University spending on research and development in all fields increased 6.9% between FY 2009 and FY 2010 to $61.2 billion, according to FY 2010 data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey (table 1).[2] When adjusted for inflation, higher education R&D rose by 6.0% in FY 2010.
TABLE 1. Higher education R&D expenditures, by R&D field: FY 2009–10 (Millions of current dollars)
Field
FY 2009
FY 2010
% change 2009–10
All R&D fieldsa
57,289
61,235
6.9
Science
46,215
48,994
6.0
Computer sciences
1,600
1,658
3.6
Environmental sciences
2,923
2,990
2.3
Atmospheric sciences
417
428
2.6
Earth sciences
1,020
1,085
6.4
Oceanography
1,078
1,022
-5.2
Environmental sciences, nec
410
455
11.0
Life sciences
32,779
34,903
6.5
Agricultural sciences
3,056
2,984
-2.4
Biological sciences
10,146
10,947
7.9
Medical sciences
18,230
19,164
5.1
Life sciences, nec
1,348
1,807
34.1
Mathematical sciences
547
599
9.5
Physical sciences
4,283
4,625
8.0
Astronomy
578
573
-0.9
Chemistry
1,583
1,751
10.6
Physics
1,870
2,003
7.1
Physical sciences, nec
252
298
18.3
Psychology
972
1,077
10.8
Social sciences
2,081
1,993
-4.2
Economics
380
353
-7.1
Political sciences
369
373
1.1
Sociology
408
416
2.0
Social sciences, nec
924
852
-7.8
Sciences, nec
1,029
1,150
11.8
Engineering
8,649
9,344
8.0
Aeronautical/astronautical engineering
614
625
1.8
Bioengineering/biomedical engineering
648
741
14.4
Chemical engineering
696
797
14.5
Civil engineering
980
1,064
8.6
Electrical engineering
1,844
2,012
9.1
Mechanical engineering
1,244
1,434
15.3
Metallurgical/materials engineering
688
908
32.0
Engineering, nec
1,934
1,762
-8.9
Non-science and engineeringa
2,425
2,897
19.5
Business and management
344
360
4.7
Communications, journalism, and library science
107
157
46.7
Education
916
987
7.8
Humanities
255
259
1.6
Law
108
96
-11.1
Social work
138
175
26.8
Visual and performing arts
73
64
-12.3
Non-science and engineering, nec
484
798
64.9
nec = not elsewhere classified.
a For FY 2009, the overall total and the total for non-science and engineering (S&E) are lower-bound estimates because the National Science Foundation did not attempt to estimate for nonresponse on the non-S&E R&D expenditures item. Non-S&E R&D data were provided by 97.4% of responding institutions in FY 2009.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey.
This increase was due in large part to the $2.7 billion in reported expenditures funded by the one-time American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).[3] As a result of ARRA, the percentage of academic R&D funded by the federal government rose to 61% in FY 2010, constituting $37.5 billion of the $61.2 billion total.
The FY 2010 data come from the first fielding of a redesigned and expanded academic R&D survey. Previously known as the Survey of R&D Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, the FY 2010 Higher Education R&D Survey contained several significant changes.[4] The most notable change to the survey was the inclusion of R&D within non-science and engineering (S&E) fields, such as business, education, and law, into the overall reported totals. These non-S&E R&D totals had been collected since 2003 but were reported separately until now. With the revised survey design in 2010, the non-S&E totals are now combined with the S&E totals, although field-specific details are still available.
Unless otherwise indicated, references to dollar amounts or percentages for the remainder of this InfoBrief are in current dollars.
