Research Statistics

With more than $940 million in annual research expenditures, the University of Minnesota’s research enterprise remains robust, driven by greater diversification of funding sources and enhanced public-private partnership.

The Office of the Vice President for Research tracks key research metrics for the University, including national rankings, proposals and awards, sponsored expenditures, and technology commercialization performance measures. Faculty and staff seeking detailed data, including college level statistics from previous years, can access the OVPR Research Reporting Center.

National Rankings

The U of M consistently ranks among the top 10 of public research universities and remains among an elite group of public institutions in the US.

^{Dollar amounts shown in thousands - Source: National Science Foundation’s HERD Survey}

Expenditures

The National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey is the primary source of comparative information on research expenditures at US colleges and universities.

On its Twin Cities campus, the University posted $910.2 million in research expenditures in FY2016. (The HERD survey requires the University to report Twin Cities alone.) When all U of M campuses are reported together, the total is $939.6 million.

Proposals & Awards

In FY2017, faculty and staff competed for and won $745 million in externally sponsored research funding. While this represents a 5.5 percent drop from FY2016, this $43 million decrease follows a sustained pattern of growth since FY2013.

Federal awards comprised 59 percent of the research portfolio, including awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF). Agencies in the Federal: Other category include agriculture ($25.6M), defense ($26.1M), energy ($14.6M), and education ($10.2M).

Awards by Source, FY2017

Pie chart: Federal (NIH) = 244.0; Other Private = $145.4; Federal (other) = $123.3; Business & Industry = $83.9; State & Local = $76.4; Federal (NSF) $71.6

^{Dollar amounts shown in millions}

Awards by Source, FY2013-2017

Graph depicting a four year trend of growth in funding followed by a slight dip in FY2017. Also a depiction of funding sources diversifying.

^{Dollar amounts shown in millions}

Overall, external awards dropped in FY2017, although the University continued to maintain a diverse research portfolio.

Business & Industry, FY2013-2017

Graph depicting a steady increase in the amount and number of awards since FY2013.

^{Dollar amounts shown in millions}

University efforts to grow public-private partnerships contributed to increases in the value and number of Business & Industry awards, including an additional 54 clinical trials.

Technology Commercialization

A 2017 Milken Institute study ranked the U of M 4th among US tech transfer offices in executing license deals and 6th among US public tech transfer offices overall. The U of M holds more than 900 issued patents and 1,800 current licenses.

In fiscal year 2017, the MN-IP Create program, launched in December 2012 to streamline partnerships between businesses and the University, brought in over $20 million in commitments to sponsor U of M research. See the Annual Report on Technology Commercialization for more highlights.