The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of predominantly American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 69 public and private universities in the United States as well as 2 universities in Canada. AAU membership is by invitation only and requires an affirmative vote of three-quarters of current members.
History 20th century AAU was founded on February 28, 1900, by a group of 14 Doctor of Philosophy degree-granting universities in the United States to strengthen and standardize American doctoral programs. American universities—starting with University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University in 1876—were adopting the research-intensive German model of higher education. Lack of standardization damaged European universities' opinions of their American counterparts and many American students attended graduate school in Europe instead of staying in the U.S. The presidents of Harvard University, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Chicago, and the University of California sent a letter of invitation to nine other universities—Clark University, Catholic University of America, Cornell University, the University of Michigan, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, the University of Wisconsin, and Yale University—to meet in Chicago in February 1900 to promote and raise standards. The AAU's founding members elected Harvard's Charles William Eliot as the association's first president and Stanford's David Starr Jordan as its first chairman."For Uniform Requirements: Universities Will Fix Standard For Higher Degrees". The Baltimore Sun;. March 1, 1900. p. 2.
In 1914, the AAU began accrediting undergraduate education at its member and other schools. German universities used the "AAU Accepted List" to determine whether a college's graduates were qualified for graduate programs. Regional accreditation agencies existed in the U.S. by the 1920s, and the AAU ended accrediting schools in 1948.
For its first six decades, the AAU functioned as a club for the presidents and deans of elite research universities to informally discuss educational matters, and its day-to-day operations were managed by an executive secretary. In the 1970s, the AAU shifted to a role of active advocacy on behalf of its members' interests; dues were raised, more staff members were hired, and its chief executive was given the title of president and the duty of becoming far more publicly visible than his predecessors.
21st century As of 2025, the AAU consists of 71 U.S. and Canadian universities of varying sizes and missions that share a commitment to research. The six newest members, added in 2023, are Arizona State University, George Washington University, the University of California, Riverside, the University of Miami, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of South Florida.
The organization's primary purpose is to provide a forum for the development and implementation of institutional and national policies in order to strengthen programs in academic research, scholarship, and education at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels.
Benefits The largest attraction of the AAU for many schools, especially nonmembers, is prestige. Since the AAU's founding, it has "been a grouping of the elite in the American university world", and "[n]ew presidents of nonmember universities often list gaining admission to the AAU as a goal of their administration." For example, in 2010 the chancellor of nonmember North Carolina State University described it as "the pre-eminent research-intensive membership group. To be a part of that organization is something N.C. State aspires to." A spokesman for nonmember University of Connecticut called it "perhaps the most elite organization in higher education. You'd probably be hard-pressed to find a major research university that didn't want to be a member of the AAU." In 2012, the newly elected chancellor of University of Massachusetts Amherst, a nonmember of AAU, reaffirmed the objective of elevating the campus to AAU standards and the hope of becoming a member in the near future, and called it a distinctive status.UMass Amherst: Kumble R. Subbaswamy – Feature Story . Umass.edu (May 13, 2012). Retrieved on 2013-07-15. Because of the lengthy and difficult entrance process, boards of trustees, state legislators, and donors often see membership as evidence of the quality of a university.
The AAU's lobbying headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., for research and higher education funding and for policy and regulatory issues affecting research universities. The association holds two meetings annually, both in Washington. Separate meetings are held for university presidents, provosts, and other officials. Because the meetings are private, they offer the opportunity for discussion without media coverage. Prominent government officials, business leaders, and others often speak to the groups.
Presidents Executive Term Thomas A. Bartlett 1977–1982 Robert M. Rosenzweig 1983–1993 Cornelius J. Pings 1993–1998 Nils Hasselmo 1998–2006 Robert M. Berdahl 2006–2011 Hunter R. Rawlings III 2011–2016 Mary Sue Coleman 2016–2020 Barbara Snyder 2020–present
Statistics , AAU members accounted for 58 percent of U.S. universities' research grants and contract income and 52 percent of all doctorates awarded in the United States. Since 1999, 43 percent of all Nobel Prize winners and 74 percent of winners at U.S. institutions have been affiliated with an AAU university. Approximately two-thirds of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2006 Class of Fellows are affiliated with an AAU university.AAU Facts and Figures . Accessed August 24, 2008. +AAU facts and figuresCategoryNumber in 2008 National percentageNumber in 2024PercentageUndergraduate students1,044,7597%1,510,00013%Undergraduate degrees awarded235,32817%361,27318%Graduate students418,06620%756,28923%Non professional master's degrees awarded106,97119%217,85621%Professional doctorate and masters degrees awarded20,85925%31,098Research doctorates awarded22,74752%34,66660%Postdoctoral fellows30,43067%46,33470%Students studying abroad57,20522%92,97134%National Merit/Achievement Scholars5,43463%Members of the United States National Academies2,993 82%Faculty72,0005%
Membership AAU membership is by invitation only, which requires an affirmative vote of three-fourths of current members. Invitations are considered periodically, based in part on an assessment of the breadth and quality of university programs of research and graduate education, as well as undergraduate education. The association ranks its members using four criteria: research spending, the percentage of faculty who are members of the National Academies, faculty awards, and citations. Non-member universities whose research and education profile exceeds that of a number of current members may be invited to join the association; current members whose research and education profile falls significantly below that of other current members or below the criteria for admission of new members will be subject to further review and possible discontinuation of membership. A vote by two-thirds of the member institutions can revoke membership for poor rankings. annual dues are $139,500. All 69 U.S. members of the AAU are also classified as Highest Research Activity (R1) Universities by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, as are four of the five former AAU members.
Current members Institution State or province Control Established Year joined Total students Medical school(LCME accredited) Engineering program(ABET accredited)Land-Grant Institution(NIFA)Federally funded FY23 R&D exp.