Every fiscal year, the Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey gathers data on research and development (R&D) spending at U.S. colleges and universities that have spent at least $150,000 on separately accounted-for R&D.1 The survey is administered by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, a division of the National Science Foundation. For the 2023 academic fiscal year, Pitt’s research spending increased by 11.7%, ranking us 17th out of 900 institutions. Pitt is part of a distinguished group that includes institutions such as Johns Hopkins University; the University of California, San Francisco; the University of Michigan; Duke University; Stanford University; and Harvard University. Pitt ranked 10th in expenditures from federal sources and 25th in spending from nonfederal sources, moving up two spots from FY 2022 in both categories. Specifically, Pitt’s spending from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funding grew by 11.6%, solidifying our rank at fifth. Our ranking for spending from U.S. Department of Defense funding now stands at 21st, two places higher than last year. Pitt also ranked in the top 10 in two life sciences categories: health sciences (ninth) and biological and biomedical sciences (eighth).

¹ Separately accounted-for R&D refers to spending that is tracked in separate R&D accounts. This spending cannot be part of general expenditure accounts that include teaching salaries, other direct costs, etc.