Research

About UK's Research

Grant and contract awards to the University of Kentucky (UK) totaled $488.4 million for FY24. 

Federal agencies awarded UK $264.4M, 54.1% of UK’s total awards. 

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants totaled $163.1 million
• National Science Foundation (NSF) grants totaled $15.9 million

State agencies awarded UK $127.2million and Industry awarded UK $22.2 million.

Based on FY22 research expenditures totaling $476.5 million, UK ranks:

• 61st among 637 public and private universities (up from 64th in FY21)
• 40th among 410 public institutions (up from 43rd in FY21)

These rankings were released in December 2023. The National Science Foundation (NSF), through the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), publishes the Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey each year ranking the top universities according to what they spend on research. The HERD survey is considered to be the primary source of information on R&D expenditures within academia.

For more information on UK's research, click here.

Grant and Contract Awards