University Transportation Centers Program (20.701)
University Transportation Centers Program (Assistance Listing 20.701) is run by the Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation, part of the Department of Transportation. It awarded $308 million in 74 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $4.2 million per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $2.8 million. Half of the 74 awards fell between $1.4 million and $5.9 million, and they ranged from $29,740 to $11.1 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$308 million
- Grant awards74
- Typical award$2.8 million
- Awarded in FY 2025$63.9 million
- Size rank495 of 1824
- Type of assistanceProject grants
Key findings
- Annual funding fell from $67.8 million in fiscal 2021 to $63.9 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 495th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 63% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 32 states and territories.
What the program funds
The program awards grants to nonprofit institutions of higher learning for the purpose of establishing and operating university transportation centers that conduct research, education, and technology transfer programs addressing regional and national transportation issues.
Open opportunities
No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
For the program's competitive grants, public and private nonprofit institutions of higher learning that have established transportation research programs including community colleges. Non-competitive grants must also be to public and private nonprofit institutions of higher learning but may or may not have established programs.
What the money can and cannot pay for
The University Transportation Centers will address surface transportation problems and issues and will seek solutions to both long-range and immediate transportation problems. See below for information about grant matching requirements.
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Subject to the type of grant awarded. Regional and National grants = 100%; Tier 1 grants = 50%MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Award range and average, in the agency's words
IIJA/ BIL legislation are based on the authorized amount of funding before any of the reductions. FY23 authorized amounts awarded to new UTC’s in FY24 are as follows: • *National UTCs = 5 @ $3,930,393 ea. • **Regional UTCs= 10 @ $2,947,770 ea. • Tier 1= 20 @ $1,965,180 ea. Average amount funded: $2,947,800 *National UTCs received split funding from BIL account ($313,145) and the Highway infrastructure program (HIP) ($3,686,855). **Region 8 UTC was not selected during FY 2022 UTC Program competition and was re-opened in May 2023.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2016: Projects are anticipated to be based on the Department's six research priority areas. Projects are required to be based on the Department’s six research priority areas and include new and continued research in various disciplines that cover several modes of surface transportation.Fiscal Year2022: Projects are based on the Department’s research priority areas and include new and continued research in various disciplines covering several modes of travel using surface transportation.Fiscal Year2025: UTCs awarded under IIJA support surface transportation research through the following US DOT statutory research priorities: 1. Improving Mobility of People and Goods; 2. Reducing Congestion; 3. Promoting Safety; 4. Improving the Durability and Extending the Life of Transportation Infrastructure; 5. Preserving the Environment; 6. Preserving the Existing Transportation System; and 7. Reducing Transportation Cybersecurity Risks. UTCs are encouraged to establish non-exclusive candidate topic areas as potential research considerations for each of the seven statutory research priorities including new breakthrough ideas, innovations, and transformative research topics that will make significant contributions toward transforming the transportation system into a seamless, connected, and adaptable system of systems that serves the American people and economy through the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, University Transportation Centers Program (20.701) awarded$308 million across 74 grant awards, an average of $4.2 million per award.
Who usually wins
Almost all of the money went to colleges and universities.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleges and universities | 74 | $308 million | 100% |
By state
Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 12 | $56.4 million |
| California | 7 | $24.6 million |
| Maryland | 4 | $20.2 million |
| Pennsylvania | 4 | $17.2 million |
| Florida | 5 | $17.1 million |
| North Carolina | 3 | $12.9 million |
| New York | 4 | $12.6 million |
| South Carolina | 3 | $11.9 million |
| Illinois | 2 | $11.8 million |
| Michigan | 2 | $11.4 million |
| Nebraska | 2 | $11.4 million |
| North Dakota | 2 | $11.4 million |
| Washington | 2 | $11.3 million |
| Oklahoma | 1 | $8.9 million |
| Massachusetts | 1 | $8.8 million |
| Arkansas | 2 | $7.3 million |
| Missouri | 2 | $7.3 million |
| New Mexico | 1 | $5.9 million |
| Ohio | 1 | $5.9 million |
| Tennessee | 1 | $5.6 million |
| Louisiana | 2 | $5.2 million |
| District of Columbia | 1 | $4.0 million |
| Virginia | 1 | $2.8 million |
| Oregon | 1 | $2.7 million |
| Maine | 1 | $2.6 million |
| New Jersey | 1 | $2.6 million |
| Alaska | 1 | $1.4 million |
| Montana | 1 | $1.4 million |
| Arizona | 1 | $1.4 million |
| Iowa | 1 | $1.4 million |
| Colorado | 1 | $1.3 million |
| Nevada | 1 | $1.1 million |