Rice University research and development spending, FY2024
- Houston, TX
- R1
- Private nonprofit
- Standard form filer
Rice University in FY2024
$277.7 million
spent on research and development in FY2024, as reported to the NSF HERD Survey
- National rank
- #117 of 925
- Change on FY2023
- up 8.8%
- Rank change
- down 1
Rice University reported $277.7 million of research and development spending in FY2024, ranking #117 of the 925 institutions in the survey. That is up 8.8% on FY2023's $255.1 million; its national rank was down 1 place. Federal government is its largest funding source at 46.0% ($127.6 million), followed by institution funds at 32.8%. Its largest field of research is engineering, $137.1 million or 49.4% 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 | $97.9 million | 138 |
| FY2011 | $110.2 million | 132 |
| FY2012 | $117.2 million | 130 |
| FY2013 | $131.0 million | 125 |
| FY2014 | $138.5 million | 123 |
| FY2015 | $144.7 million | 121 |
| FY2016 | $154.5 million | 121 |
| FY2017 | $167.3 million | 121 |
| FY2018 | $161.8 million | 126 |
| FY2019 | $182.6 million | 122 |
| FY2020 | $198.7 million | 121 |
| FY2021 | $207.4 million | 116 |
| FY2022 | $216.2 million | 123 |
| FY2023 | $255.1 million | 116 |
| FY2024 | $277.7 million | 117 |
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 Rice 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 | $127.6 million | 46.0% | +6.5% | 124 |
| Institution funds | $91.1 million | 32.8% | +16.1% | 98 |
| Nonprofit organizations | $37.2 million | 13.4% | +10.4% | 52 |
| Business | $8.7 million | 3.1% | +16.0% | 113 |
| State and local government | $7.2 million | 2.6% | −27.0% | 142 |
| All other sources | $5.9 million | 2.1% | +1.8% | 95 |
| All sources | $277.7 million | 100.0% | +8.8% | 117 |
Fields of research
The 10 NSF research fields Rice University reported in FY2024, largest first.
| Field | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | $137.1 million | 49.4% | +5.7% | 33 |
| Physical sciences | $42.2 million | 15.2% | −3.4% | 47 |
| Social sciences | $24.9 million | 9.0% | +3.0% | 39 |
| Life sciences | $22.1 million | 8.0% | +11.7% | 201 |
| Non-S&E | $13.2 million | 4.7% | +136.0% | 147 |
| Computer and information sciences | $12.9 million | 4.6% | +2.6% | 71 |
| Mathematics and statistics | $7.8 million | 2.8% | +6.0% | 32 |
| Psychology | $7.3 million | 2.6% | +35.4% | 76 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | $7.3 million | 2.6% | +16.9% | 107 |
| Other sciences | $2.9 million | 1.1% | +367.0% | 83 |
Neighbours
Ranked around Rice University
Institutions ranked immediately above and below
The five institutions ranked above Rice University and the five below it in the FY2024 national ranking.
| Rank | Institution | FY2024 R&D |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 121 | Kansas State University | $265.0M |
| 122 | West Virginia University | $259.1M |
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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