New Report Finds Low Share of R&D Funds Goes to HBCUs

"A new report from the Center for American Progress and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund shows that historically Black colleges and universities receive a disproportionately low percentage of federal research and development funding. While HBCUs make up roughly 3 percent of all four-year higher ed institutions, they've received less than 3 percent of R&D funding since at least 2010, according to the report. In recent years, between 2018 and 2023, they were awarded less than 1 percent of R&D expenditures."

"Some agencies have given HBCUs a relatively high proportion of R&D funding, including the Department of Education, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Agriculture, which has required allotments for land-grant HBCUs. But the two federal agencies that award the most R&D funding annually, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, have doled out especially low shares of those funds to HBCUs; in 2023, they awarded 0.54 percent and 0.40 percent, respectively."

Historically Black colleges and universities constitute roughly 3 percent of four‑year higher education institutions yet have received under 3 percent of federal research and development funding since at least 2010. From 2018 to 2023, HBCUs were awarded less than 1 percent of R&D expenditures. Certain agencies, including the Department of Education, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Agriculture, provide relatively higher shares, with agriculture mandating allotments for land‑grant HBCUs. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense awarded especially low shares in 2023. Seventeen of 43 federal research agencies gave HBCUs no R&D funds that year, and current efforts to address these disparities remain insufficient.

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