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Year in review
Highlights from another year of innovative breakthroughs
Year in review
ACADEMICS
Top producer of graduates in the state ASU annually awards thousands of college degrees to innovators who excel in engineering, business, education, the arts and other fields. In 2024–25, ASU awarded 19 associate, 25,268 bachelor’s, 12,401 master’s, 779 doctoral and 290 law degrees.
By the numbers
— A S U O F F I C E O F I N S T I T U T I O N A L A N A LY S I S , U O FA U N I V E R S I T Y A N A LY T I C S A N D I N S T I T U T I O N A L R E S E A R C H , N A U
RESEARCH IMPACT
I N S T I T U T I O N A L R E S E A R C H A N D A N A LY S I S
ASU is one of the fastest- growing research enterprises in the U.S.
$1B+
2024
Top 10 in the U.S. and #14 in the world for interdisciplinary science ASU ahead of Michigan, Illinois and Texas — T I M E S H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N , 2 0 2 5
1,700+ new U.S. patents* — U . S . PAT E N T A N D TR ADEMARK OFFICE *From July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2025
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30,000 25,000
15,000
UofA 12,569
10,000
NAU 7,574
5,000
2012
2013
2014
2015
Top producer of elite scholars
SOURCE: ASU KNOWLEDGE ENTERPRISE
with 200 new patents in FY25
38,757
35,000
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
All figures are based on Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System reporting
$123M
2002
ASU
40,000
20,000
with more than $1B total research expenditures in FY24 ASU increased its research expenditures more than eightfold since 2002.
Degrees awarded
For over 10 years, ASU has been a top-producing university for elite scholars, including Rhodes, Marshall, Goldwater, Truman and more. ASU ranks No. 16 overall for Fulbright awards, ahead of UC Berkeley, Duke and Cornell, and is the No. 2 public university ahead of UNC-Chapel Hill and Rutgers.
Learning at every stage in life ASU serves learners from K–12, career development and beyond. We’re evolving the American research university model, by expanding access to courses, certificates and stackable credentials that support education, work and personal growth. These offerings are created by ASU’s schools and colleges and taught by ASU faculty, providing flexible, high-quality learning designed for real-world goals. — A SU LE A RNING EN TERP RIS E , 2025
Learner course and program registrations by fiscal year
730,000 691,500
700,000
634,500
600,000 501,300
500,000 403,700
400,000
— L O R R A I N E W . F R A N K O F F I C E
300,000
237,900
O F N AT I O N A L
200,000
SCHOL ARSHIPS A D V I S E M E N T, 2 0 2 5
79,300
FY19
100,000
FY20
FY21
FY22
FY23
FY24
FY25
0
ASU GRAPHICS
Repeatedly ranked ASU ranked #1 on 30+ lists in the last 3 years, including these in 2025
#1 in the U.S. for innovation
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#
#1 in the world for international trade
ASU ahead of MIT and Stanford
ASU ahead of Cambridge, Oxford and Columbia
— U . S . N E W S & W O R L D R E P O R T, 11 Y E A R S ,
— Q S I N T E R N AT I O N A L T R A D E R A N K I N G S ,
2 016 –2 6 , T H E O N LY U N I V E R S I T Y T O E V E R
4 Y E A R S , 2 0 2 3 –2 6
HOLD THE TITLE
#1 in the U.S. for sustainability ASU ahead of Stanford and UC Berkeley — A S S O C I AT I O N F O R T H E A D VA N C E M E N T O F S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N , 3 Y E A R S , 2 0 2 3 –2 5
#1 in the U.S. chosen by international students among public universities ASU ahead of Illinois, Purdue and UC Berkeley — I N S T I T U T E O F I N T E R N AT I O N A L E D U C AT I O N , 5 Y E A R S , 2 0 21–2 5
ECONOMIC IMPACT
#2 in the U.S. for employability ASU among public universities, ahead of UCLA, Michigan and Purdue — G L O B A L E M P L O YA B I L I T Y U N I V E R S I T Y R A N K I N G A N D S U R V E Y, 4 Y E A R S , 2 0 2 3 –2 6
$35 billion ASU’s economic impact in the state 8x impact of hosting a Super Bowl ASU impacts Arizona’s GDP through operating and construction expenditures – A S U O F F I C E O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y E C O N O M I S T, THE S EIDM A N RES E A RCH INS TIT U TE , F Y25
#1 in the U.S. for global impact ASU ahead of MIT and Penn State — T I M E S H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N , 6 Y E A R S , 2 0 2 0 –2 5
Top 10 in the U.S. ASU has 38 degree programs in the top 10 along with 83 in the top 25 — U . S . N E W S & W O R L D R E P O R T, 2 0 2 5 –2 6
Learn more at asu.edu/rankings.
