George Mason University research and development spending, FY2024
- Fairfax, VA
- R1
- Public
- Standard form filer
George Mason University in FY2024
$281.7 million
spent on research and development in FY2024, as reported to the NSF HERD Survey
- National rank
- #115 of 925
- Change on FY2023
- up 11.7%
- Rank change
- up 2
George Mason University reported $281.7 million of research and development spending in FY2024, ranking #115 of the 925 institutions in the survey. That is up 11.7% on FY2023's $252.2 million; its national rank was up 2 places. Federal government is its largest funding source at 52.3% ($147.3 million), followed by institution funds at 27.6%. Its largest field of research is social sciences, $75.1 million or 26.7% 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 | $84.1 million | 147 |
| FY2011 | $88.1 million | 149 |
| FY2012 | $90.2 million | 147 |
| FY2013 | $95.9 million | 141 |
| FY2014 | $98.7 million | 143 |
| FY2015 | $106.4 million | 137 |
| FY2016 | $108.9 million | 139 |
| FY2017 | $112.4 million | 141 |
| FY2018 | $149.1 million | 128 |
| FY2019 | $186.3 million | 119 |
| FY2020 | $218.4 million | 110 |
| FY2021 | $214.2 million | 113 |
| FY2022 | $230.1 million | 116 |
| FY2023 | $252.2 million | 117 |
| FY2024 | $281.7 million | 115 |
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 George Mason 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 | $147.3 million | 52.3% | +17.5% | 115 |
| Institution funds | $77.7 million | 27.6% | +16.4% | 118 |
| Nonprofit organizations | $42.3 million | 15.0% | +3.7% | 45 |
| Business | $6.4 million | 2.3% | −22.8% | 128 |
| All other sources | $4.3 million | 1.5% | −34.2% | 114 |
| State and local government | $3.6 million | 1.3% | −17.1% | 193 |
| All sources | $281.7 million | 100.0% | +11.7% | 115 |
Fields of research
The 10 NSF research fields George Mason University reported in FY2024, largest first.
| Field | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social sciences | $75.1 million | 26.7% | +2.8% | 9 |
| Engineering | $70.8 million | 25.1% | +16.0% | 75 |
| Life sciences | $42.0 million | 14.9% | +11.8% | 162 |
| Computer and information sciences | $33.2 million | 11.8% | +50.2% | 24 |
| Non-S&E | $25.8 million | 9.2% | −5.1% | 91 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | $19.5 million | 6.9% | +14.3% | 54 |
| Physical sciences | $7.5 million | 2.7% | +6.3% | 156 |
| Psychology | $4.4 million | 1.6% | +2.9% | 116 |
| Mathematics and statistics | $3.1 million | 1.1% | +18.0% | 80 |
| Other sciences | $111 thousand | 0.0% | +11.0% | 225 |
Neighbours
Ranked around George Mason University
Institutions ranked immediately above and below
The five institutions ranked above George Mason University and the five below it in the FY2024 national ranking.
| Rank | Institution | FY2024 R&D |
|---|---|---|
| 110 | Rockefeller University, The | $305.3M |
| 111 | University of California, Santa Barbara | $303.4M |
| 112 | Wayne State University | $291.7M |
| 113 | University of Central Florida | $284.9M |
| 114 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | $281.7M |
| 115 | George Mason University | $281.7M |
| 116 | Tufts University | $278.3M |
| 117 | Rice University | $277.7M |
| 118 | University of South Carolina, Columbia | $277.3M |
| 119 | Tulane University | $275.9M |
| 120 | Thomas Jefferson University | $271.2M |
Keep looking
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Request a demoData: 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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