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Sept. 6, 2005

U.S. Funds for Science Rose 9% in 2003

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The federal government obligated $26.656 billion for science and engineering to colleges and universities in 2003, an increase of 9.1 percent over the previous year and the largest amount ever, according to a National Science Foundation report released Friday.

Most of the $2.225 billion increase in total funds came in the form of a spike in money for research and development, which rose to $22.811 billion in 2003from $21.155 billion in 2002. Funds for research and development facilities more than doubled, while facilities for science instruction declined, as seen in the following table:

Federal Obligations for Academic Science and Engineeering, 2002-3 (in millions)

Activity

Fiscal 2003

Fiscal 2002

% change, current dollars

% change, 2000 dollars

Total academic science and engineering obligations

$26,656

$24,431

9.1

7.2

Research and development

22,811

21,155

7.8

5.9

R&D plant

727

301

141.2

137.0

Facilities, equipment for science instruction

80

110

-26.8

-28.1

Fellowships, traineeships and training grants

950

937

1.4

-0.4

General support, science and engineering

429

432

-0.7

-2.4

Other science and engineering activities

1,660

1,496

10.9

9.0

Much of the overall increase in federal obligations was driven by a big boost in funds from the Department of Health and Human Services, to $15,876 in 2003, up from $14.493 the year before. In 2003, Congress completed a five-year campaign to double spending on the National Institutes of Health, which is part of HHS.

2003 Federal Obligations for Science, by Agency (in millions)

Agency

Fiscal 2003

Fiscal 2002

% change, current dollars

% change, 2000 dollars

All agencies

$26,656

$24,431

9.1

7.2

Health and Human Services

15,876

14,493

9.5

7.6

National Science Foundation

3,954

3,582

10.4

8.5

Defense

2,528

2,317

9.1

7.2

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

1,263

1,244

1.5

-0.3

Agriculture

1,145

1,086

5.4

3.6

Energy

761

736

3.4

1.6

Other agencies

1,129

973

16.0

14.0


As usual, Johns Hopkins University led the way among academic institutions in federal obligations; the university’s numbers are buttressed by federal support for its Applied Physics Laboratory. The top 20 universities largely held constant, as 19 of the 20 institutions in 2002 stayed there in 2003. The only exception was Boston University, which moved to 17th from 32nd in 2002. Boston benefited from a huge (but one-time) increase in NIH spending on academic facilities; that $128 million accounted for most of its $153 boost in funds.

BU bumped Cornell, which was 19th in 2002, out of the top 20.

Federal Science and Engineering Obligations to Universities, 2002-3 (in millions)

Institution

2003 funds

2002 funds

2003 rank

2002 rank

Johns Hopkins U.

$1,137.4

$1,136.5

1

1

U. of Washington

631.1

576.7

2

2

U. of Michigan

520.8

456.8

3

4

U. of Pennsylvania

495.3

479.9

4

3

U. of Calfornia at Los Angeles

475.7

439.8

5

5

Stanford U.

467.2

409.1

6

6

U. of California at San Diego

466.5

408.7

7

7

U. of Wisconsin at Madison

422.1

393.6

8

8

Washington U. in St. Louis

419.0

381.5

9

10

Columbia U.

412.7

372.9

10

11

Duke U.

412.1

355.3

11

14

U. of Pittsburgh

394.7

351.4

12

15

U. of California at San Francisco

393.1

386.9

13

9

Harvard U.

384.9

356.5

14

13

U. of Colorado

367.9

358.4

15

12

Yale U.

349.6

334.4

16

16

Boston U.

347.2

198.0

17

32

Pennsylvania State U. at University Park

345.9

317.8

18

20

U. Minnesota

345.8

326.5

19

19

U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

344.6

329.0

20

17

— Doug Lederman

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Comments

MIT’s share of federal funds

I am surprised MIT hasn’t shown up on your list. I am fairly sure they get a huge federal subsidy probably mostly from the Pentagon.

Randall Pratt, at 11:44 am EST on December 31, 2005

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