#1 in the U.S. for electrical engineering online master’s ASU ahead of USC, Michigan and Texas A&M — U . S . N E W S & W O R L D R E P O R T, 2 0 2 5
#1 university in news ASU ahead of Syracuse, Florida and USC — B R O A D C A S T E D U C AT I O N A S S O C I AT I O N , 2 0 2 5
$200+ billion in private investment has come to Arizona related to semiconductors in the past five years. ASU is a key part of the state’s high-tech growth with the nation’s largest engineering school and cutting-edge facilities and expertise. — A RIZO N A CO M M ERCE AU T H O RI T Y
PHILANTHROPY
$630.8M ATHLETICS Four teams won Big 12 titles in the first year in the new conference: football, volleyball, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving. It marked the most conference titles since the department earned five in 2007–08.
Entering the 2025–26 season, 158 Sun Devils have earned Academic All-America honors, the most in the Big 12.
its academic and athletic excellence and focus on community engagement, mental health and career development.
in new gifts for students,
135 student-athletes earned a 4.0 semester or cumulative GPA. ASU earned the Commissioner’s Cup for
Cam Skattebo joined the New York Giants in the NFL, and nine Sun Devils were drafted into the MLB.
113,000 donors
faculty, research and community programs, including the two largest gifts ASU has ever received.
including individual, corporate and foundation donors.
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE
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Year in review In the news Costeffective drug testing An ASU researcher developed a technique to detect drug use with just a fingerprint. Completely noninvasive and cost-effective, the method has critical applications in substance-use testing and forensic investigations.
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The NASA SPHEREx mission, which will map the entire night sky to gain insight into galaxy formation, took to the skies with help from ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration researchers.
With an estimated 2 million people expected to have been diagnosed with cancer in the United States in 2025, researchers are working to better understand the disease that affects so many lives. Last year, teams at ASU had several notable breakthroughs in cancer research, including: ––
NEWSWELL, expanding support of local journalism Helping people with vision loss A new AI assistant developed by an ASU graduate student can act as a guide for people with partial vision loss when paired with smart glasses.
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Breakthroughs in cancer research
NEWSWELL, a nonprofit launched by ASU and pioneered by local journalists, expands coverage in underserved areas and helps partner newsrooms build more sustainable business models.
• Development of a therapy that shrinks tumors by 80% without harming healthy tissue
• Identification of a series of antibodies that could be useful in detecting breast cancer
• Development of a low-cost test that can predict how fast cancer is growing and whether treatment will be needed up to a decade in advance
• Discovery of the link between an indicator of aggressive cancer and the protein’s role in activating skin repair cells, suggesting that it could help accelerate wound healing
Researchers at ASU developed a new copper alloy that can maintain exceptional mechanical strength for aerospace industry uses at extremely high temperatures, potentially offering the durability needed for high-speed flight or to deploy weaponry.
ASU PHOTOS
2025 Keeping construction teams safe in extreme heat
Transforming the future of additive manufacturing ASU researchers developed an AI system that predicts structures during 3D metal printing, which improves durability and could allow industries like aerospace and defense to create missioncritical parts with greater accuracy and efficiency.
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Powerful new system to reduce wildfire deaths, destruction Wildfire Awareness and Risk Management, or WARM, prevents electrical grids from causing additional fires but keeps the power on for as many residents as possible. By using a system of layered sensors, it can alert utilities to reduce power on affected lines only if a fire risk is detected.
To help prevent heat-related deaths among construction workers, ASU researchers developed information materials on hydration — offering science-based tips for improving heat tolerance, staying hydrated and learning signs of heat-related illness.
New cutting-edge spaces to live, work and play near campus Construction wrapped on Novus Place, an entertainment district with restaurants, retail and multifamily housing. It is part of ASU’s Novus Innovation Corridor, which is projected to bring more than $4.6 billion in economic impact.
Hunting down drug-resistant microbes ASU researchers and international partners tested a portable DNA sequencer to track antibiotic-resistant E. coli in Indonesian wastewater, revealing contamination risks and offering a low-cost tool to fight superbugs.
Birth manikin trains nursing students for the delivery room A specialized birth manikin is giving ASU nursing students realistic training across all pregnancy stages, preparing them to monitor fetal health and manage complications like postpartum hemorrhage during childbirth.
Bringing internet connection to thousands in Arizona ASU and partners have laid more than 80 miles of fiber infrastructure, distributed nearly 10,000 internetenabled devices and provided 30,000 hours of digital support.
