by Michael T. Gibbons[1]
Funding of higher education research and development increased across all funding sources for a consecutive year in FY 2017. Total R&D expenditures reached $75.3 billion, up 4.7% from $71.9 billion in FY 2016 (table 1). Federal funding of R&D increased in both current and constant dollars for two straight years for the first time since FYs 2009–2011, according to data from the Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey conducted by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF).
NOTES: Because of rounding, detail may not add to total. Includes all institutions surveyed in the fiscal years shown. Institutions reporting less than $1 million in total R&D expenditures in the previous year completed a shorter version of the survey questionnaire. Respondents to the short form questionnaire accounted for $140 million (0.2%) of total R&D expenditures in FY 2017. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey. |
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| Fiscal year |
All R&D expenditures |
Source of funds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal government |
State and local government |
Institution funds |
Business | Nonprofit organizations |
All other sources |
||
| 2012 | 65,873 | 40,217 | 3,744 | 13,625 | 3,279 | 4,037 | 970 |
| 2013 | 67,145 | 39,510 | 3,706 | 14,974 | 3,515 | 3,903 | 1,537 |
| 2014 | 67,349 | 38,031 | 3,915 | 15,781 | 3,733 | 3,977 | 1,911 |
| 2015 | 68,692 | 37,911 | 3,864 | 16,638 | 4,008 | 4,235 | 2,037 |
| 2016 | 71,935 | 38,845 | 4,034 | 18,004 | 4,216 | 4,629 | 2,207 |
| 2017 | 75,315 | 40,305 | 4,247 | 18,922 | 4,430 | 5,133 | 2,278 |
The FY 2017 $75.3 billion total represents 903 degree-granting institutions that spent at least $150,000 in R&D during the fiscal year. The remainder of this InfoBrief will focus on the 644 institutions included in the full version of the HERD Survey (standard form) that had at least $1 million in R&D performance during their previous fiscal year. These institutions accounted for 99.8% of the total R&D expenditures reported for FY 2017. For more information, see "Data Sources, Limitations, and Availability."
When adjusted for inflation, federal funding for higher education R&D increased 1.7% between FY 2016 and FY 2017 (figure 1). Funding from nonfederal sources also increased from FY 2016, rising 3.7% in constant dollars. The overall share of higher education R&D supported by federal government funding in FY 2017 (53.5%) was nearly the same as in FY 2016 (54.0%) and the lowest share since the survey began in 1953. Federal funding in current dollars increased from $38.8 billion in FY 2016 to $40.3 billion in FY 2017.
NOTES: Because of rounding, detail may not add to total. Includes all institutions surveyed in the fiscal years shown. Prior to FY 2003, totals did not include R&D expenditures in non-science and engineering fields.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey.
R&D expenditures funded from universities' own sources reached $18.9 billion in FY 2017. This total accounted for 25.1% of total higher education R&D and 54.0% of total nonfederal funding. Both shares are virtually unchanged since FY 2016 and remain the largest since the advent of the survey. Almost two-thirds of institutional spending ($12.1 billion) came from direct funding of R&D activities through the universities' own research accounts (figure 2). Unrecovered indirect costs (the amount of indirect costs that are not reimbursed to the institution for externally funded R&D) totaled $5.2 billion in FY 2017, and cost sharing commitments accounted for $1.6 billion. All of these totals increased from FY 2016, equaling an overall growth of 5.1%.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey.
Other sources of nonfederal funding rose similarly over the past year, including $4.4 billion funded by businesses (5.1% increase), $4.2 billion funded by state and local government (5.3% increase), and $2.3 billion funded by undifferentiated other sources—such as foreign governments, other universities, or gifts designated by donors for research (3.2% increase). The growth in funding from nonprofit organizations (10.9%) exceeded all other nonfederal sources, reaching $5.1 billion in FY 2017.
The share of dollars spent by universities on basic research has gradually declined since FY 2010, when the HERD Survey first asked institutions to categorize their expenditures by basic research, applied research, or experimental development.[2] Of the $75.2 billion spent on R&D in FY 2017, 61.8% was categorized as basic research, 28.5% as applied research, and 9.6% as experimental development (table 2). By contrast, the shares in FY 2010 were 65.9% for basic research, 25.3% for applied research, and 8.8% for experimental development. While both federal and nonfederal sources funded similar shares of applied research (about 28%) in FY 2017, a higher proportion of federal funding (63.7%) is devoted to basic research compared with funding by nonfederal sources (59.6%).
