Penn received $948 million in federal funding during fiscal year 2025, a nearly 7% reduction from the previous period.
The Daily Pennsylvanian’s analysis used United States Department of the Treasury data to analyze funding distributed to Penn through the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. The decrease in funding came as the University instituted a series of policy changes prompted by uncertainty in its relationship with the federal government.
“Penn’s research funding remains close to $1 billion, with year-to-year variation largely driven by the timing and multi-year nature of federal grant cycles,” a spokesperson for the Office of Research Services wrote to the DP.
In 2025, Penn implemented several “proactive financial measures” — including a hiring freeze and a review of capital spending — in response to the potential ramifications of federal funding cuts.
Earlier this year, University administrators directed all schools and centers to make a 4% reduction in expenditures. Provost John Jackson Jr. and Executive Vice President Mark Dingfield attributed the decision to “uncertainty about how evolving federal policy changes might impact” Penn.
A request for comment was left with Associate Vice President for Federal Affairs William Andresen.
Penn’s federal funding in FY2025 was distributed across four channels: prime assistance awards, prime contract awards, assistance sub-awards, and sub-contracts. These categories describe how federal funding is awarded and administered — either directly to the University or through agreements with other institutions and partners.
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From FY2024 to FY2025, total federal funding to Penn across the four categories decreased from $1.02 billion to $948 million. Three of the four channels experienced declines, with the largest decrease in assistance sub-awards, which were reduced by 49%. Sub-contracts were the only category with a year-to-year increase, with a 7% rise between 2024 and 2025.
In FY2025, 92% of Penn’s federal funding came from prime assistance awards, followed by assistance sub-awards at 6% and prime contract awards at 1.5%. Contract sub-awards made up just 0.13% of total funding.
Project grants provide government funding for work without direct federal involvement, while cooperative agreements involve more active participation from federal agencies. In FY2025, Penn received the majority of its direct assistance funding through these forms of support, alongside smaller categories such as direct payments for specified use. 77% of direct assistance came from project grants, while just 19% came through cooperative agreements.
Penn received federal funding from 23 different departments and agencies in FY2025, with the vast majority issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. Other significant sources of funding included the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Education.
Agencies such as the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services had smaller contributions.
“In 2025, funding levels were also shaped by shifts in federal agency priorities, with funding from the Department of Health and Human Services reflecting Penn’s leadership in biomedical and public health research,” the Office of Research Services spokesperson explained.
The vast majority of Penn’s federal funding from HHS in FY2025 came from the National Institutes of Health, which accounted for almost 98% of the University’s total HHS funding. Penn received almost $770 million from NIH, followed by $5 million from the Food and Drug Administration and $4.13 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In February 2025, the NIH implemented a funding cut — a 15% cap on direct costs — that threatened to cost Penn $240 million.
Later that month, several schools made notable cuts to graduate admissions, citing federal funding uncertainty. Cuts included a 35% decrease in the Perelman School of Medicine’s fall 2025 Ph.D. cohort and a 33% decrease in the School of Arts and Sciences’ graduate cohort.
A ruling blocking the NIH order was upheld by a federal appeals court earlier this year.
NSF was the University's second largest source of funding, at $65 million, followed by the DOD at $40.4 million, and the Education Department at $32.6 million.
Other sources provided much smaller amounts of funding — the next highest source, the United States Agency for International Development, only allocated $946,033.
The White House’s most recent budget proposal threatens to cut funding to both the NIH and the NSF — the two largest contributors to Penn’s federal funding. The 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump administration’s FY27 proposal outlines a 13% and 50% reduction to NIH and NSF funding, respectively.
Penn’s $770 million in funding from the NIH in FY2025 was distributed across the agency’s 27 offices. While no single institute dominated, the largest shares came from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, with $99.6 million and $95.5 million, respectively. Both accounted for over 12% of total NIH funding granted to Penn.
Senior reporter Jack Guerin contributed reporting.
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Staff reporter Phoebe Anagnos contributes to data and enterprise reporting and can be reached at anagnos@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies architecture and earth science. Follow her on X @phoebeeanagnos.
