Why R&D Expenditures Matter

Research and development expenditures represent the engine that drives innovation, discovery, and economic growth at UNT. When our R&D investments grow, they create a powerful multiplier effect to attract top faculty talent, support groundbreaking doctoral research, foster industry partnerships, and generate the knowledge and technologies that solve society's most pressing challenges.

These dashboards illustrate how UNT invests its research resources across funding sources and academic disciplines, enabling faculty, administrators, and stakeholders to understand where our research enterprise is thriving and where strategic opportunities exist for growth. By tracking both the sources of our funding and how we deploy those investments across different fields, we can make data-driven decisions that maximize impact and advance UNT's position as a leading public research university.

Our Goal
Boost annual R&D expenditures from $124 million to $250 million by 2030.

 

Unpacking the Data: Research & Development at UNT

UNT has made remarkable progress in strengthening its research enterprise. Since 2021, total research expenditures have increased by 78% to over $124M (estimated FY24), with federal research expenditures growing by 44%. Importantly, UNT met the Texas University Fund (TUF) Level 1 goal of $45M in research expenditures (federal and private research expenditures) in FY24 ($49.3M) and is on track to meet this goal again and for continued growth in FY25 ($55M) and beyond.

The funding landscape reveals both our strengths and opportunities for growth. While federal agencies like the Department of Defense and National Science Foundation remain our top funders, expanding our portfolio to include more private industry partnerships, philanthropic sources, and state-funded initiatives will create greater stability and new avenues for innovation across all disciplines.

Our research portfolio demonstrates excellence across broad fields, from materials science and manufacturing to music and creative arts, from computer science and cybersecurity to social sciences and behavioral research, and from life sciences and biomedical research to logistics and autonomous systems.

This interdisciplinary strength positions UNT to tackle complex challenges that require collaboration across traditional academic boundaries, whether developing new technologies, advancing human understanding, or creating artistic innovations that enrich our communities.

Strategic Priorities for R&D Growth

UNT is pursuing an ambitious, data-informed strategy to more than double our research expenditures over the next five years, building on our strengths across the sciences, arts, humanities, and social sciences. Learn more about our research enterprise and impact.

  • Expand investments focused on regional and state priorities including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, aerospace, health research, advanced logistics and manufacturing, creative industries, and social sciences that inform learning and human behavior.
  • Build strategic partnerships with industry, government, and community organizations to ensure our research addresses real-world challenges and creates economic development opportunities throughout North Texas and beyond.
  • Facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration through seed funding programs, shared research spaces, and collaborative initiatives that bridge traditional academic boundaries from engineering to creative arts and humanities, social sciences to physical sciences.
  • Enhance core research infrastructure through strategic facility investments, advanced equipment acquisitions, and shared core facilities that support cutting-edge research from laboratory sciences to digital arts.
  • Broaden funding sources by pursuing industry partnerships and philanthropic opportunities, while building capacity across all colleges to compete for state and federal funding.

Methodology Notes

Research expenditure data are taken from the annual National Science Foundation Higher Education Research Development survey (NSF HERD), an annual census of institutions that expended at least $150,000 in separately accounted-for research and development (R&D) in the fiscal year. The survey collects information on R&D expenditures by field of research and source of funds and gathers information on types of research, expenses, and headcounts of R&D personnel.

The NSF presents data on R&D expenditures at higher education institutions across all academic disciplines and includes R&D expenditures by institution, R&D field, geographic area, source of funds, type of R&D (basic research, applied research, and experimental development), cost categories (salaries, software, equipment, and indirect costs), and trends over time.

FY2024 data are to be released in November 2025 and will be added to the dashboard. More information is located at: https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/higher-education-research-development/2023.