Since the 1950s, Over Half of R&D Expenditures at U.S. Colleges and Universities Have Been Funded by the Federal Government

R&D expenditures at academic institutions are funded by six primary sources: the federal government, state and local governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, the universities themselves, and all other sources. Total academic R&D expenditures increased from $255 million in FY 1953 to $109 billion in FY 2023, and federal funding of academic R&D increased from $138 million to $60 billion, all in current dollars. The federal share fluctuated over the years—for example, increasing due to national defense and space flight R&D spending in the 1960s—but accounted for over 50% of the total for the entire period.^{​“The Global Research and Development Landscape and Implications for the Department of Defense.” Congressional Research Service, 28 June 2021, www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45403.}

Universities’ own R&D funding increased during this period as well, from $35 million in FY 1953 to $28 billion in FY 2023. As a share of total expenditures, institution funds have represented 25% since 2016.

Information on higher education R&D funded by nonprofits is available only from FY 2010 onward, with expenditures increasing from $4 billion to $7 billion in FY 2023. Prior to FY 2010, nonprofit funding was included under all other sources. Nonprofit organizations have funded between 6% and 7% of higher education R&D since FY 2010, whereas all other sources—such as gifts from donors for research or support from foreign governments or universities—funded around 3% annually over the past decade.

See the full set of data tables at https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/higher-education-research-development/2023#data.

NCSES has reviewed this product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved its release (NCSES-DRN25-032).

Suggested citation: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2025. Since the 1950s, Over Half of R&D Expenditures at U.S. Colleges and Universities Have Been Funded by the Federal Government. NSF 25-345. Alexandria, VA: U.S. National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf25345.