NOTES: This table includes only institutions reporting $1 million or more in total R&D expenditures in the previous fiscal year. Institutions reporting less than $1 million in total R&D expenditures in the previous fiscal year completed a shorter version of the survey form that did not collect R&D expenditures by type of R&D. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey. |
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| Source and funds and type of R&D | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ||||||||
| All R&D expenditures | 61,287 | 65,274 | 65,729 | 67,013 | 67,197 | 68,551 | 71,795 | 75,175 |
| Basic research | 40,416 | 42,809 | 42,402 | 43,305 | 42,989 | 43,851 | 45,103 | 46,465 |
| Applied research | 15,478 | 16,734 | 17,296 | 17,391 | 17,746 | 18,025 | 19,973 | 21,461 |
| Experimental development | 5,392 | 5,732 | 6,032 | 6,317 | 6,461 | 6,675 | 6,719 | 7,249 |
| Federal | ||||||||
| All R&D expenditures | 37,478 | 40,768 | 40,142 | 39,446 | 37,960 | 37,849 | 38,778 | 40,238 |
| Basic research | 25,400 | 27,331 | 26,469 | 26,072 | 24,905 | 24,942 | 24,949 | 25,630 |
| Applied research | 9,362 | 10,499 | 10,578 | 10,327 | 10,016 | 9,974 | 10,887 | 11,561 |
| Experimental development | 2,716 | 2,938 | 3,095 | 3,047 | 3,039 | 2,932 | 2,942 | 3,047 |
| Nonfederal | ||||||||
| All R&D expenditures | 23,809 | 24,506 | 25,587 | 27,567 | 29,236 | 30,702 | 33,017 | 34,937 |
| Basic research | 15,017 | 15,478 | 15,932 | 17,234 | 18,084 | 18,909 | 20,155 | 20,835 |
| Applied research | 6,116 | 6,235 | 6,718 | 7,064 | 7,730 | 8,051 | 9,086 | 9,900 |
| Experimental development | 2,676 | 2,793 | 2,937 | 3,270 | 3,422 | 3,742 | 3,777 | 4,203 |
R&D expenditures in science ($58.9 billion), engineering ($11.9 billion), and non-science and engineering (non-S&E) ($4.3 billion) had similar increases of between 4.5% and 4.8% from FY 2016 to FY 2017 (table 3). Two thirds of the $3.4 billion growth in R&D expenditures for FY 2017 stemmed from increases in the life sciences subfields of biological and biomedical sciences (up $664 million) and health sciences (up $1,609 million).
nec = not elsewhere classified; S&E = science and engineering. NOTES: This table includes only institutions reporting $1 million or more in total R&D expenditures in the previous fiscal year. Institutions reporting less than $1 million in total R&D expenditures in the previous fiscal year completed a shorter version of the survey form that did not collect federally financed R&D expenditures by detailed field. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey. |
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| Field | 2016 | 2017 | % change 2016–17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All R&D fields | 71,795,275 | 75,174,941 | 4.7 |
| Science | 56,266,661 | 58,932,076 | 4.7 |
| Computer and information sciences | 2,078,154 | 2,191,762 | 5.5 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | 3,085,624 | 3,154,446 | 2.2 |
| Atmospheric science and meteorology | 626,457 | 623,871 | -0.4 |
| Geological and earth sciences | 1,000,064 | 1,086,382 | 8.6 |
| Ocean sciences and marine sciences | 1,097,963 | 1,101,625 | 0.3 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences, nec | 361,140 | 342,568 | -5.1 |
| Life sciences | 40,868,307 | 43,095,195 | 5.4 |
| Agricultural sciences | 3,294,989 | 3,282,797 | -0.4 |
