Research at Kennesaw State University is purposeful and relevant to the changing landscapes of our growing society. KSU researchers are making discoveries through their creative and scholarly pursuits and finding innovative solutions to pressing issues in health, education, business, transportation and the STEM disciplines. KSU’s research portfolio is varied and far-reaching, taking place in campus laboratories and field sites in Georgia and abroad.
KSU recently has been elevated to an "R2" designated institution – doctoral university with high research activity – in the revised 2018 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Learning, the second-highest classification for research institutions in the country. KSU is one of only 259 institutions to carry the "R1" or "R2" designation. According to the Carnegie classifications, doctoral research institutions are those that awarded at least 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees during the upgrade year and had at least $5 million in research expenditures.
The University’s annual external funding (five-year average) is more than eight million dollars. In addition to traditional research funding sources, (such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Education), KSU researchers acquire funding from a full array of industry, NGOs, and state and local funding sources. They are also supported through internal funding, including pilot/seed grants from the Office of the Vice President for Research to catalyze external funding opportunities.
With a strong emphasis on student-centered transformational academic experiences, KSU faculty engage undergraduate and graduate students in their research, leading to a robust community fostering exploration, collaboration and service learning.
Office of Research
The Office of Research at Kennesaw State is the central hub for faculty and staff investigators seeking external funding for their research, service and creative activity. Research administration professionals work with these investigators from project inception to completion, offering assistance in funding identification, proposal development and submission, and award management. Research compliance and training are also integral parts of the support provided. The Kennesaw State University Research and Service Foundation (KSURSF) is the contracting entity for externally funded projects and the University’s on-campus conduit to the patent office.
The Office of Undergraduate Research, a unit of the Office of Research, promotes high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship in all disciplines across campus. A testament to the University’s commitment to undergraduate research, KSU will host the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in spring 2019, the largest undergraduate research conference in the U.S.