R&D Expenditures by Field
Among the 10 broad fields collected, life sciences account for the largest share by far ($34.9 billion of the $61.2 billion total). Engineering was the next largest broad field with $9.3 billion in reported R&D expenditures. Among subfields, medical sciences continued to hold the largest share of the total (31% or $19.2 billion in FY 2010). All of the broad fields saw an increase in the reported expenditures between 2009 and 2010 except for social sciences, which declined by more than 4%. Some of this decline may be due to institutional changes in R&D field classifications, because non-S&E fields are now fully incorporated into the survey totals. Some R&D previously reported as social sciences might now be reported in the non-S&E fields. In fact, R&D within non-S&E fields had the largest percentage increase of all of the broad fields from FY 2009 to FY 2010 ($2.4 billion to $2.9 billion).[5]
R&D Spending by Federal Agency Sources
The largest source of federal funding to universities continues to be the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including its National Institutes of Health. In FY 2010, HHS funding represented 56% ($21.1 billion) of the $37.5 billion federally funded total (table 2). HHS serves as the primary federal funding source for medical research, contributing 94% to the $12.1 billion total federally funded medical science expenditures. NSF contributed the next largest amount of the government-wide funding total in FY 2010 ($4.7 billion). Its support was spread across a wide mix of fields. The Department of Defense (DOD) provided $4.5 billion, almost half in support of engineering R&D. Of the $3.2 billion listed from other agencies, the largest named sources were the Department of Education with $602 million, the Department of Commerce with $460 million, and the Department of Transportation with $330 million.[6]
TABLE 2. Federally funded higher education R&D expenditures, by federal agency and R&D field: FY 2010 (Millions of current dollars)
Field
All agencies
DOD
DOE
HHS
NASA
NSF
USDA
Othera
All R&D fields
37,488
4,486
1,552
21,094
1,476
4,734
954
3,192
Computer sciences
1,175
429
44
84
19
479
3
118
Environmental sciences
2,014
230
134
87
309
710
70
475
Life sciences
21,686
664
197
18,586
80
695
767
698
Agricultural sciences
956
20
53
85
7
95
526
169
Biological sciences
7,564
238
100
6,277
37
513
189
211
Medical sciences
12,066
371
30
11,324
35
54
32
218
Life sciences, nec
1,100
35
14
899
1
32
20
99
Mathematical sciences
419
76
15
42
6
237
4
39
Physical sciences
3,380
524
532
592
559
1,040
7
126
Psychology
760
53
1
549
14
75
4
65
Social sciences
897
91
9
298
10
139
39
311
Sciences, nec
439
109
32
91
8
128
3
67
Engineering
5,732
2,236
575
581
462
1,058
46
776
Non-science and engineering
984
74
13
185
11
173
12
516
DOD = Department of Defense; DOE = Department of Energy; HHS = Department of Health and Human Services; NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration; NSF = National Science Foundation; nec = not elsewhere classified; USDA = U.S. Department of Agriculture.
a Includes all other agencies reported.
NOTE: Not all subfields reported in this table.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey, FY 2010.
Universities themselves have long been the second largest source of their R&D funding, spending $11.9 billion in FY 2010 and representing half of the total funded by nonfederal sources (table 3). The FY 2010 survey requested a new breakout of this internally funded R&D into three categories: direct internal funding for research, cost sharing on federal and nonfederal grants, and unrecovered indirect costs.[7] Of the $11.9 billion, 52% ($6.1 billion) was in the form of direct funding for faculty or student research projects, 9% ($1.1 billion) was devoted to cost sharing, and almost 40% ($4.7 billion) represented unrecovered indirect costs (figure 1).
TABLE 3. Nonfederally funded higher education R&D expenditures, by sources of funds and R&D field: FY 2010 (Millions of current dollars)
Field
All nonfederal
State and local government
Business
Nonprofit organizations
Institution funds
All other sources
All R&D fields
23,747
3,854
3,209
3,764
11,897
1,023
Computer sciences
483
71
79
43
266
23
Environmental sciences
976
172
128
108
510
58
Life sciences
13,216
2,148
1,817
2,487
6,126
638
Agricultural sciences
2,028
856
136
118
859
59
Biological sciences
3,383
499
326
664
1,756
138
Medical sciences
7,098
712
1,282
1,585
3,106
412
Life sciences, nec
707
80
72
120
406
29
Mathematical sciences
180
32
11
17
115
5
Physical sciences
1,244
121
124
165
785
49
Psychology
317
51
17
50
191
8
Social sciences
1,096
200
67
226
564
38
Sciences, nec
711
122
64
72
437
16
Engineering
3,612
689
821
313
1,648
140
Non-science and engineering
1,912
248
80
283
1,255
47
nec = not elsewhere classified.
