University profileSan Diego, CAFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does San Diego State University get?
San Diego State University received $116.9 million in federal awards in FY2025, 158th of 998 institutions (top 16%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $116.9 million to San Diego State University (San Diego, CA), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.
Ranked 158th of 998 by federal awards
FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of San Diego State University.
| University of North Texas #155 · TX | $126M |
| Pennsylvania State University (State College) #156 · PA | $121M |
| Tufts College (Boston) #157 · MA | $117M |
| San Diego State University #158 · CA | $117M |
| Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University #159 · OH | $117M |
| University of Notre Dame Du Lac #160 · IN | $115M |
| Purdue University Global #161 · IN | $111M |
What the money is
That is up 19.5% from FY2024 ($97.9 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 772.8%. The largest share came as direct payments ($105.7 million, 90.4%). The Department of Education was the biggest funder ($106.8 million). Its largest programs were Federal Pell Grant Program ($99.9 million); Federal Work-Study Program ($4.1 million); Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants ($1.8 million). It ranks 158th of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.
What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO (UEI RN4HGABGRWV7, V6S1GT51XD56). 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
San Diego State University: $117M in FY2025, up 773% 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 | $558,700 | $3.1M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $3.6M |
| FY2019 | $5.4M | $8.0M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $13.4M |
| FY2020 | $5.9M | $40.8M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $46.7M |
| FY2021 | $5.9M | $159.4M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $165.3M |
| FY2022 | $5.4M | $7.2M | $34.1M | $0 | $0 | $46.6M |
| FY2023 | $4.8M | $11.1M | $74.3M | $0 | $0 | $90.3M |
| FY2024 | $3.5M | $6.7M | $87.7M | $0 | $0 | $97.9M |
| FY2025 | $6.0M | $5.2M | $105.7M | $0 | $0 | $116.9M |
| FY2026* | $5.9M | $1.8M | $102.6M | $0 | $0 | $110.3M |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to San Diego State 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 | $106.8 million | 91.4% |
| Department of Defense | $7.5 million | 6.4% |
| National Science Foundation | $1.8 million | 1.5% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $543,620 | 0.5% |
| Department of the Treasury | $200,000 | 0.2% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $51,470 | 0.0% |
| Department of Commerce | $0 | 0.0% |
| Department of Agriculture | $0 | 0.0% |
| Department of State | -$23,075 | -0.0% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063 | $99.9 million | 85.4% |
| Federal Work-Study Program Assistance Listing 84.033 | $4.1 million | 3.5% |
| Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants Assistance Listing 84.007 | $1.8 million | 1.5% |
| Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program Assistance Listing 12.800 | $1.5 million | 1.3% |
| Integrative Activities Assistance Listing 47.083 | $720,641 | 0.6% |
| Biological Sciences Assistance Listing 47.074 | $670,597 | 0.6% |
| TRIO Upward Bound Assistance Listing 84.047 | $608,543 | 0.5% |
| Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants Assistance Listing 93.732 | $599,753 | 0.5% |
| Mathematical and Physical Sciences Assistance Listing 47.049 | $347,075 | 0.3% |
| TRIO Student Support Services Assistance Listing 84.042 | $272,364 | 0.2% |
Other institutions in California
- California Institute of Technology$2.6B
- Stanford University$1.6B
- University of California (Oakland)$1.3B
- University of California, San Diego$1.1B
- University of California, San Francisco$934M
- University of California, Los Angeles$832M
- University of Southern California$549M
- University of California, Davis$532M
Questions and answers
- How much federal funding does San Diego State University receive?
- $116.9 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
- Where does San Diego State University's federal money come from?
- The largest funder in FY2025 was the Department of Education ($106.8 million, 91.4%). By type, grants were $5.2 million and contracts $6.0 million.
- Did San Diego State University's federal funding go up or down?
- FY2025: $116.9 million; FY2024: $97.9 million (+19.5%).
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) 03a9d61e-6419-4225-8bb4-10016f797ad5-C, c92bc259-6b2d-95d6-e7cf-3850514d2f1c-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.