| Biological and biomedical sciences | 13,044,385 | 13,708,543 | 5.1 |
| Health sciences | 22,374,973 | 23,983,549 | 7.2 |
| Natural resources and conservation | 690,376 | 686,729 | -0.5 |
| Life sciences, nec | 1,463,584 | 1,433,577 | -2.1 |
| Mathematics and statistics | 681,562 | 701,085 | 2.9 |
| Physical sciences | 4,888,752 | 5,049,175 | 3.3 |
| Astronomy and astrophysics | 622,101 | 648,744 | 4.3 |
| Chemistry | 1,774,776 | 1,792,738 | 1.0 |
| Materials science | 173,314 | 227,682 | 31.4 |
| Physics | 2,118,434 | 2,154,152 | 1.7 |
| Physical sciences, nec | 200,127 | 225,859 | 12.9 |
| Psychology | 1,219,432 | 1,242,853 | 1.9 |
| Social sciences | 2,368,285 | 2,550,173 | 7.7 |
| Anthropology | 96,638 | 111,199 | 15.1 |
| Economics | 399,250 | 434,743 | 8.9 |
| Political science and government | 385,305 | 404,512 | 5.0 |
| Sociology, demography, and population studies | 503,931 | 551,645 | 9.5 |
| Social sciences, nec | 983,161 | 1,048,074 | 6.6 |
| Sciences, nec | 1,076,545 | 947,387 | -12.0 |
| Engineering | 11,381,183 | 11,897,397 | 4.5 |
| Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering | 883,194 | 994,422 | 12.6 |
| Bioengineering and biomedical engineering | 1,084,749 | 1,220,451 | 12.5 |
| Chemical engineering | 885,107 | 933,776 | 5.5 |
| Civil engineering | 1,330,778 | 1,302,098 | -2.2 |
| Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering | 2,517,183 | 2,727,498 | 8.4 |
| Industrial and manufacturing engineering | 238,780 | 344,224 | 44.2 |
| Mechanical engineering | 1,435,690 | 1,531,092 | 6.6 |
| Metallurgical and materials engineering | 744,333 | 736,717 | -1.0 |
| Engineering, nec | 2,261,369 | 2,107,119 | -6.8 |
| Non-S&E | 4,147,431 | 4,345,468 | 4.8 |
| Business management and business administration | 647,858 | 731,868 | 13 |
| Communication and communications technologies | 167,872 | 205,561 | 22.5 |
| Education | 1,337,779 | 1,380,221 | 3.2 |
| Humanities | 445,995 | 498,700 | 11.8 |
| Law | 184,588 | 223,829 | 21.3 |
| Social work | 211,920 | 236,069 | 11.4 |
| Visual and performing arts | 138,608 | 130,807 | -5.6 |
| Non-S&E, nec | 1,012,811 | 938,413 | -7.3 |
Several of the subfields added to the survey in FY 2016 showed large percentage increases in FY 2017, such as industrial and manufacturing engineering (44.2%), materials science (31.4%), and anthropology (15.1%).[3] The subfields of sciences, not elsewhere classified (nec); engineering, nec; and non-S&E, nec all declined as universities tried to more accurately report their expenditures by R&D field and removed some funds that were not pertinent to the survey.
The top 30 institutions accounted for 42.0% of the total spent on R&D within the higher education sector in FY 2017, the same share as in FY 2016 (table 4). Only two of the top 30 institutions reported declines in their R&D spending from the prior year, with each declining less than 1%. The same 30 institutions were the largest university R&D performers in FY 2016 and FY 2017. Within the top 30, only New York University saw its rank change by more than three places in FY 2017, rising five places to 18th. This continued a trend by the university, which saw its reported expenditures triple since 2006 and double since 2012, due to more detailed accounting of institution funding, increased foreign funding of R&D within its medical school, and increased R&D expenditures at its Abu Dhabi campus.
