University profileBoulder, COFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does University of Colorado (Boulder) get?
University of Colorado (Boulder) received $481.6 million in federal awards in FY2025, 34th of 998 institutions (top 3%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $481.6 million to University of Colorado (Boulder) (Boulder, CO), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.
Ranked 34th of 998 by federal awards
FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of University of Colorado (Boulder).
| University of California (Berkeley) #31 · CA | $510M |
| University of Maryland, College Park #32 · MD | $504M |
| Western Governors University #33 · UT | $494M |
| University of Colorado (Boulder) #34 · CO | $482M |
| Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp #35 · GA | $478M |
| University of Arizona #36 · AZ | $465M |
| Michigan State University #37 · MI | $453M |
What the money is
That is down 8.0% from FY2024 ($523.5 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 21.8%. The largest share came as grants ($361.2 million, 75.0%). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was the biggest funder ($122.6 million). Its largest programs were National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institutes ($59.8 million); Science ($45.2 million); Federal Pell Grant Program ($36.3 million). It ranks 34th of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.
What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO (UEI SPVKK1RC2MZ3). 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 Colorado (Boulder): $482M in FY2025, up 22% 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 | $43.8M | $335.7M | $0 | $0 | $253,475 | $379.8M |
| FY2019 | $58.4M | $336.9M | $0 | $0 | $174,775 | $395.5M |
| FY2020 | $80.8M | $375.8M | $0 | $0 | $363,222 | $456.9M |
| FY2021 | $111.3M | $421.9M | $0 | $0 | $423,577 | $533.6M |
| FY2022 | $116.9M | $384.6M | $13.1M | $0 | $445,944 | $515.0M |
| FY2023 | $71.3M | $383.6M | $29.2M | $0 | $1.4M | $485.5M |
| FY2024 | $78.0M | $397.0M | $47.7M | $0 | $857,358 | $523.5M |
| FY2025 | $73.2M | $361.2M | $44.7M | $0 | $2.5M | $481.6M |
| FY2026* | $77.4M | $319.3M | $45.4M | $0 | $1.7M | $443.8M |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to University of Colorado (Boulder), 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 |
|---|---|---|
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $122.6 million | 25.5% |
| Department of Commerce | $102.0 million | 21.2% |
| National Science Foundation | $98.8 million | 20.5% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $70.2 million | 14.6% |
| Department of Education | $41.2 million | 8.6% |
| Department of Defense | $25.3 million | 5.2% |
| Department of Energy | $12.4 million | 2.6% |
| Department of the Interior | $4.9 million | 1.0% |
| Department of Justice | $2.0 million | 0.4% |
| Department of Agriculture | $1.2 million | 0.2% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institutes Assistance Listing 11.432 | $59.8 million | 12.4% |
| Science Assistance Listing 43.001 | $45.2 million | 9.4% |
| Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063 | $36.3 million | 7.5% |
| STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) Assistance Listing 47.076 | $25.6 million | 5.3% |
| Science, Technology, Business and/or Education Outreach Assistance Listing 11.620 | $20.3 million | 4.2% |
| Mathematical and Physical Sciences Assistance Listing 47.049 | $18.3 million | 3.8% |
| Geosciences Assistance Listing 47.050 | $17.6 million | 3.6% |
| Biomedical Research and Research Training Assistance Listing 93.859 | $16.3 million | 3.4% |
| Engineering Assistance Listing 47.041 | $14.0 million | 2.9% |
| Biological Sciences Assistance Listing 47.074 | $10.9 million | 2.3% |
Other institutions in Colorado
- Colorado State University$657M
- University of Colorado (Aurora)$408M
- Colorado Technical University$166M
- Colorado School of Mines$58M
- Metropolitan State University of Denver$46M
- University of Denver$30M
- University of Colorado at Denver$29M
- Pikes Peak State College$26M
Questions and answers
- How much federal funding does University of Colorado receive?
- $481.6 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
- Where does University of Colorado's federal money come from?
- The largest funder in FY2025 was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ($122.6 million, 25.5%). By type, grants were $361.2 million and contracts $73.2 million.
- Did University of Colorado's federal funding go up or down?
- FY2025: $481.6 million; FY2024: $523.5 million (-8.0%).
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) 7d586cfa-95f6-0e31-3589-fbd59b788eda-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.