University of Kentucky research and development spending, FY2024
- Lexington, KY
- R1
- Public
- Standard form filer
University of Kentucky in FY2024
$527.7 million
spent on research and development in FY2024, as reported to the NSF HERD Survey
- National rank
- #67 of 925
- Change on FY2023
- up 4.7%
- Rank change
- down 4
University of Kentucky reported $527.7 million of research and development spending in FY2024, ranking #67 of the 925 institutions in the survey. That is up 4.7% on FY2023's $504.0 million; its national rank was down 4 places. Federal government is its largest funding source at 51.9% ($273.7 million), followed by institution funds at 32.6%. Its largest field of research is life sciences, $394.2 million or 74.7% 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 | $359.9 million | 55 |
| FY2011 | $372.9 million | 57 |
| FY2012 | $360.8 million | 61 |
| FY2013 | $339.8 million | 64 |
| FY2014 | $328.2 million | 65 |
| FY2015 | $331.7 million | 64 |
| FY2016 | $349.7 million | 61 |
| FY2017 | $378.4 million | 59 |
| FY2018 | $393.0 million | 59 |
| FY2019 | $410.6 million | 62 |
| FY2020 | $417.7 million | 62 |
| FY2021 | $429.2 million | 64 |
| FY2022 | $476.5 million | 61 |
| FY2023 | $504.0 million | 63 |
| FY2024 | $527.7 million | 67 |
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 University of Kentucky 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 | $273.7 million | 51.9% | +3.1% | 69 |
| Institution funds | $172.2 million | 32.6% | +14.0% | 59 |
| State and local government | $31.2 million | 5.9% | −10.5% | 55 |
| All other sources | $26.8 million | 5.1% | −5.4% | 33 |
| Nonprofit organizations | $12.3 million | 2.3% | −1.7% | 109 |
| Business | $11.5 million | 2.2% | −2.0% | 98 |
| All sources | $527.7 million | 100.0% | +4.7% | 67 |
Fields of research
The 10 NSF research fields University of Kentucky reported in FY2024, largest first.
| Field | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life sciences | $394.2 million | 74.7% | +3.4% | 52 |
| Engineering | $67.6 million | 12.8% | +8.0% | 78 |
| Non-S&E | $19.5 million | 3.7% | +30.4% | 111 |
| Other sciences | $15.4 million | 2.9% | +8.8% | 23 |
| Physical sciences | $8.0 million | 1.5% | −5.0% | 152 |
| Psychology | $7.0 million | 1.3% | +6.8% | 79 |
| Computer and information sciences | $5.6 million | 1.1% | +11.5% | 126 |
| Social sciences | $5.5 million | 1.0% | −13.9% | 135 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | $3.4 million | 0.6% | −2.0% | 156 |
| Mathematics and statistics | $1.6 million | 0.3% | +8.4% | 131 |
Neighbours
Ranked around University of Kentucky
Institutions ranked immediately above and below
The five institutions ranked above University of Kentucky and the five below it in the FY2024 national ranking.
| Rank | Institution | FY2024 R&D |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | Princeton University | $558.6M |
| 63 | University of Kansas | $546.1M |
| 64 | Oregon Health and Science University | $545.2M |
| 65 | State University of New York, University at Buffalo | $541.9M |
| 66 | University of Illinois Chicago | $532.2M |
| 67 | University of Kentucky | $527.7M |
| 68 | Virginia Commonwealth University | $524.3M |
| 69 | University of South Florida | $521.9M |
| 70 | University of Missouri, Columbia | $508.6M |
| 71 | Carnegie Mellon University | $505.3M |
| 72 | Scripps Research Institute, The | $501.5M |
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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