Total Research Expenditure Reports

National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation's Higher Education R&D Survey (HERD), a voluntary survey dating back to 1972, is recognized as the primary source of comprehensive information on research and development expenditures and is the foundation for most national rankings of research universities. Academic institutions are ranked by total R&D expenditures, number of full-time graduate students, and number of earned doctorates.

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) also publishes an annual research report summzarizing total expenditures and sources of funds for research and development at Texas Universities and Health-Related Institutions. TTU ranked 7th in total research expenditures among the 44 schools reporting in 2015.

Restricted Research Expenditure Reports

Restricted research expenditure(RRE) data is also collected by the THECB. RRE is a component in the State allocation from the Research Development Fund (RDF), appropriated funds provided for acquisition or upgrade of research labs and equipment.

A minimum level of RRE expenditures was also one of the six criteria set forth by the Texas Legislature for designated emerging research university's to be eligible for distributions from the National Research University Fund (NRUF). In 2011, TTU earned this designation and began to receive funding in 2012. In 2016, the Carnegie Classification Institutions of Higher Education announced that Texas Tech University is a Tier One University.

Other Research Expenditure Reports

There are many additional research surveys in which TTU reports research expenditures, all of which “slice and dice” research activity in different ways. Some of the reports include the following:

• THECB, Sources and Uses – details research expenditures by field of science and source of funds.
• US News and World Report, US News Education Survey – details research expenditures from programs of education.
• US News and World Report, US News Engineering Survey – details externally-funded research expenditures by engineering discipline and source of funds.
• American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Survey of Engineering and Engineering Technology Research Programs – details externally-funded research expenditures by engineering
• Peterson's, Annual Survey of Undergraduate Institutions – details research expenditures by academic unit and source of funds.

The TTU Vice President for Research also publishes an annual report which contains total and restricted research expenditures data, the most recent being the 2017 Annual Report.