U.S. inventions tend to be among the most successful commercially, worth $3 trillion, according to PatentVector, which devised a way to evaluate intellectual property.
“From cupholders to computers, mittens to mRNA vaccines, and scissors to spacecraft, the U.S. patent system continues to grant a disproportionate share of the most important and valuable patents in the world,” Andrew Torrance, chief executive of PatentVector, told Share America, part of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs.
One of the main reasons for this dominance by the United States is the country’s robust higher education system and the resources they devote to research and development. For example, only two of the 25 most innovative universities in the world are located outside the U.S.
To determine the most innovative universities in the world, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the report “Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents,” published by Academy of Inventors. Universities were ranked by the number of U.S. patents granted in 2020. Additional data came from the National Center for Education Statistics or the universities’ websites.
The two universities located outside of the country are China’s Tsinghua University in Beijing, and Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in the eastern coastal city of Dhahran.
Utility patents are the most common type of patent, issued for the creation of new machines, processes, and manufactured products. In addition to physical devices, utility patents cover chemical compositions like the ones in pharmaceutical products and processes like the method used to securely pair wireless devices. (These are the 30 best college majors for a successful career.)
These 25 most innovative universities were granted 4,093 U.S. utility patents in 2020, led by the University of California’s statewide university system with 597 patents. The UC system is also the largest on this list with more than 294,000 students enrolled in the 2020-21 academic year. The smallest university on this list based on enrollment is the California Institute of Technology, with just 2,240 students. It was granted 156 U.S. utility patents in 2020 and ranks eighth on the list. (Find out if these institutions are also among the universities spending the most on research.)
California is home to three of the most innovative universities, or university systems, followed by two each in Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Here are the most innovative universities in the world.
Click here to see our detailed methodology.
Source: Jonathan W. Cohen / iStock via Getty Images
25. Cornell University (Ithaca, New York)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 87
> Most popular major: Engineering
> Acceptance rate: 10.7%
> Total student enrollment: 23,620
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24. University of Maryland-College Park (College Park, Maryland)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 88
> Most popular major: Social sciences
> Acceptance rate: 51.0%
> Total student enrollment: 40,709
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
23. University of Washington (system-wide) (Washington)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 91
> Most popular major: Social sciences
> Acceptance rate: N/A
> Total student enrollment: 59,817
Source: janniswerner / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
22. University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 99
> Most popular major: Social sciences
> Acceptance rate: 7.3%
> Total student enrollment: 17,834
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21. Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 105
> Most popular major: Engineering
> Acceptance rate: 30.3%
> Total student enrollment: 11,465
Source: DoraDalton / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
20. University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 106
> Most popular major: Engineering
> Acceptance rate: 63.9%
> Total student enrollment: 32,277
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19. Columbia University (New York, New York)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 107
> Most popular major: Social sciences
> Acceptance rate: 6.7%
> Total student enrollment: 30,135
Source: Courtesy of University of Minnesota Twin Cities
18. University of Minnesota (system-wide) (Minnesota)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 110
> Most popular major: Business
> Acceptance rate: N/A
> Total student enrollment: 66,793
Source: f11photo / iStock via Getty Images
17. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 111
> Most popular major: Business
> Acceptance rate: 9.0%
> Total student enrollment: 26,552
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16. Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 122
> Most popular major: Social sciences
> Acceptance rate: 9.3%
> Total student enrollment: 22,603
Source: Sunshower Shots / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
15. University of South Florida (Tampa, Florida)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 123
> Most popular major: Health
> Acceptance rate: 49.2%
> Total student enrollment: 50,626
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14. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 127
> Most popular major: N/A
> Acceptance rate: 4.0%
> Total student enrollment: 10,000
Source: tiny-al / iStock via Getty Images
13. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 134
> Most popular major: Engineering
> Acceptance rate: 26.1%
> Total student enrollment: 47,907
Source: dszc / E+ via Getty Images
11. Arizona State University (Phoenix, Arizona)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 140
> Most popular major: Business
> Acceptance rate: 88.4%
> Total student enrollment: 74,795
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11. University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 140
> Most popular major: Engineering
> Acceptance rate: 31.1%
> Total student enrollment: 53,372
Source: APCortizasJr / iStock via Getty Images
10. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 154
> Most popular major: Social sciences
> Acceptance rate: 5.0%
> Total student enrollment: 30,391
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9. Tsinghua University (Beijing, China)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 155
> Most popular major: N/A
> Acceptance rate: N/A
> Total student enrollment: 53,302
Source: AutumnSkyPhotography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
8. California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, California)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 156
> Most popular major: Engineering
> Acceptance rate: 6.7%
> Total student enrollment: 2,240
Source: YinYang / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
7. University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 162
> Most popular major: Business
> Acceptance rate: 57.2%
> Total student enrollment: 44,640
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Source: akrassel / iStock via Getty Images
6. Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 175
> Most popular major: Engineering
> Acceptance rate: 67.2%
> Total student enrollment: 46,655
Source: UmerPK / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
5. Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 185
> Most popular major: Biological and biomedical sciences
> Acceptance rate: 11.1%
> Total student enrollment: 28,890
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4. The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 207
> Most popular major: Business
> Acceptance rate: 32.0%
> Total student enrollment: 50,476
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Source: SpVVK / iStock via Getty Images
3. Stanford University (Stanford, California)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 229
> Most popular major: Engineering
> Acceptance rate: 5.2%
> Total student enrollment: 15,953
Source: diegograndi / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 383
> Most popular major: Engineering
> Acceptance rate: 7.3%
> Total student enrollment: 11,254
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1. University of California (system-wide) (California)
> No. of U.S. utility patents granted, 2020: 597
> Most popular major: Social sciences
> Acceptance rate: 64.6%
> Total student enrollment: 294,536
Methodology
To determine the most innovative universities in the world, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the report “Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents,” published by Academy of Inventors. Universities were ranked by the most patents granted. Data on student enrollment for fall 2020, acceptance rate for the 2020-2021 school year, and the most popular major during the 2018-2019 academic year came from the National Center for Education Statistics. Data on enrollment, most popular major, and acceptance rate for the Regents of the University of California came from the organization’s website. Data on enrollment for the University of Tsinghua come from the university’s website. Data on enrollment and acceptance rate for King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals came from the university’s website.
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