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Chaos. Confusion.
That’s how one expert at the American Council on Education, Sarah Spreitzer, describes the current state of federal research funding. Since President Donald Trump took office for the second time, the federal research funding landscape has come under consistent threat.
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But a look at the funding trends at North Carolina’s flagship institutions doesn’t show a truly dramatic decline in funding. That’s because federal research funding hasn’t shrunk the way many feared it would: Congress has repeatedly rejected the steep cuts proposed by the Trump administration, and a court ruling stopped an aggressive cap on costs associated with lab space, utilities, and administrative support.
That doesn’t mean that nothing has changed. The National Institutes of Health is lagging far behind the number of grants it typically awards, and those funding delays are causing panic across the scientific community.
At UNC-Chapel Hill, the trend is noticeable: NIH funding levels dropped nearly 20% between fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2026, a drop of $131 million. University fiscal years run July through June.
The school is getting fewer awards more slowly, and dealing with changes to processes and shifts in dollar amounts of research awards, according to Penny Gordon-Larsen, vice chancellor for research at UNC.
“Federal agencies are currently experiencing delays in the processing and disbursement of research awards, resulting in backlogs that are affecting the timing of funding reaching institutions across the country,” Gordon-Larsen told The News & Observer.
“In general agencies have made fewer awards in the current fiscal year compared to previous fiscal years.”
But year-to-year fluctuations can also be attributed to timing of large awards and the completion of major projects, Gordon-Larsen said. Also, federal grant programs are competitive. It’s normal to lose out on some.
Here’s a look at how funding from the NIH, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Defense have fluctuated at North Carolina’s flagship institutions — UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University — over the past three fiscal years.
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Note: Figures reflect university fiscal years (July 1–June 30), not the federal fiscal year (Oct. 1–Sept. 30).
At NC State, funding from NIH has actually slightly increased. But the number of those NIH awards has fallen by 9%.
“It’s normal for awards from agencies to fluctuate year to year based on how funding opportunities fit with institutional research strengths,” a spokesperson from the university told The N&O in a statement. “We are confident that in the long term, the vital work NC State’s research does will both grow and continue to provide value to our state, nation and world.”
Department of Defense funding fell 53% at UNC-Chapel Hill between fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2026, and 23% at NC State.
Federally funded university research, once fairly stable and reliable industry, is now a moving target. There’s even recent talk of dismantling the system entirely: a White House report from July recommended moving research money away from universities and toward individual researchers and private companies.
“Because federal research funding is influenced by congressional appropriations, agency priorities, policy decisions and the timing of competitive awards, it would be premature to speculate about how future funding levels may change,” Gordon-Larsen wrote in a statement. “Carolina will continue to support its researchers and adapt to the evolving federal research landscape.”
Duke University did not respond to questions about its federal research funding levels.
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