R&D - Academic Research and Development - NSB-2023-26 - Overview

Oct 15, 2026

Academic Research and Development (R&D) report NSB-2023-26, dated October 05, 2023, is a component within the 2024 Science and Engineering Indicators suite. It summarizes the structure and scale of the U.S. academic R&D enterprise, including international comparisons, funding sources, and spending patterns by R&D type, institution type, minority-serving institutions, geography, and field. It also covers academic human resources, support for S&E graduate students and postdocs, research infrastructure, facilities, equipment, and supporting tables and figures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages55

Reading Time2 h 19 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Key takeaways

Introduction

Academic R&D in the U.S. R&D Enterprise

Academic R&D: International Comparisons

Funding Sources of Academic R&D

Patterns of Academic R&D Spending

Spending, by Type of R&D

Spending, by Type of Institution

Spending at Minority-Serving Institutions

Geographic Distribution of Academic R&D Spending, by State

Academic R&D Spending, by Field

Infrastructure for Academic R&D

Research Facilities

Research Equipment

Human Resources and Academic R&D

Academic Employment

Financial Support for S&E Graduate Students and Postdocs

Conclusion

Glossary and Definitions

R&D Academic Research and Development NSB-2023-26 October 05, 2023 This publication is part of the 2024 edition of the Science and Engineering Indicators (Indicators) suite of reports. Indicators is prepared under the guidance of the National Science Board by the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The Indicators suite consists of a summary report called The State of U.S. Science and Engineering, more-detailed thematic reports with supporting data, and a data tool that provides state-level indicators. Table of Contents | Executive Summary | 7 | | --- | --- | | Introduction | 9 | | Academic R&D in the U.S. R&D Enterprise | 10 | | Academic R&D: International Comparisons | 12 | | Funding Sources of Academic R&D | 14 | | Patterns of Academic R&D Spending | 17 | | Spending, by Type of R&D | 17 | | Spending, by Type of Institution | 19 | | Spending at Minority-Serving Institutions | 23 | | Geographic Distribution of Academic R&D Spending, by State | 24 | | Academic R&D Spending, by Field | 25 | | Infrastructure for Academic R&D | 30 | | Research Facilities | 30 | | Research Equipment | 31 | Human Resources and Academic R&D 32 Academic Employment 32 Financial Support for S&E Graduate Students and Postdocs 36 Financial Support for S&E Graduate Students and Postdocs, by Source 40 Conclusion 45 Glossary 46 Definitions 46 Key to Acronyms and Abbreviations 46 References 48 Notes 50 Corrections 53 Acknowledgments and Citation 54 | Acknowledgments
Citation | | 54
54 | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Contact Us | | 55 | | | Report Authors | | 55 | | | NCSES | | 55 | | | List of Tables | | | | | URD-1 | Federal agency support of academic R&D spending: FYs 2012, 2017, and 2021 | | 15 | | URD-2 | Top 30 institutions, ranked by R&D expenditures: FYs 2001, 2011, and 2021 | | 19 | | List of Figures | | | | URD-1 Academic R&D as a percentage of U.S. R&D, by type of R&D: 1953–2021 10 URD-2 Federally funded academic R&D as a share of U.S. federally funded R&D, by type of R&D: 1953–2021 11 URD-3 Higher education R&D expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product for selected regions, 12 countries, or economies: 2012–21 URD-4 Academic R&D expenditures, by source of funds: FYs 1953–2021 14 URD-5 Share of academic R&D expenditures, by source of funds: FYs 2012–21 15 URD-6 Federal and nonfederal funding of academic basic research: FYs 1979–2021 17 URD-7 Federal and nonfederal funding of academic experimental development and applied research: FYs 2010–21 18 URD-8 Sources of funding for academic R&D in private and public institutions: FYs 2012, 2017, and 2021 21 URD-9 Shares of federal agency funding for public and private institutions: FY 2021 22 URD-10 Federally funded R&D expenditures at historically Black colleges and universities: FYs 2012–21 23 URD-11 Ratio of academic R&D expenditures to population, by U.S. states: FY 2021 25 URD-12 Academic R&D spending, by field: FYs 2003–21 26 URD-13 Federally funded academic R&D spending, by field: FYs 2003–21 27 URD-14 Nonfederally funded academic R&D spending, by field: FYs 2003–21 28 URD-15 Federally financed academic R&D expenditures, by agency and field: FY 2021 29 URD-16 S&E research space at academic institutions: FYs 1999–2021 30 URD-17 Female S&E doctorate holders employed in academia, by degree field: 2003 and 2021 33 URD-18 S&E doctorate holders employed in academia, by sex and degree field: 2021 34 URD-19 Underrepresented minority S&E doctorate holders employed in academia, by selected degree field: 2006 and 35 2021 URD-20 S&E doctorate holders employed in academia, by race or ethnicity and degree field: 2021 36 URD-21 Primary source of financial support of doctorate recipients, by 2018 Carnegie Classification of institutions: 38 2021 URD-22 Primary source of financial support for U.S. citizen and permanent resident S&E doctorate recip

FAQs

What time period and reporting framework does the academic R&D overview use?

The material references fiscal years and calendar year statistics across multiple periods (e.g., FYs and 2003–2021, and calendar year 2021) as part of the 2024 Indicators suite context.

How is academic R&D spending characterized in the report?

Spending is broken down by type of R&D and by type of institution, and it also examines patterns at minority-serving institutions, geographic distribution by state, and differences across academic fields.

What areas of academic research capacity and workforce are included beyond funding?

The report includes academic employment and financial support for S&E graduate students and postdocs, and it covers research infrastructure such as research facilities and research equipment.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Riley West