NOTE: Not all subfields reported in this table.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey, FY 2010
Two other key changes to the FY 2010 survey were the addition of nonprofit organizations as a specific funding source and the request for a field breakdown for each of the nonfederal funding sources. Universities reported $3.8 billion in nonprofit-funded R&D expenditures in FY 2010, the majority devoted to medical and biological sciences. State and local governments supplied $3.9 billion of the total, with the majority of support going toward agricultural sciences, medical sciences, and engineering. Business, or for-profit organizations, funded $3.2 billion of the academic R&D total, and also focused its funding on medical sciences and engineering projects. Finally, institution's own funding was primarily in support of biological and medical sciences. However, institutions also provided the largest funding source for the non-S&E fields of R&D (43% of the $2.9 billion total spent on non-S&E R&D).
R&D by Character of Work
For the first time, the HERD survey asked institutions to categorize their expenditures by basic research, applied research, or development. The question provided definitions and examples to aid institutions in this classification. This represented a major change in reporting; previously the survey requested only the percentage of the total devoted to basic research.
Of the $61.2 billion spent on academic R&D in FY 2010, 67% was categorized as basic research, 25% as applied research, and 9% as development (table 4). The percentage classified as basic is a substantial decrease from the 74%–76% reported for each year of the past decade. Many factors may be responsible for this decrease, including the addition of non-S&E R&D to the total and the explicit inclusion of clinical trials and research training grants as R&D. However, based on explanations provided by many institutions, the most important factor was the change to the survey question. Because the question requested actual expenditures for the three different categories rather than a single percentage and provided examples of projects for each category, some institutions worked to improve the estimation they had been using.[8]
TABLE 4. Higher education R&D expenditures, by character of work, highest degree granted, and institutional control: FY 2010 (Percent)
Type of institution and control
All R&D expenditures (current $millions)
Basic research
Applied research
Development
All institutions
61,235
66.5
24.9
8.6
Doctorate
60,220
66.7
24.8
8.5
Nondoctorate
1,015
57.0
31.2
11.8
Public
41,180
66.5
25.0
8.5
Private
20,055
66.6
24.7
8.8
SOURCE: National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey, FY 2010.
The proportion of basic research, applied research, and development was virtually the same for both public and private institutions; however, bachelors and masters (nondoctoral) institutions reported a lower percentage of their $1 billion total as basic research (57%) when compared with doctoral institutions (67%).
R&D Spending for Top 25 Performers
Beginning with FY 2010, each institution campus headed by its own administration (i.e., a campus level president or chancellor) was asked to report separately. Previously institutional rankings were based on a mix of reporting conventions. Some institutions were ranked on the basis of multi-campus totals. For others, their independent campus totals were ranked individually.
Of the 742 institutions surveyed, the top 25 in terms of R&D expenditures in all fields accounted for 35% of total academic R&D spending (table 5). Despite the changes to the survey, there was remarkable consistency in the institutions comprising the top 25 in 2009 and 2010.
TABLE 5. Twenty-five institutions reporting the largest FY 2010 R&D expenditures in all fields, by source of funds: FY 2010 (Millions of current dollars)
Rank
Institution
All R&D expenditures
Federal government
State and local government
Business
Nonprofit organizations
Institution funds
All other sources
All institutions
61,235
37,488
3,854
3,209
3,764
11,897
1,023
Leading 25 institutions
21,519
13,683
1,043
1,423
1,555
3,324
488
1
Johns Hopkins U., Thea
2,004
1,737
10
68
91
77
21
2
U. MI-Ann Arbor
1,184
748
3
39
48
339
8
3
U. WI Madison
1,029
545
97
12
131
208
36
4
U. WA Seattle
1,023
830
23
92
NA
44
34
5
Duke U.
983
514
27
234
90
113
4
6
U. CA, San Diego
943
580
35
68
102
111
47
7
U. CA, Los Angeles
937
539
26
54
91
156
70
8
U. CA, San Francisco
936
515
28
51
129
137
76
9
Stanford U.
840
593
23
61
81
79
2
10
U. PA
836
642
34
39
60
60
0
11
U. Pittsburgh main campus
822
595
12
10
22
184
0
12
Columbia U. in the City of New York
807
572
12
36
67
95
25
13
U. MN Twin Cities
786
426
65
28
70
177
20
14
PA State U. University Park and Hershey Medical Ctr
770
465
63
64
38
139
1
15
U. NC Chapel Hill
755
546
10
26
57
117
0
16
OH State U.
