Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Research universities worldwide

Name: Research universities worldwide
Creator: RevenueBase
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Compiled by the RevenueBase Data Team Data refreshed Sep 21, 2026 8,431 companies tracked

RevenueBase identified 8,431 research universities worldwide as of September 2026 and tracks 4,804,001 professional contacts across them, including 1,392,398 with verified work emails. India is the largest market and Shanghai the largest hub.

This list covers research universities worldwide, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 21, 2026. Country and city lists for research universities follow the table.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.

How to read this list HQ checked on every row RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row Refreshed Sep 21, 2026 86% judged on-target in blind review

8,431Companies

4,804,001Contacts tracked

1,392,398Verified emails

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The 25 largest research universities worldwide

Ranked by team size

Top 25 of 8,431 research universities worldwide, ranked by team size, largest first. Data refreshed Sep 21, 2026. RevenueBase Smart Search rates how each company's information relates to research universities: strong evidence (its own description names it), partial (names part of it), indirect (matched on the rest of its profile rather than the description shown). Click a contact count to view that company's people.
#	Company	RevenueBase Smart Search	Headquarters	Employees	Contacts
1	University Of Florida	Partial evidence	Gainesville, FL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	27,475 contacts →
	Partial evidence “University of Florida is a major, public, comprehensive, land-grant, research university.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
2	Penn State University	Partial evidence	University Park, PA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	26,844 contacts →
	Partial evidence “There’s a reason Penn State consistently ranks among the top one percent of the world’s universities.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
3	University Of Washington	Partial evidence	Seattle, WA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	26,178 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the West Coast and is one of the preeminent research…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
4	University Of Toronto	Indirect evidence	Toronto, ON, CanadaHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	24,486 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto is Canada’s top university with a long history of challenging the impossible and transforming society through the ingenuity and resolve…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
5	The Ohio State University	Strong evidence	Columbus, OH, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	24,395 contacts →
	Strong evidence “One of the largest universities in the United States, The Ohio State University is a leading research university and the model for Ohio's public higher education institutes.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
6	Stanford University	Partial evidence	Stanford, CA, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	23,254 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Stanford University pursues its founding mission of research and education with a spirit of optimism and possibility.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
7	University Of Minnesota	Indirect evidence	Minneapolis And St. Paul, MN, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	23,102 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “One of the nation’s largest schools, the University of Minnesota offers baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in virtually every field-from medicine to business, law to…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
8	University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Partial evidence	Champaign, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	22,281 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is dedicated to building upon its tradition of excellence in education, research, public engagement and economic development.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
9	The University Of Texas At Austin	Partial evidence	Austin, TX, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	22,079 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The University of Texas at Austin is one of the largest public universities in the United States.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
10	NEW York University	Strong evidence	New York, NY, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	21,541 contacts →
	Strong evidence “Founded in 1831, NYU is one of the world’s foremost research universities and is a member of the selective Association of American Universities.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
11	Purdue University	Indirect evidence	West Lafayette, IN, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	21,494 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “At Purdue University, we keep going.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
12	Michigan State University	Indirect evidence	East Lansing, MI, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	21,438 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “A top global public university, MSU is home to 400+ academic programs.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
13	The University Of British Columbia	Strong evidence	Vancouver, BC, CanadaHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	20,771 contacts →
	Strong evidence “The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
14	UCLA	Strong evidence	Los Angeles, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	5,001-10,000	20,764 contacts →
	Strong evidence “UCLA offers a combination that’s rare, especially among public research universities.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
15	Columbia University	Indirect evidence	New York, NY, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	20,014 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “For more than 250 years, Columbia has been a leader in higher education in the nation and around the world.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
16	University Of Pennsylvania	Partial evidence	Philadelphia, PA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	19,612 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The University of Pennsylvania is one of the oldest universities in America and, as a member of the Ivy League, one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in all…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
17	University Of Southern California	Partial evidence	Los Angeles, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	19,295 contacts →
	Partial evidence “The University of Southern California is a leading private research university located in Los Angeles, the capital of the Pacific Rim.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
18	University Of California, Berkeley	Indirect evidence	Berkeley, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	18,637 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “A wellspring of innovation, the school occupies a 1,232-acre campus near downtown Berkeley.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
19	UCL	Indirect evidence	London, United KingdomHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	18,143 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “UCL (University College London) is London's leading multidisciplinary university, ranked 9th in the QS World University Rankings.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
20	University Of Melbourne	Indirect evidence	Melbourne, AustraliaHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	5,001-10,000	18,065 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “As Australia's leading university, our distinctive Melbourne experience helps graduates become well-rounded, thoughtful and skilled professionals – making a positive impact across…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
21	Monash University	Indirect evidence	Victoria, AustraliaHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	17,916 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “Monash University is Australia’s largest and most international university.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
22	University Of Maryland	Indirect evidence	College Park, MD, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	17,469 contacts →
	Indirect evidence “As the State's flagship, the University of Maryland (UMD) strives to bring students deeply into the process of discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
23	North Carolina State University	Partial evidence	Raleigh, NC, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	17,450 contacts →
	Partial evidence “With more than students and faculty and staff, North Carolina State University is a comprehensive university known for its leadership in education and research, and globally…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
24	Cornell University	Partial evidence	Ithaca, NY, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	17,047 contacts →
	Partial evidence “Cornell is a privately endowed research university and a partner of the State University of New York.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026
25	University Of Arizona	Strong evidence	Tucson, AZ, United StatesHQ checked Sep 21, 2026	10001+	16,995 contacts →
	Strong evidence “The University of Arizona is the leading public research university in the American Southwest and Arizona's only member of the prestigious Association of American Universities.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 21, 2026