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE
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Fast, accurate, low-cost diagnostics ASU researchers created a low-cost diagnostic test that could transform how quickly and reliably diseases like COVID-19, Ebola, AIDS and Lyme disease are detected, using a single blood drop, delivering reliable results in just 15 minutes.
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An ASU-led international team discovered a new species of human ancestor by its teeth in Ethiopia, from between 2.6 and 2.8 million years ago.
The teeth were found at the same site as the oldest human jaw bone ever discovered.
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Reimagining how students learn science with VR More than 42,000 ASU students have taken a course with Dreamscape Learn. These immersive virtual reality experiences blend emotional storytelling with scientific principles to boost student engagement and performance. In ASU ’s NeoBio program, which is reimagining how universities teach biology, learners who took Biology 181 with VR earned, on average, a quarter-letter grade higher in their next biology course. The same principles now guide NeoChem, ASU’s new approach to teaching chemistry. The learning experiences are available on three campuses and in two mobile units for K–12 learners.
In the ASU LENS Lab, robodog Unitree Go2 is using computer vision, language models and adaptive learning to help humanity, from mastering search-and-rescue to assisting people with visual impairments.
A generative AI system developed by ASU researchers successfully created realistic “whatif” images of shade in experiments across 12 cities. This means city planners could use DeepShade to design new “cool corridors” and public spaces that protect vulnerable populations during extreme heat.
Global music star and entrepreneur brings AI tool for creatives to the classroom ASU is partnering with innovator will.i.am at The GAME School to teach agentic AI, empowering students to collaborate within his FYI.AI app on creative projects, preparing them for the future tech and creative workforce.
–– A specialized camera developed by an ASU team called Mastcam-Z helped NASA scientists select rock samples on Mars most likely to contain evidence of ancient life. ASU PHOTOS
Materials-to-Fab center opens in Tempe The new research and development lab was created with Applied Materials, the international semiconductor powerhouse company. It is accelerating early-stage research into industry-ready technologies and future-generation chip development in collaboration with ASU faculty and students.
A new conservation school to support planetary health ASU’s new Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures will train learners from students to executives to develop scalable, adaptive solutions supporting biodiversity and global ecosystem health. The former chairman of Walmart is a longtime supporter of ASU’s work at the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and is backing the school with the largest gift in university history.
Industry leaders gathered in Phoenix for SEMICON West, the largest microelectronics trade show in North America. The event, held outside of California for the first time in its 55-year history, highlighted ASU’s diverse roles in Arizona’s rise as the Silicon Desert. –– ASU dominated in volleyball in its second season in the Big 12 as conference champions, clinching the title in a win versus Houston in November and going 15-1 in conference play.
SolarSPELL named a TIME ‘best invention’ Hundreds of the solarpowered, offline digital library devices help learners in 15 regions around the globe with limited connectivity access information on topics from health care to sustainable farming.
The new Global Institute for the Future of Energy joins the Thunderbird School of Global Management and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory to advance ASU’s ongoing efforts in global energy literacy, innovation and education. The initiative was funded by Robert L. Zorich, an ASU alumnus and managing partner of energy investment firm, EnCap Investments.
Omar Yaghi wins the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering metal-organic frameworks for work he began at ASU, enabling carbon capture. The research contributed to launching the field of reticular chemistry.
–– Starting in 2026, the newly established ASU London will offer three-year undergraduate programs in business, engineering and computer science, leading to a one-year ASU master’s degree in London’s global learning environment.
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The newly accredited John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering at ASU will train physician-engineer leaders to transform health care delivery and education. ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE
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Luis Valledor, Ela Chachulski, Sara Doyle and Isabella Hamamoto, who are pursuing degrees in robotics and autonomous systems, engage in hands-on learning during a robotics class at the new ISTB12 building on the Polytechnic campus.
Creating a brighter future for Arizona, the nation and the world What moves our state forward is the strength of our aspirations and the shared values that bring us together — good jobs, a healthy environment, fair and just systems, vibrant communities and a strong education system. In a time of great change when AI is becoming more accessible to all, the landscape of health care is constantly changing and high-tech manufacturing is reshaping local economies, ASU is pioneering new models of education to keep pace and increase accessibility. This is all to achieve the Arizona We Want, a shared vision for the future of the state, developed by the nonprofit Center for the Future of Arizona, where all residents can enjoy sustained prosperity, unmatched quality of life and real opportunity.
annualreport.asu.edu SABIRA MADADY/ASU
A publication of ASU Enterprise Brand Strategy and Management © 2025 Arizona Board of Regents. All rights reserved.