University profileBowling Green, KYFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does Western Kentucky University get?
Western Kentucky University received $39.7 million in federal awards in FY2025, 329th of 998 institutions (top 33%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $39.7 million to Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.
Ranked 329th of 998 by federal awards
FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of Western Kentucky University.
| Central State University #326 · OH | $40M |
| University of North Georgia #327 · GA | $40M |
| California State University Bakersfield #328 · CA | $40M |
| Western Kentucky University #329 · KY | $40M |
| Greenville Technical College Public Facilities Corporation #330 · SC | $40M |
| National University #331 · CA | $39M |
| California State University, Stanislaus #332 · CA | $39M |
What the money is
That is up 1.4% from FY2024 ($39.2 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 1003.7%. The largest share came as direct payments ($31.4 million, 79.0%). The Department of Education was the biggest funder ($34.6 million). Its largest programs were Federal Pell Grant Program ($30.0 million); Head Start ($2.0 million); TRIO Talent Search ($1.1 million). It ranks 329th of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.
What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY (UEI U5GMACGETKJ1). 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
Western Kentucky University: $40M in FY2025, up 1004% 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 | $3.7M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $3.7M |
| FY2019 | $0 | $3.1M | $0 | $0 | $499,496 | $3.6M |
| FY2020 | $0 | $13.9M | $0 | $0 | $635,450 | $14.6M |
| FY2021 | $35,800 | $60.0M | $0 | $0 | $544,665 | $60.6M |
| FY2022 | $0 | $8.9M | $11.4M | $0 | $603,823 | $20.9M |
| FY2023 | $40,480 | $7.9M | $24.2M | $0 | $879,907 | $33.0M |
| FY2024 | $72,201 | $9.0M | $29.4M | $0 | $656,139 | $39.2M |
| FY2025 | $35,000 | $8.2M | $31.4M | $0 | $39,768 | $39.7M |
| FY2026* | $126,519 | $7.8M | $29.6M | $0 | $9,708 | $37.5M |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to Western Kentucky 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 | $34.6 million | 87.2% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $3.1 million | 7.7% |
| National Science Foundation | $910,034 | 2.3% |
| Department of Agriculture | $539,689 | 1.4% |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | $246,233 | 0.6% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $178,707 | 0.5% |
| Department of the Interior | $85,805 | 0.2% |
| National Endowment for the Humanities | $68,927 | 0.2% |
| Department of Commerce | $0 | 0.0% |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $0 | 0.0% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063 | $30.0 million | 75.7% |
| Head Start Assistance Listing 93.600 | $2.0 million | 5.1% |
| TRIO Talent Search Assistance Listing 84.044 | $1.1 million | 2.6% |
| TRIO Upward Bound Assistance Listing 84.047 | $790,790 | 2.0% |
| Federal Work-Study Program Assistance Listing 84.033 | $739,962 | 1.9% |
| Biomedical Research and Research Training Assistance Listing 93.859 | $674,810 | 1.7% |
| TRIO Student Support Services Assistance Listing 84.042 | $634,286 | 1.6% |
| TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers Assistance Listing 84.066 | $569,490 | 1.4% |
| Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program Assistance Listing 10.175 | $499,921 | 1.3% |
| Integrative Activities Assistance Listing 47.083 | $488,469 | 1.2% |
Other institutions in Kentucky
- University of Kentucky Research Foundation$263M
- University of Louisville$142M
- University of Kentucky$88M
- University of the Cumberlands$42M
- Eastern Kentucky University$42M
- Kentucky State University$32M
- Bluegrass Community & Technical College$27M
- Kentucky Community & Tech College System (Louisville)$26M
Questions and answers
- How much federal funding does Western Kentucky University receive?
- $39.7 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
- Where does Western Kentucky University's federal money come from?
- The largest funder in FY2025 was the Department of Education ($34.6 million, 87.2%). By type, grants were $8.2 million and contracts $35,000.
- Did Western Kentucky University's federal funding go up or down?
- FY2025: $39.7 million; FY2024: $39.2 million (+1.4%).
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) 2b253917-c6e9-1827-2f34-2d88a0176aae-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.