a Johns Hopkins University includes Applied Physics Laboratory, with $1,472 million in total R&D expenditures in FY 2017. NOTES: Because of rounding, detail may not add to total. Total for all institutions excludes $140 million reported on the short form questionnaire by institutions with less than $1 million in R&D during the previous fiscal year. Institutions ranked are geographically separate campuses headed by a campus-level president or chancellor. The University of Texas, Austin was ranked number 30 in FY 2015, but was not in the top 30 in subsequent years. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey. |
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| Rank | Institution | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | % change 2016–17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All institutions | 68,551 | 71,795 | 75,175 | 4.7 | |
| Leading 30 institutions | 28,343 | 30,157 | 31,548 | 4.6 | |
| 1 | Johns Hopkins U.a | 2,306 | 2,431 | 2,562 | 5.4 |
| 2 | U. Michigan, Ann Arbor | 1,369 | 1,436 | 1,530 | 6.5 |
| 3 | U. California, San Francisco | 1,127 | 1,294 | 1,409 | 8.9 |
| 4 | U. Pennsylvania | 864 | 1,296 | 1,374 | 6.0 |
| 5 | U. Washington, Seattle | 1,181 | 1,278 | 1,348 | 5.5 |
| 6 | U. Wisconsin-Madison | 1,069 | 1,158 | 1,193 | 3.1 |
| 7 | U. California, San Diego | 1,101 | 1,087 | 1,133 | 4.3 |
| 8 | Duke U. | 1,037 | 1,056 | 1,127 | 6.7 |
| 9 | Harvard U. | 1,014 | 1,077 | 1,123 | 4.3 |
| 10 | Stanford U. | 1,023 | 1,066 | 1,110 | 4.1 |
| 11 | U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill | 967 | 1,045 | 1,102 | 5.4 |
| 12 | U. California, Los Angeles | 1,021 | 1,038 | 1,077 | 3.8 |
| 13 | Cornell U. | 954 | 974 | 984 | 1.1 |
| 14 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 931 | 946 | 952 | 0.6 |
| 15 | Yale U. | 803 | 882 | 951 | 7.9 |
| 16 | U. Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh | 861 | 890 | 940 | 5.6 |
| 17 | U. Minnesota, Twin Cities | 881 | 910 | 922 | 1.3 |
| 18 | New York U. | 602 | 810 | 918 | 13.3 |
| 19 | Texas A&M U., College Station and Health Science Center | 867 | 893 | 905 | 1.4 |
| 20 | Columbia U. in the City of New York | 868 | 837 | 893 | 6.7 |
| 21 | U. Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center | 833 | 852 | 888 | 4.2 |
| 22 | Ohio State U. | 818 | 818 | 864 | 5.6 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania State U., University Park and Hershey Medical Center | 791 | 826 | 855 | 3.5 |
| 24 | Georgia Institute of Technology | 765 | 791 | 804 | 1.7 |
| 25 | U. Florida | 740 | 791 | 801 | 1.3 |
| 26 | U. California, Berkeley | 789 | 774 | 771 | -0.4 |
| 27 | U. Southern California | 691 | 703 | 764 | 8.7 |
| 28 | Washington U., Saint Louis | 694 | 741 | 754 | 1.8 |
| 29 | Northwestern U. | 656 | 713 | 752 | 5.4 |
| 30 | U. California, Davis | 721 | 742 | 738 | -0.5 |
The fiscal year referred to throughout this report is the academic fiscal year. For most institutions, FY 2017 represents 1 July 2016 through 30 June 2017. The higher education R&D expenditures data were collected from a census of 903 universities and colleges that grant a bachelor's degree or higher and expended at least $150,000 in R&D in FY 2017. To reduce respondent burden, the HERD Survey was revised in FY 2012 to request abbreviated data from institutions reporting less than $1 million in R&D expenditures during the previous fiscal year. Except for figure 1 and table 1, the totals shown in this InfoBrief do not include expenditures of 259 institutions that completed a short-form version of the survey in FY 2017. These institutions accounted for $140 million (0.2%) of total higher education R&D expenditures in FY 2017.
The amounts reported include all funds expended for activities specifically organized to produce research outcomes and sponsored by an outside organization or separately accounted for using institution funds. R&D expenditures at university-administered federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are collected in a separate survey, the FFRDC Research and Development Survey, and these data are available at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdc/.
The full set of data tables and technical information from this survey is available at https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/herd/2017/.
[1] Michael T. Gibbons, Research and Development Statistics Program, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Ave, Suite W14200, Alexandria, VA 22331 (mgibbons@nsf.gov; 703-292-4590).
[2] Prior to 2010, the survey requested the percentage of the total devoted to basic research instead of specific dollar amounts for basic research, applied research, and experimental development.
[3] Substantive changes were made to the field list and classification structure for the FY 2016 survey to coordinate the categories with other NCSES surveys. Several fields were renamed, such as medical sciences to health sciences, and some disciplines were moved to different subfields to achieve comparability across surveys. In particular, many of the disciplines listed under life sciences, not elsewhere classified (nec) were moved to health sciences. In addition, four new subfields were added: natural resources and conservation under life sciences, materials science under physical sciences, anthropology under social sciences, and industrial and manufacturing engineering under engineering. These changes primarily affect trends in the revised subfields and do not significantly affect the broad field trends. For complete details on the changes, see Technical Notes, Appendix A in the full set of 2016 data tables (https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/herd/2016/).