RevenueBase Smart Search

RevenueBase Smart Search assesses information from a company’s LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website, and other publicly available sources. It uses that information to rate how closely the company relates to this list’s category: research universities. Every row carries its rating and the description the rating was read from, so each one can be checked rather than taken on trust.

Strong evidence: The company's own public description of its business names research universities.
Partial evidence: Its own public description names part of research universities, so it works in or next to the category without describing itself that way.
Indirect evidence: The description shown does not name research universities. The match rests on the rest of the company's public profile rather than the one sentence quoted here, so this is the rating to check first.

RevenueBase Smart Search is how these lists are built: RevenueBase's data engine and AI assemble the companies that match a category defined in a user's own words, so a list can be about what companies actually do rather than about whichever industry code they were filed under.

Showing 25 of 8,431 research universities worldwide

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Research universities worldwide at a glance

As of Sep 21, 2026

29.0%Verified-email coverage

569.8Average contacts per company

201-500Median size (employees)

0.5%Largest-city concentration · Shanghai

Sep 21, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10

798

11-50

1,107

51-200

1,452

201-500

1,336

501-1,000

1,043

1,001-5,000

1,693

5,001-10,000

480

10001+

504

Email recency is reported on each country list linked below.

How this list was built

Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among research universities, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.

Source: The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
Coverage: Every country. Country and city lists for research universities are linked below.
What qualifies: Companies worldwide whose own description of what they do matches “research universities”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
RevenueBase Smart Search: RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names research universities), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
What we exclude: Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among research universities, and records with no verified work email.
Match quality: In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and its RevenueBase Smart Search rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
Ranking: Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
Verification: Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 1,392,398 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
Refresh: This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 21, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
Corrections: Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.

Research universities by location

53 lists · largest first

Every Research universities list RevenueBase publishes, by country and city. Counts are matching companies in each list as of its own refresh date.

Countries

Cities

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase Smart Search?

RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names research universities, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.

How many research universities are there worldwide?

RevenueBase identified 8,431 research universities worldwide as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.

What is the largest company on this list?

University Of Florida, headquartered in Gainesville, tops this list with the largest team on record.

Which country has the most research universities?

India leads with 1,335 companies, followed by the United States (694) and Brazil (374). Every research universities list by country and city is linked on this page.

Which city has the most research universities?

Shanghai leads with 43 headquartered companies, followed by Pune (40) and Chennai (39).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 1,392,398 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 8,431 companies.

How current is this list?

The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 21, 2026.

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About this data

RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase Smart Search, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.