Wayne State University

Aim Higher

Office of the Vice President for Research

Research Fast Facts

EXCELLENCE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.

  • WSU has a rich history and long tradition of innovation – developing new knowledge and products, discovering “why” so we can know “how,” offering creative solutions to real-world problems, and educating our students.
  • At WSU, research serves as a bridge between access and excellence. WSU faculty are at the forefront of pioneering these approaches that are critical to economic growth, solving universal problems and improving the quality of urban life in Detroit, across the nation and around the globe.
  • WSU is a nationally recognized urban center of excellence in research and one of only two urban public universities holding both the Carnegie “Very High Research” and “Community Engagement” designations.
  • WSU is among the nation’s top public universities for total research expenditures ($254.4 million total; $248.7 million in science and engineering in FY10), ranking 52nd among public universities and colleges, according to the FY09 National Science Foundation reports - the most recent reports available.
  • 2011 marked stronger performances in research activity. WSU’s total awards reached nearly $187.2 million in 2011.
  • The College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Nursing, College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, School of Social Work and the School of Medicine all saw improvement in research funding in 2011.
  • TechTown, WSU’s 12-block research and technology park, has grown to over 250 tenants. This urban community of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and corporate partners are creating an internationally influential village in Detroit to stimulate the creation of new businesses and jobs.
  • WSU is at the forefront of developing electronic, web-accessible collections. WSU leads the Association of Research Libraries in the percentage of budget dedicated to electronic resources.
  • WSU opened nine buildings since 2000, including three residence halls. A $27.3 million engineering facility to support research and technology opened in FY09. The Richard J. Mazurek, M.D., Medical Education Commons, the nucleus of medical programs for undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education, opened in FY09. The Chemistry Building and Scott Hall in the School of Medicine have undergone phase one of renovations and phase two has begun in Chemistry. Plans for a biomedical research building are underway. Classrooms, four ethnic rooms and faculty offices on the first floor of Manoogian Hall were renovated in 2008.

WE ADMIT WE TURN OUT A CERTAIN KIND OF STUDENT. THE SUCCESSFUL KIND.

  • Seventy-five percent of WSU’s living alumni live in Michigan, providing a diverse, highly skilled talent pool for employers.
  • WSU’s School of Medicine is the largest single-campus medical school in the nation and has the highest number of MD graduates each year in the state of Michigan. Approximately 30 percent of practicing physicians in Michigan and 43 percent of practicing physicians in the tri-county area received all or part of their medical training at WSU.
  • WSU enrolled 31,798 students in fall FY2011. Of these, 20,590 are undergraduate students, 8,037 are graduate students, and 3,171 are graduate professional students.
  • WSU offers 350 degrees and certificate programs in 12 schools and colleges.
  • WSU students come from all 50 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, and more than 65 countries. We have the most diverse university student body in Michigan.
  • WSU’s urban mission integrates community engagement in many majors across the campus. Sixty-three percent of our departments offered a service learning course in 2007-2008.

OUR FACULTY MEMBERS DON’T JUST STUDY PROBLEMS. THEY SOLVE THEM.

  • WSU is a member of the University Research Corridor, an alliance of Michigan’s three largest research institutions that includes the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. The Corridor’s objective is to revitalize Michigan’s economy by transferring faculty discoveries to the marketplace, educating a skilled work force, and attracting talent to the state. Together, we generate 95% of research in Michigan.
  • WSU has the highest levels of accreditation by the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs Inc., and assurances through the Office for Protection of Research Risks at the National Institutes of Health and through other national and local agencies.
  • WSU is home to the Perinatalogy Research Branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of the few intramural branches located outside NIH’s main campus in Maryland.
  • WSU is one of only eight Centers for Urban African American Health in the U.S. studying health disparities in minority populations funded by the NIH.

EVERY DAY WE ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES AND DO SOMETHING AMAZING. LIKE “CHANGE THE WORLD.”

