University profileMerced, CAFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does University of California, Merced get?
University of California, Merced received $78.0 million in federal awards in FY2025, 206th of 998 institutions (top 21%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $78.0 million to University of California, Merced (Merced, CA), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.
Ranked 206th of 998 by federal awards
FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of University of California, Merced.
| Montclair State University #203 · NJ | $80M |
| University of Mississippi #204 · MS | $79M |
| Virginia Community College System Office (Annandale) #205 · VA | $79M |
| University of California, Merced #206 · CA | $78M |
| Brigham Young University-Idaho #207 · ID | $77M |
| Stevens Institute of Technology #208 · NJ | $77M |
| West Virginia University Research Corporation #209 · WV | $77M |
What the money is
That is up 19.8% from FY2024 ($65.1 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 180.2%. The largest share came as grants ($40.8 million, 52.3%). The Department of Education was the biggest funder ($40.0 million). Its largest programs were Federal Pell Grant Program ($36.1 million); Office of Science Financial Assistance Program ($9.8 million); Biological Sciences ($4.5 million). It ranks 206th of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.
What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED (UEI FFM7VPAG8P92). 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
University of California, Merced: $78M in FY2025, up 180% 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 | $0 | $23.2M | $0 | $0 | $119,500 | $23.3M |
| FY2019 | $73,778 | $27.7M | $0 | $0 | $125,000 | $27.9M |
| FY2020 | $144,431 | $39.8M | $0 | $0 | $56,176 | $40.0M |
| FY2021 | $0 | $96.3M | $0 | $0 | -$324 | $96.3M |
| FY2022 | $0 | $51.5M | $15.5M | $0 | $24,000 | $67.0M |
| FY2023 | $48,862 | $39.0M | $30.8M | $0 | $89,291 | $69.9M |
| FY2024 | $0 | $31.1M | $34.0M | $0 | $0 | $65.1M |
| FY2025 | -$214 | $40.8M | $37.2M | $0 | $0 | $78.0M |
| FY2026* | $0 | $19.2M | $20.5M | $0 | -$31,641 | $39.7M |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to University of California, Merced, 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 | $40.0 million | 51.3% |
| National Science Foundation | $16.7 million | 21.4% |
| Department of Energy | $9.8 million | 12.5% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $7.4 million | 9.4% |
| Small Business Administration | $1.7 million | 2.2% |
| Department of Defense | $1.7 million | 2.1% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $401,384 | 0.5% |
| Department of Agriculture | $293,829 | 0.4% |
| Department of the Interior | $149,178 | 0.2% |
| National Endowment for the Humanities | $0 | 0.0% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063 | $36.1 million | 46.3% |
| Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Assistance Listing 81.049 | $9.8 million | 12.5% |
| Biological Sciences Assistance Listing 47.074 | $4.5 million | 5.8% |
| STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) Assistance Listing 47.076 | $3.7 million | 4.8% |
| Biomedical Research and Research Training Assistance Listing 93.859 | $3.4 million | 4.3% |
| Computer and Information Science and Engineering Assistance Listing 47.070 | $2.8 million | 3.6% |
| Mathematical and Physical Sciences Assistance Listing 47.049 | $2.4 million | 3.1% |
| Small Business Development Centers Assistance Listing 59.037 | $1.7 million | 2.2% |
| Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research Assistance Listing 93.855 | $1.5 million | 1.9% |
| TRIO Talent Search Assistance Listing 84.044 | $1.4 million | 1.8% |
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 University of California, Merced receive?
- $78.0 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
- Where does University of California, Merced's federal money come from?
- The largest funder in FY2025 was the Department of Education ($40.0 million, 51.3%). By type, grants were $40.8 million and contracts -$214.
- Did University of California, Merced's federal funding go up or down?
- FY2025: $78.0 million; FY2024: $65.1 million (+19.8%).
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) e5d977d0-85fb-65b4-d649-335857133b76-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.