The UNLV Division of Research and Economic Development reports data characterizing institutional research activity in order to measure and evaluate campus research productivity and to facilitate benchmarking to promote future growth. The following report contains compilations of standard institutional research metrics as well as pertinent graduate education data.
Research and economic development activities increased for the fourth consecutive year. Research awards rose by 7.5 percent to nearly $34.5 million, and proposals increased by 2 percent. Total sponsored program expenditures held steady from FY2015 at roughly $49.2 million.
The College of Sciences received the largest amount of award funding among the colleges once again: nearly $15 million through more than 100 awards. Engineering followed with roughly $7.6 million in awards. The College of Education posted the largest percentage gain in award funding in FY16 with a nearly 47 percent increase from $1,776,332 in FY15 to $2,609,366 in FY16.
UNLV’s economic development activities continue to grow. Sixty-one patent applications (including conversions) were filed in FY16, an increase of 17 percent over FY15, and licensing revenue doubled from $126,242 in FY15 to $252,309 in FY16.
Another measure of university research activity is the number of doctoral degrees conferred, as doctoral programs require a strong research component culminating in the doctoral dissertation. UNLV doctoral conferrals increased nearly 13 percent in FY16 to 166 degrees conferred.
Sponsored Program Activity
Expenditures
| Fiscal Year |
Sponsored Programs* |
Research |
NSF Reported R&D |
| FY10 |
$62,414,679 |
$35,913,552 |
$44,457,000 |
| FY11 |
$50,210,861 |
$32,581,329 |
$39,526,000 |
| FY12 |
$42,924,520 |
$27,072,642 |
$34,543,000 |
| FY13 |
$44,593,471 |
$27,649,163 |
$35,935,000 |
| FY14 |
$48,144,405 |
$31,027,377 |
$39,448,000 |
| FY15 |
$49,262,898 |
$31,641,467 |
$42,000,000 |
| FY16 |
$49,202,054 |
$30,530,900 |
** |
* Sponsored programs expenditures include research, instruction/training, and other sponsored activity (e.g., public service, student services, etc.).
** NSF reported R&D expenditure data will be available February 2016.
Awards
| Fiscal Year |
Sponsored Programs* |
Research |
| FY10 |
$65,222,872 |
$38,381,001 |
| FY11 |
$56,090,962 |
$40,398,054 |
| FY12 |
$40,772,216 |
$22,565,629 |
| FY13 |
$43,204,579 |
$26,585,099 |
| FY14 |
$59,636,152 |
$41,477,222 |
| FY15 |
$50,658,340 |
$32,082,224 |
| FY16 |
$53,357,694 |
$34,493,983 |
* Sponsored programs funding includes awards for research, instruction/training, and other sponsored activity (e.g., public service, student services, etc.).
Proposals
| Fiscal Year |
Amount |
| FY10 |
$323,327,776 |
| FY11 |
$210,857,602 |
| FY12 |
$281,270,704 |
| FY13 |
$203,337,011 |
| FY14 |
$286,087,223 |
| FY15 |
$226,756,850 |
| FY16 |
$232,302,785 |
UNLV Award Data FY16
Funding by College/Unit
| College/Unit |
# Awards |
Total Dollars |
| Sciences |
108 |
$14,842,211 |
| Student Life |
28 |
$12,272,497 |
| Engineering |
91 |
$7,609,823 |
| Health Sciences |
67 |
$7,436,591 |
| VPRED |
12 |
$3,525,192 |
| Education |
25 |
$2,609,366 |
| Urban Affairs |
9 |
$1,937,256 |
| Liberal Arts |
17 |
$787,750 |
| President’s Office |
3 |
$667,741 |
| Provost |
6 |
$554,443 |
| Fine Arts |
8 |
$321,959 |
| Business |
6 |
$272,149 |
| Library |
2 |
$229,316 |
| Law School |
2 |
$143,780 |
| Hotel Administration |
3 |
$130,172 |
| VPEO |
2 |
$17,448 |
| Grand Total |
389 |
$53,357,694 |
Funding by Federal Agency
| Federal Agency |
# Awards |
Total Dollars |
| Education |
17 |
$10,589,816 |
| Health & Human Services |
20 |
$4,763,438 |
| National Science Foundation |
21 |
$3,375,656 |
| Agriculture |
5 |
$3,254,461 |
| Energy |
20 |
$3,215,965 |
| Defense |
7 |
$931,564 |
| Veterans Affairs |
1 |
$928,429 |
| NASA |
6 |
$865,846 |
| Interior |
9 |
$744,756 |
| Justice |
1 |
$623,607 |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
2 |
$530,268 |
| EPA |
1 |
$329,650 |
| National Archives & Records |
1 |
$129,600 |
| Homeland Security |
1 |
$20,000 |
| Grand Total |
112 |
$30,303,056 |
Sponsored Program Funding by Source
FY16
| Sources of Funding |
# Awards |
Total Dollars |
| Federal |
112 |
$30,303,056 (57%) |
| Federal Pass-through |
181 |
$16,971,584 (32%) |
| State |
33 |
$3,639,163 (7%) |
| Industry/Foundations |
51 |
$1,927,426 (4%) |
| Local |
12 |
$516,465 (1%) |
| Grand Total |
389 |
$53,357,694 (100%) |
Doctoral Degrees Conferred
AY10/11 - 15/16
| Academic Year |
Number Conferred |
| 2010-11 |
150 |
| 2011-12 |
153 |
| 2012-13 |
156 |
| 2013-14 |
124 |
| 2014-15 |
147 |
| 2015-16 |
166 |
Research Disclosures, Patent Activity and Startups
FY10-16
| Fiscal Year |
Disclosures Submitted |
Issued Patents |
Patents Filed |
Startups |
| FY2010 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
| FY2011 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
| FY2012 |
9 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
| FY2013 |
18 |
3 |
14 |
0 |
| FY2014 |
37 |
1 |
32 |
0 |
| FY2015 |
34 |
1 |
47 |
3 |
| FY2016 |
57 |
5 |
61 |
14 |
Agreements and Licensing Revenue
FY10-16
| Fiscal Year |
Nondisclosure Agreements |
MTAs, IIAs, & MOUs |
Options & License Agreements |
Total |
Total Licensing Revenue |
| FY2010 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
| FY2011 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
|
| FY2012 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
|
| FY2013 |
10 |
1 |
6 |
17 |
$32,281 |
| FY2014 |
41 |
10 |
10 |
61 |
$57,986 |
| FY2015 |
33 |
15 |
24 |
72 |
$126,242 |
| FY2016 |
17 |
30 |
28 |
75 |
$252,309 |
MTA — Material Transfer Agreement
IIA — Inter-Institutional Agreement
MOU — Memorandum of Understanding
Institutional Review Board Approvals
FY10-16
| Fiscal Year |
Biomedical |
Social/Behavioral |
Total |
| FY2010 |
91 |
228 |
319 |
| FY2011 |
93 |
230 |
323 |
| FY2012 |
75 |
214 |
289 |
| FY2013 |
77 |
184 |
261 |
| FY2014 |
122 |
200 |
322 |
| FY2015 |
108 |
187 |
295 |
| FY2016 |
151 |
227 |
378 |
