The Division of Research and Economic Development shares data on UNLV’s research activity to help educate our community about UNLV’s productivity and growth in this area.
UNLV celebrated one of its largest funding years on record with respect to awards. Sponsored program awards reached $68 million in fiscal year 2017 (FY17), increasing 27.6 percent from FY16 and 67 percent over the last five years (i.e., since the downturn in 2012 following the elimination of congressional appropriations). Proposals increased about $46 million—nearly 20 percent—from FY16. Total sponsored program expenditures grew 7.6 percent from FY16, reaching nearly $53 million in FY17.
The various schools of health sciences, including UNLV’s new School of Medicine, received the largest amount of funding this fiscal year ($17,561,488 combined). The Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering received the largest number of awards (127) in FY17, nearly doubling the funding amount of $7,609,823 that it received in FY16.
UNLV’s economic development activities continue to grow. Startups quadrupled from one in FY16 to four in FY17. Nondisclosure agreements also nearly quadrupled from FY16. Licensing revenue increased nearly 16 percent from FY16 to $292,526.25.
Another measure of university research activity is the number of doctoral degrees conferred, as doctoral programs include a strong research component that culminates in a dissertation. UNLV conferred 154 doctoral degrees in FY17.
Sponsored Program Activity
| Fiscal Year | Sponsored Programs* | Research | NSF Reported R&D |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | $62,825,000 |
| FY17 | $52,929,528 | $34,329,627 | ** |
* 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 2018.
| Fiscal Year | Sponsored Programs* | Research |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| FY17 | $68,095,941 | $44,924,000 |
* Sponsored programs funding includes awards for research, instruction/training, and other sponsored activity (e.g., public service, student services, etc.).
| Fiscal Year | Amount |
|---|---|
| FY11 | $210,857,602 |
| FY12 | $281,270,704 |
| FY13 | $203,337,011 |
| FY14 | $286,087,223 |
| FY15 | $226,756,850 |
| FY16 | $232,302,785 |
| FY17 | $278,257,596 |
UNLV Award Data FY17
| College/Unit | # Awards | Total Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Sciences | 80 | $11,104,918 |
| Student Life | 33 | $15,156,419 |
| Engineering | 127 | $13,712,561 |
| Health Sciences | 77 | $17,535,890 |
| VPRED | 11 | $1,748,770 |
| Education | 29 | $3,781,352 |
| Urban Affairs | 12 | $2,371,287 |
| Liberal Arts | 16 | $1,447,266 |
| President’s Office | 3 | $364,739 |
| Provost | 5 | $230,357 |
| Fine Arts | 6 | $134,248 |
| Business | 6 | $179,561 |
| Library | 1 | $210,000 |
| Law School | 2 | $26,856 |
| Hotel Administration | 1 | $18,920 |
| VPEO | 1 | $45,000 |
| VPF | 1 | $2,199 |
| School of Medicine | 2 | $25,598 |
| Grand Total | 413 | $68,095,941 |
| Federal Agency | # Awards | Total Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Education | 33 | $14,984,791 |
| Health & Human Services | 27 | $9,496,683 |
| National Science Foundation | 26 | $5,058,459 |
| Agriculture | 3 | $1,945,623 |
| Energy | 19 | $3,630,212 |
| Defense | 15 | $7,763,274 |
| NASA | 6 | $574,633 |
| NEH | 1 | $210,000 |
| Department of Interior | 11 | $640,711 |
| Transportation | 1 | $1,402,200 |
| Homeland Security | 1 | $62,500 |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission | 1 | $66,667 |
| Grand Total | 144 | $45,835,753 |
Sponsored Program Funding by Source
| Sources of Funding | # Awards | Total Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Federal | 144 | $45,835,753 (67.3%) |
| Federal Pass-through | 156 | $13,105,596 (19.2%) |
| State | 49 | $5,237,037 (7.7%) |
| Industry/Foundations | 52 | $2,977,947 (4.4%) |
| Local | 12 | $939,608 (1.4%) |
| Grand Total | 413 | $68,095,941 (100%) |
Doctoral Degrees Conferred
| Academic Year | Number Conferred |
|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 153 |
| 2012-13 | 156 |
| 2013-14 | 124 |
| 2014-15 | 147 |
| 2015-16 | 166 |
| 2016-17 | 154 |
Research Disclosures, Patent Activity and Startups
| Fiscal Year | Disclosures Submitted | Issued Patents | Patents Filed | Startups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 1 |
| FY2017 | 57 | 5 | 58 | 4 |
Agreements and Licensing Revenue
| Fiscal Year | Nondisclosure Agreements | MTAs, IIAs, & MOUs | Options & License Agreements | Total | Total Licensing Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| FY2017 | 63 | 30 | 38 | 131 | $292,526 |
MTA — Material Transfer Agreement
IIA — Inter-Institutional Agreement
MOU — Memorandum of Understanding
Institutional Review Board Approvals
| Fiscal Year | Biomedical | Social/Behavioral | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2011 | 93 | 230 | 323 |
| FY2012 | 75 | 214 | 289 |
| FY2013 | 77 | 184 | 261 |
| FY2014 | 122 | 200 | 322 |
| FY2015 | 108 | 187 | 295 |
| FY2016 | 151 | 227 | 378 |
| FY2017 | 124 | 239 | 363 |