755
400
106
120
29
83
16
17
Cornell U.
750
448
67
23
71
139
2
18
Washington U. St
696
469
19
37
46
90
35
19
U. CA, Berkeley
694
313
68
86
87
121
20
20
TX A&M U.
690
288
139
47
18
191
6
21
U. FL
682
280
99
23
20
252
8
22
U. CA, Davis
680
332
60
37
87
160
3
23
MA Institute of Technology
677
458
0
103
69
12
35
24
Yale U.
624
476
7
19
39
69
14
25
GA Institute of Technology
616
372
10
46
12
171
5
NA = not available.
a The Johns Hopkins University includes the Applied Physics Laboratory, with $1,080 million in total R&D expenditures in FY 2010.
NOTES: Because of rounding, detail may not add to total. Institutions ranked are geographically separate campuses headed by a campus-level president or chancellor.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development Survey, FY 2010.
The University of Colorado dropped from the top 25 in FY 2010 due to the survey's reporting unit changes. The University of Colorado's R&D expenditures are now divided between its campuses at Boulder (ranked 62), Denver (ranked 48), and Colorado Springs (ranked 323). The other institution no longer in the top 25 was the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, which moved to number 27 for FY 2010. Yale University and Georgia Institute of Technology were new additions to the top 25 in 2010, ranked 24 and 25, respectively.
Cost Categories of R&D Expenditures
The FY 2010 survey asked institutions to report for the first time the portions of their total R&D expenditures devoted to salaries, wages and fringe benefits versus other types of costs. Institutions reported 42% of the R&D expenditures, or $25.9 billion, were for salaries, wages, and fringe benefits (figure 2). Twenty-five percent ($15.1 billion) represented the indirect costs associated with sponsored projects (both recovered and unrecovered). Almost $5 billion (8%) was reported as passed through to other recipients for collaborative R&D projects.
The higher education R&D expenditures data presented in this InfoBrief were obtained from 742 universities and colleges that grant bachelors or higher degrees and expended at least $150,000 in R&D in the survey period. The amounts reported include all funds expended for activities specifically organized to produce research outcomes and sponsored by an outside organization or separately budgeted using institution funds. R&D expenditures at university-administered federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are collected in a separate survey. Data from the FFRDC R&D Survey are available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdc/.
The full set of detailed tables from this survey will be available in the report Higher Education Research and Development: Fiscal Year 2010 at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/rdexpenditures/. Individual detailed tables from the 2010 survey may be available in advance of publication of the full report. For further information, please contact the author.
Notes
[1] Ronda Britt, Research and Development Statistics Program, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230 (rbritt@nsf.gov; 703-292-7765).
[2] The fiscal year referred to throughout this report is the academic fiscal year; for most institutions FY 2010 represents the period 1 July 2009 through 30 June 2010.
[3] Two changes to the survey's definition of R&D also contributed to the R&D increase, to a lesser extent: the explicit inclusion of clinical trials and research training grants. The true effect these changes had on the total is unknown because the survey did not request totals for either of these categories prior to FY 2010, but it is estimated to be fairly small given the size of the overall increase.
[5] Some of this increase can be attributed to the change in survey methodology for FY 2010. Imputed R&D is now distributed among both S&E and non-S&E fields for those institutions who did not complete the survey in FY 2010, and the imputed total for non-S&E R&D expenditures was $99 million. In previous years only S&E R&D was imputed.
[6] A complete listing of other agency sources will be provided in the forthcoming detailed statistical tables report; see "Data Sources, Limitations, and Availability."
[7] Unrecovered indirect costs are the portion of indirect costs incurred as a result of conducting sponsored research that are not reimbursed by the project sponsor. Direct cost sharing refers to the portion of direct project costs paid for by the institution on an externally funded project. This amount is negotiated and agreed upon with the sponsor at the time of the project award. The data provided for these categories are kept confidential at the institutional level and only reported in aggregate form.
[8] Many institutions also opted not to complete this question on the FY 2010 survey because of the additional detail requested. The breakdown was imputed for these institutions based on the proportions reported by their peer institutions.
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics With Help from ARRA, Universities Report $61 Billion in FY 2010 Total R&D; New Details from Redesigned Survey
Arlington, VA (NSF 12-313) [March 2012]