Federal Funding for Science and Engineering: Trends in Rankings Among Top Universities, FYs 2014–23

In FY 2023, federal agencies obligated $49.0 billion to 1,110 institutions of higher education in the United States for the support of science and engineering (S&E) activities.^​ Federal funding for S&E support is concentrated within a relatively small and consistent set of institutions. For example, the top 10 recipient institutions in FY 2023 accounted for $9.9 billion, or 20.1% of all federal S&E support to all institutions of higher education. Similarly, the top 100 recipient institutions combined received $38.4 billion in FY 2023, or 78.4% of all federal S&E support to higher education institutions. In FY 2014, the top 10 recipient institutions received $7.2 billion, or 22.7% of all federal S&E support obligations to higher education institutions (figure 1).^​ This InfoBytes presents statistics on the changes in the population of the top 10 recipient institutions during the past decade. Data are presented in current dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation.

In FY 2023, Johns Hopkins University continued as the primary recipient of federal funding for S&E support with $2.1 billion in FY 2023-nearly $1.2 billion more than the next institution, the University of Michigan, which received $966 million. This difference widened considerably compared with FY 2014, when Johns Hopkins University received $764 million more than the next institution. Federal obligations to Johns Hopkins University include funding for the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), which is 1 of 15 University Affiliated Research Centers in the United States. In FY 2023, federal obligations to APL totaled more than $963 million.^​ Although there was general stability among the top 10 recipient institutions of federal S&E support during the past decade, more dynamic changes were seen in rankings among the top 10 institutions around FY 2020 and FY 2021. For example, in FY 2021, New York University (NYU), which includes the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, rose to the second-largest recipient of federal funds for S&E with $908 million in federal obligations. Of this amount, $877 million was obligated from the Department of Health and Human Services.^​ In FY 2020, NYU ranked 25th with $450 million in federal S&E support.

In FYs 2020 and 2021, Congress passed a series of supplemental bills starting in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-123); the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127); the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (P.L. 116-136); the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (P.L. 116-139); the added stimulus component of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260); and the American Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2). Many of these bills provided agencies with supplemental appropriations, some of which could be directed toward research and development. The effect of these supplemental appropriations contributed to changes in rankings among the top 10 recipient institutions (figure 2). For example, in FY 2020, these supplemental appropriations added $1.4 billion to federal S&E support obligations to higher education.^​ Starting in FY 2022, the rankings of recipient institutions begin to return to the pre-pandemic state, but changes remained in the ecosystem of federal obligations for S&E support. For example, the University of Colorado, Boulder, which had ranked just below the top 10 from FY 2014-21, moved from 13th place in FY 2021 to 7th place in FY 2022 and continued to rank in the top 10 in FY 2023.

NCSES has reviewed this product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved its release (NCSES-DRN25-054).

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2026. Federal Funding for Science and Engineering: Trends in Rankings Among Top Universities, FYs 2014-23. NSF 26-310. Alexandria, VA: U.S. National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf26310.

1 Details for FY 2023 are available in the full set of data tables. Obligations represent the amount for orders placed, contracts awarded, services received, and similar transactions during a given period, regardless of when funds were appropriated or when future payment of money is required.

2 In FY 2014, total federal obligations to higher education institutions totaled $31.2 billion. The sum of federal S&E obligations to the top 10 recipient institutions for FY 2024 totaled $7.2 billion. Data for FY 2014 are from survey database extraction.

3 For data on specific University Affiliated Research Centers, see the Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development's full set of data tables : tables 44-46.

4 Details available in the FY 2021 full set of data tables: table 18.

5 National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2022. Federal Science and Engineering Support to Higher Education Increased 3% in FY 2020. NSF 22-341. Alexandria, VA: U.S. National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf22341.

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