  • WSU is part of an alliance composed of Michigan’s top three research universities, two leading health care systems, and state and local health agencies working together in the National Children’s Study, a national research project to study how the environment affects the health and development of 100,000 children from before birth to age 21.
  • WSU is home to the North American Public Health Institute, an international collaborative effort between WSU and the University of Windsor focusing on urban health problems. The collaboration provides an opportunity for comparative research into public health outcomes between countries that have very different healthcare delivery systems and public health policies, in the context of two cities with similar exposure and demographic factors.
  • WSU is home to many exciting research developments including the first effective drug against AIDS – AZT; an all-natural dietary supplement has been found to aid in decreasing heart disease, diabetes and other diseases – FBCx; technology that allows users to pinpoint unwanted noise in a large number of products with a high degree of accuracy – SenSound; software that uses computerized models of the body to study effects of car crashes and other injuries on humans; a promising DNA vaccine that appears to eliminate drug-resistant HER2-positive tumors in mice-without toxic side effects; and more.
  • WSU has a number of core research facilities available to scientists within the WSU community. This includes facilities in analytical chemistry, biocomputing, biostatistics, cell culture, clinical genetics, confocal microscopy, engineering technology, flow cytometry, genomics, imaging, metabolomics, proteomics, tissue biorepository, toxicology, and more. The Smart Sensors and Integrated Microsystems program in the College of Engineering involves research and development of biomedical microsystems and BioMEMs systems, and collaborates with the Kresge Eye Institute, the Ligon Center for Vision, Karmanos Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
  • WSU’s Department of Music is a partner with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the Power of Dreams String Project aimed at opening the world of music to Detroit’s children. The project inspires young children to play a string instrument and participate in musical ensembles and activities.

YOU CAN PUSH YOURSELF TO THE LIMIT, AND YOU’LL LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

  • The university offers a number of internal funding programs to assist faculty researchers in achieving success in obtaining external funding to conduct research, create scholarship, and perform creatively.
  • WSU offers a mentoring seminar series to jumpstart faculty, post-doc and student careers.
  • The Office of the Vice President for Research hosts a number of special interest seminars including Nano@Wayne, BIO 101 – an introductory lecture for non-biology faculty who would like to develop a deeper understanding of biology; grant writing seminars; NIH guest speakers; and more.
  • Sponsored Program Administration provides WSU’s faculty, staff and students with the resources to facilitate submission of proposals and administration of sponsored programs, private grants and gifts awarded to faculty.
  • The Technology Commercialization Office aids faculty with the identification, protection, marketing and licensing of intellectual property to industry. They also leverage Wayne State innovations to create early-stage technology companies by offering assistance to faculty and others to launch successful technology businesses, and locate funding sources, qualified management, and facilities for company operations.
  • The Office of Research Compliance oversees all areas of research compliance, including research with humans, animals, rDNA, radiation safety and chemical safety. The office prepares researchers to meet federal compliance regulations through the presentation of university-wide and department-based workshops related to research compliance.

MIDTOWN DETROIT: A PLACE WHERE THE GREATEST MINDS COME TOGETHER.

  • The Detroit metropolitan region represents 6 counties, 237 cities, villages and townships with a population of over 4.4 million.
  • Detroit is an international community with Canada just minutes away, accessible by bridge and tunnel.
  • WSU is a catalyst in the revitalization of Midtown Detroit. Construction of 400 housing units and 50,000 square feet of retail space as part of the South Village project was recently completed.
  • WSU is located in the cultural center of Detroit. Leading arts and entertainment venues include the world class Detroit Symphony Orchestra; 30 arts museums including the Detroit Institute of Arts – the fifth largest fine arts museum in the United States; numerous historical museums including the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – the largest of its kinds in the country; Forty-seven live theaters including the beautifully restored Fox Theatre in Detroit and WSU’s Hilberry Theatre - an exceptional theatre company that it is the nation's only graduate theatre company staffed by young up-and-coming professionals.
  • Detroit is a city of music and the birthplace of Motown and techno, with many world-class artists and musicians across a broad spectrum of musical genres. Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Magic Stick in Detroit as one of the Best Rock Clubs of 2008.
  • WSU is located in the hub of legendary sports teams including the champion Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons, as well as the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions. Sporting News magazine rated Detroit as the top U.S. sports city in 2007 based on overall performance of its professional teams and its fan enthusiasm.


ANY UNIVERSITY CAN EXPAND YOUR MIND. WE EXPAND YOUR LIFE.

  • Michigan is home to more public golf courses than any other state. In the Detroit region alone, there are over 200 public and 73 private golf courses.
  • Michigan is home to the most registered boats in the United States. In Michigan, you are never more than six miles from a lake or stream.
  • The Detroit region is a cutting-edge center for technology companies. More than 9,000 information technology companies and related industry companies are located within the region.
  • Detroit easily accommodates the travel requirements of a diverse business community with three interstate highways, allowing easy access throughout the city and suburbs.
  • Dining aficionados will enjoy many excellent restaurants in Detroit and beyond. Whether it’s fine dining in the 52-room mansion, The Whitney, or more casual dining in one of Motown’s favorite hangouts, Union Street, Detroit is renowned for its many fabulous restaurants.

FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO LEAVE A LEGACY THAT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, THINK WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY.