University profileWashington, DCFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does Howard University get?
Howard University received $76.5 million in federal awards in FY2025, 211th of 998 institutions (top 21%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $76.5 million to Howard University (Washington, DC), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.
Ranked 211th of 998 by federal awards
FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of Howard University.
| Stevens Institute of Technology #208 · NJ | $77M |
| West Virginia University Research Corporation #209 · WV | $77M |
| University of Wyoming #210 · WY | $77M |
| Howard University #211 · DC | $77M |
| New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology #212 · NM | $74M |
| San Diego State University Foundation #213 · CA | $74M |
| Texas A & M University at Galveston #214 · TX | $74M |
What the money is
That is up 10.9% from FY2024 ($69.0 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 121.4%. The largest share came as grants ($39.9 million, 52.2%). The Department of Education was the biggest funder ($35.2 million). Its largest programs were Federal Pell Grant Program ($28.3 million); Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program ($5.6 million); Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program ($5.4 million). It ranks 211th of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.
What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names HOWARD UNIVERSITY (UEI DYZNJGLTHMR9). 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
Howard University: $77M in FY2025, up 121% 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 | $572,504 | $33.3M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $33.8M |
| FY2019 | $508,515 | $34.1M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $34.6M |
| FY2020 | $427,041 | $56.4M | $881,958 | $0 | $0 | $57.7M |
| FY2021 | $933,166 | $90.5M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $91.4M |
| FY2022 | $432,601 | $63.6M | $9.7M | $0 | $0 | $73.7M |
| FY2023 | $3.6M | $56.2M | $25.3M | $0 | $45,000 | $85.2M |
| FY2024 | $3.7M | $40.5M | $24.8M | $0 | $0 | $69.0M |
| FY2025 | $7.3M | $39.9M | $29.2M | $0 | $0 | $76.5M |
| FY2026* | $2.5M | $160.5M | $26.1M | $0 | -$2,211 | $189.2M |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to Howard 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 Education | $35.2 million | 46.0% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $11.6 million | 15.2% |
| Department of State | $10.8 million | 14.1% |
| Department of Defense | $8.0 million | 10.4% |
| Department of Commerce | $3.4 million | 4.4% |
| National Science Foundation | $3.1 million | 4.1% |
| Department of Transportation | $2.0 million | 2.6% |
| Agency for International Development | $1.3 million | 1.7% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $488,340 | 0.6% |
| Small Business Administration | $474,859 | 0.6% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063 | $28.3 million | 37.0% |
| Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program Assistance Listing 19.020 | $5.6 million | 7.3% |
| Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program Assistance Listing 19.013 | $5.4 million | 7.0% |
| Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education Assistance Listing 84.116 | $5.0 million | 6.5% |
| Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Assistance Listing 93.307 | $4.9 million | 6.5% |
| Educational Partnership Program Assistance Listing 11.481 | $3.4 million | 4.4% |
| University Transportation Centers Program Assistance Listing 20.701 | $2.0 million | 2.6% |
| Centers of Excellence Assistance Listing 93.157 | $1.4 million | 1.8% |
| USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas Assistance Listing 98.001 | $1.3 million | 1.7% |
| Biomedical Research and Research Training Assistance Listing 93.859 | $1.3 million | 1.7% |
Other institutions in District of Columbia
- George Washington University$136M
- Georgetown University$99M
- Catholic University of America$37M
- American University$25M
- Gallaudet University$16M
Questions and answers
- How much federal funding does Howard University receive?
- $76.5 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
- Where does Howard University's federal money come from?
- The largest funder in FY2025 was the Department of Education ($35.2 million, 46.0%). By type, grants were $39.9 million and contracts $7.3 million.
- Did Howard University's federal funding go up or down?
- FY2025: $76.5 million; FY2024: $69.0 million (+10.9%).
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) ab2545e4-42db-b0e5-c4ac-2382eeaf8c92-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.