Lehigh University research and development spending, FY2024
- Bethlehem, PA
- R2
- Private nonprofit
- Standard form filer
Lehigh University in FY2024
$62.4 million
spent on research and development in FY2024, as reported to the NSF HERD Survey
- National rank
- #218 of 925
- Change on FY2023
- up 10.8%
- Rank change
- up 2
Lehigh University reported $62.4 million of research and development spending in FY2024, ranking #218 of the 925 institutions in the survey. That is up 10.8% on FY2023's $56.3 million; its national rank was up 2 places. Federal government is its largest funding source at 71.8% ($44.8 million), followed by institution funds at 20.1%. Its largest field of research is engineering, $35.3 million or 56.6% 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 | $37.3 million | 205 |
| FY2011 | $32.1 million | 224 |
| FY2012 | $32.0 million | 221 |
| FY2013 | $35.2 million | 214 |
| FY2014 | $37.1 million | 210 |
| FY2015 | $36.8 million | 209 |
| FY2016 | $32.9 million | 218 |
| FY2017 | $37.0 million | 212 |
| FY2018 | $38.7 million | 212 |
| FY2019 | $38.2 million | 220 |
| FY2020 | $38.1 million | 223 |
| FY2021 | $41.3 million | 222 |
| FY2022 | $51.8 million | 210 |
| FY2023 | $56.3 million | 220 |
| FY2024 | $62.4 million | 218 |
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 Lehigh 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 | $44.8 million | 71.8% | +12.2% | 184 |
| Institution funds | $12.5 million | 20.1% | +5.1% | 248 |
| State and local government | $3.1 million | 4.9% | +24.1% | 206 |
| Nonprofit organizations | $994 thousand | 1.6% | −8.0% | 283 |
| Business | $851 thousand | 1.4% | −4.7% | 249 |
| All other sources | $159 thousand | 0.3% | +783.3% | 314 |
| All sources | $62.4 million | 100.0% | +10.8% | 218 |
Fields of research
The 10 NSF research fields Lehigh University reported in FY2024, largest first.
| Field | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | $35.3 million | 56.6% | +9.0% | 122 |
| Life sciences | $11.3 million | 18.1% | +27.4% | 251 |
| Physical sciences | $5.8 million | 9.3% | +3.5% | 177 |
| Non-S&E | $3.4 million | 5.4% | −0.4% | 256 |
| Computer and information sciences | $3.1 million | 5.0% | +15.2% | 169 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | $1.9 million | 3.1% | +33.4% | 198 |
| Social sciences | $609 thousand | 1.0% | +1.2% | 295 |
| Mathematics and statistics | $470 thousand | 0.8% | −3.9% | 215 |
| Psychology | $459 thousand | 0.7% | −37.9% | 257 |
| Other sciences | $13 thousand | 0.0% | −66.7% | 279 |
Neighbours
Ranked around Lehigh University
Institutions ranked immediately above and below
The five institutions ranked above Lehigh University and the five below it in the FY2024 national ranking.
| Rank | Institution | FY2024 R&D |
|---|---|---|
| 213 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | $68.7M |
| 214 | Ohio University | $67.4M |
| 215 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | $66.3M |
| 216 | Rowan University | $64.0M |
| 217 | Southern Methodist University | $62.6M |
| 218 | Lehigh University | $62.4M |
| 219 | Western Michigan University and Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine | $62.1M |
| 220 | Southern Illinois University, Carbondale | $61.5M |
| 221 | Loyola University Chicago | $61.5M |
| 222 | University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus | $61.5M |
| 223 | Kent State University | $61.4M |
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.
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.