported a law called the Research and Development Efficiency Act. They said this law would help reduce too many rules for universities that do research for the government.

The AAU believes that too many government rules for research money can waste researchers' time. This means less time for new discoveries and ideas. It also costs universities more money to follow all the rules. The AAU works to make these processes simpler.

Similar Groups Around the World

There are groups like the AAU in other countries too. These include:

• The Russell Group in the United Kingdom.
• The U15 in Germany.
• The League of European Research Universities in Europe.
• The C9 League in China.
• The Group of Eight in Australia.
• The RU11 in Japan.
• The U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities in Canada.

See also

In Spanish: Asociación de Universidades Estadounidenses para niños

• List of higher education associations and alliances
• List of research universities in the United States