The United States Government Accountability Office has released a new report tracking the funding and outreach conducted by federal agencies to historically Black colleges and universities in recent years. The report also includes information regarding tribal colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions.
In fiscal years 2018 to 2020, HBCUs received 0.9 percent of the total federal research funding provided to all colleges and universities. However, in 2021, HBCUs received 1.3 percent, and in 2022, they received 1.5 percent. Between 58 and 71 percent of HBCUs received federal research funding each year from 2018 to 2022.
Some HBCUs saw significant increases to their federal research funding during this time period. In fiscal year 2022, 15 of the 20 HBCUs that received the most federal funding received more than double the amount they received in 2018. Research funding to HBCUs increased the most from the United States Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Science Foundation.
From fiscal year 2022 through 2024, 12 of the 14 agencies included in the report offered at least 75 competitive research funding programs and initiatives targeted to HBCUs, TCUs, or MSIs, or to partnerships with those institutions. Most of these grants supported basic or applied research in STEM, while over half supported STEM workforce development and training opportunities for faculty or students. However, some of these programs have been recently eliminated. As of May 15, 2025, 10 of the 75 grant programs had been terminated due to executive orders in 2025 or changes to agency priorities.
The report also examines five federal agencies’ outreach efforts aimed at helping HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs participate in federal research. These federal entities are the Department of Transportation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation.
All five of these departments and agencies have conducted some kind of outreach to these institutions, including initiatives to build relationships, provide assistance and training, and promote funding opportunities. However, as of May 15, officials from four of the five selected agencies said they have paused some outreach due to changes in administration priorities. Additionally, all five stated that the goals and performance metrics they used to assess the effectiveness of their outreach have been revised or were no longer in effect as of May 15.
