Brown University research and development spending, FY2024
- Providence, RI
- R1
- Private nonprofit
- Standard form filer
Brown University in FY2024
$374.5 million
spent on research and development in FY2024, as reported to the NSF HERD Survey
- National rank
- #93 of 925
- Change on FY2023
- up 5.9%
- Rank change
- down 4
Brown University reported $374.5 million of research and development spending in FY2024, ranking #93 of the 925 institutions in the survey. That is up 5.9% on FY2023's $353.6 million; its national rank was down 4 places. Federal government is its largest funding source at 67.7% ($253.7 million), followed by institution funds at 18.6%. Its largest field of research is life sciences, $189.4 million or 50.6% of the total.
Over time
Research spending, FY2010 to FY2024
Standard-form totals FY2010 onwards as revised by NCSES in the newest release; rank is within that series.
Year-by-year figures
| Fiscal year | R&D expenditure | Rank in series |
|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | $335.8 million | 60 |
| FY2011 | $344.1 million | 62 |
| FY2012 | $365.1 million | 60 |
| FY2013 | $361.0 million | 59 |
| FY2014 | $341.5 million | 63 |
| FY2015 | $342.0 million | 63 |
| FY2016 | $347.0 million | 62 |
| FY2017 | $212.3 million | 98 |
| FY2018 | $244.8 million | 93 |
| FY2019 | $257.0 million | 93 |
| FY2020 | $266.1 million | 94 |
| FY2021 | $276.3 million | 95 |
| FY2022 | $310.8 million | 92 |
| FY2023 | $353.6 million | 89 |
| FY2024 | $374.5 million | 93 |
FY2024 breakdown
Where the money came from, and what it paid for
FY2024 funding sources and research fields
Funding sources
The 6 NSF funding sources Brown University reported in FY2024, largest first. Shares are of its own FY2024 total, and the rank is national within that source.
| Source | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal government | $253.7 million | 67.7% | +5.8% | 73 |
| Institution funds | $69.8 million | 18.6% | +10.7% | 129 |
| Nonprofit organizations | $32.0 million | 8.6% | −7.7% | 60 |
| All other sources | $12.9 million | 3.5% | +30.1% | 62 |
| Business | $5.7 million | 1.5% | −7.5% | 138 |
| State and local government | $419 thousand | 0.1% | +1209.4% | 392 |
| All sources | $374.5 million | 100.0% | +5.9% | 93 |
Fields of research
The 10 NSF research fields Brown University reported in FY2024, largest first.
| Field | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life sciences | $189.4 million | 50.6% | +7.0% | 92 |
| Social sciences | $38.7 million | 10.3% | −6.2% | 23 |
| Engineering | $33.0 million | 8.8% | +19.5% | 128 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | $18.7 million | 5.0% | +41.5% | 56 |
| Mathematics and statistics | $18.3 million | 4.9% | +8.6% | 10 |
| Computer and information sciences | $17.7 million | 4.7% | −7.9% | 57 |
| Physical sciences | $17.4 million | 4.6% | −3.9% | 97 |
| Non-S&E | $14.5 million | 3.9% | −17.2% | 140 |
| Psychology | $14.0 million | 3.7% | +31.3% | 36 |
| Other sciences | $12.8 million | 3.4% | +4.7% | 33 |
Neighbours
Ranked around Brown University
Institutions ranked immediately above and below
The five institutions ranked above Brown University and the five below it in the FY2024 national ranking.
| Rank | Institution | FY2024 R&D |
|---|---|---|
| 88 | Wichita State University | $392.3M |
| 89 | University of Tennessee, The, Knoxville | $386.9M |
| 90 | George Washington University, The | $381.6M |
| 91 | Georgetown University | $376.6M |
| 92 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | $375.6M |
| 93 | Brown University | $374.5M |
| 94 | Oregon State University | $371.9M |
| 95 | Albert Einstein College of Medicine | $360.8M |
| 96 | Medical College of Wisconsin | $360.3M |
| 97 | University of New Mexico, The | $354.9M |
| 98 | University of Massachusetts Medical School | $349.6M |
Keep looking
Where this institution sits
Related rankings
Data: NSF HERD FY2024, built from NSF's published tables on September 8, 2026. Page updated September 13, 2026.
Data: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, Higher Education Research and Development Survey, FY2024.
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