University profileProvidence, RIFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does Brown University get?
Brown University received $213.3 million in federal awards in FY2025, 90th of 998 institutions (top 9%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $213.3 million to Brown University (Providence, RI), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.
Ranked 90th of 998 by federal awards
FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of Brown University.
| Virginia Commonwealth University #87 · VA | $221M |
| Vanderbilt University #88 · TN | $218M |
| Case Western Reserve University #89 · OH | $217M |
| Brown University #90 · RI | $213M |
| University of Delaware #91 · DE | $211M |
| Clemson University #92 · SC | $204M |
| Texas A & M University #93 · TX | $204M |
What the money is
That is up 5.5% from FY2024 ($202.1 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 21.1%. The largest share came as grants ($200.8 million, 94.2%). The Department of Health and Human Services was the biggest funder ($134.0 million). Its largest programs were Aging Research ($35.0 million); Biomedical Research and Research Training ($20.0 million); Mathematical and Physical Sciences ($16.0 million). It ranks 90th of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.
What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names BROWN UNIVERSITY (UEI E3FDXZ6TBHW3). Money that reaches it as a subaward through another organization is not included. Separately incorporated foundations, hospitals and laboratories have their own records and are not added in. Grouping rules are explained in the methodology.
Federal awards by year
Brown University: $213M in FY2025, up 21% on FY2019
Federal award obligations by fiscal year and type, FY2018–FY2026, nominal dollars. FY26* is preliminary and still filling in.
- Insurance and other
- Loans (subsidy cost)
- Direct payments
- Grants
- Contracts
View every year as a table
| Fiscal year | Contracts | Grants | Direct payments | Loans | Insurance and other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | $4.9M | $147.1M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $152.0M |
| FY2019 | $2.1M | $174.0M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $176.1M |
| FY2020 | $1.6M | $192.9M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $194.5M |
| FY2021 | $7.4M | $228.8M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $236.2M |
| FY2022 | $4.9M | $194.0M | $2.9M | $0 | $0 | $201.8M |
| FY2023 | $4.0M | $212.9M | $8.3M | $0 | $0 | $225.3M |
| FY2024 | $5.9M | $186.8M | $9.3M | $0 | $0 | $202.1M |
| FY2025 | $1.5M | $200.8M | $10.5M | $0 | $479,282 | $213.3M |
| FY2026* | $1.0M | $183.5M | $9.4M | $0 | $0 | $194.0M |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to Brown University, and the largest federal programs. Programs are federal Assistance Listings (formerly CFDA numbers); contracts have no listing number, so they do not appear there.
Top awarding agencies
| Agency | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Human Services | $134.0 million | 62.8% |
| National Science Foundation | $45.0 million | 21.1% |
| Department of Defense | $12.4 million | 5.8% |
| Department of Education | $10.7 million | 5.0% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $6.0 million | 2.8% |
| Department of Energy | $5.1 million | 2.4% |
| Department of the Interior | $242,348 | 0.1% |
| Department of Justice | -$107 | -0.0% |
| National Endowment for the Arts | -$3,560 | -0.0% |
| National Endowment for the Humanities | -$15,531 | -0.0% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Aging Research Assistance Listing 93.866 | $35.0 million | 16.4% |
| Biomedical Research and Research Training Assistance Listing 93.859 | $20.0 million | 9.4% |
| Mathematical and Physical Sciences Assistance Listing 47.049 | $16.0 million | 7.5% |
| Mental Health Research Grants Assistance Listing 93.242 | $12.8 million | 6.0% |
| Computer and Information Science and Engineering Assistance Listing 47.070 | $10.4 million | 4.9% |
| Alcohol Research Programs Assistance Listing 93.273 | $9.9 million | 4.6% |
| Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs Assistance Listing 93.279 | $9.1 million | 4.3% |
| Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063 | $8.3 million | 3.9% |
| Cardiovascular Diseases Research Assistance Listing 93.837 | $6.9 million | 3.2% |
| Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research Assistance Listing 93.855 | $6.3 million | 3.0% |
Other institutions in Rhode Island
- University of Rhode Island$135M
- Community College of Rhode Island$38M
- Rhode Island College$24M
- Johnson & Wales University$21M
- Roger Williams University$9.5M
Questions and answers
- How much federal funding does Brown University receive?
- $213.3 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
- Where does Brown University's federal money come from?
- The largest funder in FY2025 was the Department of Health and Human Services ($134.0 million, 62.8%). By type, grants were $200.8 million and contracts $1.5 million.
- Did Brown University's federal funding go up or down?
- FY2025: $213.3 million; FY2024: $202.1 million (+5.5%).
Sources and notes
- USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), API endpoints spending_over_time and spending_by_category, filtered by recipient ID(s) 378fe7f9-e157-cd75-80cc-97cbe1a426db-C, fiscal years 2018–2026. Amounts are obligations in nominal dollars. Data retrieved 2026-10-04. Public domain.
- How the figures are built, and what they leave out: sources and methods.