Northeastern University research and development spending, FY2024
- Boston, MA
- R1
- Private nonprofit
- Standard form filer
Northeastern University in FY2024
$346.9 million
spent on research and development in FY2024, as reported to the NSF HERD Survey
- National rank
- #99 of 925
- Change on FY2023
- up 20.2%
- Rank change
- up 8
Northeastern University reported $346.9 million of research and development spending in FY2024, ranking #99 of the 925 institutions in the survey. That is up 20.2% on FY2023's $288.6 million; its national rank was up 8 places. Federal government is its largest funding source at 63.0% ($218.7 million), followed by institution funds at 25.0%. Its largest field of research is engineering, $148.9 million or 42.9% 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 | $79.9 million | 152 |
| FY2011 | $86.8 million | 150 |
| FY2012 | $107.9 million | 136 |
| FY2013 | $116.1 million | 131 |
| FY2014 | $116.2 million | 134 |
| FY2015 | $122.9 million | 131 |
| FY2016 | $129.0 million | 129 |
| FY2017 | $142.3 million | 130 |
| FY2018 | $166.7 million | 124 |
| FY2019 | $184.0 million | 121 |
| FY2020 | $200.1 million | 118 |
| FY2021 | $211.3 million | 115 |
| FY2022 | $231.6 million | 114 |
| FY2023 | $288.6 million | 107 |
| FY2024 | $346.9 million | 99 |
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 Northeastern 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 | $218.7 million | 63.0% | +17.5% | 90 |
| Institution funds | $86.7 million | 25.0% | +26.2% | 107 |
| Nonprofit organizations | $21.7 million | 6.3% | +16.7% | 81 |
| Business | $16.6 million | 4.8% | +43.9% | 83 |
| State and local government | $2.3 million | 0.7% | −30.6% | 234 |
| All other sources | $962 thousand | 0.3% | +130.1% | 189 |
| All sources | $346.9 million | 100.0% | +20.2% | 99 |
Fields of research
The 9 NSF research fields Northeastern University reported in FY2024, largest first.
| Field | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | $148.9 million | 42.9% | +24.5% | 31 |
| Life sciences | $55.1 million | 15.9% | +18.5% | 148 |
| Physical sciences | $36.9 million | 10.6% | +10.2% | 51 |
| Non-S&E | $31.9 million | 9.2% | +4.3% | 77 |
| Computer and information sciences | $31.2 million | 9.0% | +10.0% | 27 |
| Social sciences | $19.3 million | 5.6% | +68.1% | 54 |
| Psychology | $14.2 million | 4.1% | +18.2% | 34 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | $8.3 million | 2.4% | +58.8% | 99 |
| Mathematics and statistics | $1.2 million | 0.4% | −15.4% | 152 |
Neighbours
Ranked around Northeastern University
Institutions ranked immediately above and below
The five institutions ranked above Northeastern University and the five below it in the FY2024 national ranking.
| Rank | Institution | FY2024 R&D |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 99 | Northeastern University | $346.9M |
| 100 | University of Notre Dame | $345.8M |
| 101 | Wake Forest University | $344.5M |
| 102 | Mississippi State University | $342.1M |
| 103 | Clemson University | $338.5M |
| 104 | Florida International University | $325.8M |
Keep looking
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Related rankings
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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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