Well Told Grants

Federal grant programs / National Science Foundation

Mathematical and Physical Sciences (47.049)

Also known as (MPS)

Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Assistance Listing 47.049) is run by the National Science Foundation. It awarded $8.5 billion in 14,898 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $568,976 per award on average. 41 funding opportunities are open or forecast now.

The typical award was $276,630. Half of the 14,898 awards fell between $145,512 and $454,344, and they ranged from $1 to $260 million.

Key findings

What the program funds

To promote the progress of the mathematical and physical sciences and thereby strengthen the Nation's scientific enterprise; to increase the store of scientific knowledge and enhance understanding of major problems confronting the Nation.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

16 more opportunities are listed with all open grants from National Science Foundation.

Rules from the program listing

What the money can and cannot pay for

UN002- Specific Restrictions Determined at NOFO Level

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Range Low: $2,773 Range High: $61,500,000 Average: $166,921

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Funding history and past recipients

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Mathematical and Physical Sciences (47.049) awarded$8.5 billion across 14,898 grant awards, an average of $568,976 per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.Arizona22$725 million
Associated Universities IncVirginia18$646 million
California Institute of TechnologyCalifornia148$316 million
Cornell UniversityNew York179$256 million
Florida State UniversityFlorida92$228 million
The University of ChicagoIllinois208$185 million
University of Wisconsin SystemWisconsin234$156 million
The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York167$138 million
University of IllinoisIllinois206$137 million
The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCalifornia196$132 million
The Trustees of Princeton UniversityNew Jersey188$125 million
Regents of the University of MichiganMichigan272$125 million
University of California, Santa BarbaraCalifornia123$124 million
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts220$124 million
The Regents of the University of ColoradoColorado151$121 million
University of WashingtonWashington197$108 million
University of Notre Dame Du LacIndiana121$106 million
University of Maryland, College ParkMaryland180$97.3 million
The Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania203$95.2 million
The Trustees of the University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania123$92.2 million

Top states: California ($1.2 billion), Arizona ($814 million), Virginia ($777 million), New York ($719 million), Illinois ($475 million), Massachusetts ($390 million), Florida ($390 million), Texas ($335 million), Pennsylvania ($330 million), Michigan ($243 million).

Who usually wins

Colleges and universities received 80% of the money, businesses 1.3% and individuals 1.1%.

Recipient typeAwardsAmountShare
Colleges and universities13,969$6.8 billion80%
Other231$1.5 billion17%
Businesses246$111 million1.3%
Individuals440$93.0 million1.1%
Small businesses11$14.9 million0.2%
Tribal governments and organizations1$74,6430%

By state

52 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Grants by recipient's state, fiscal 2021 to 2025
StateAwardsAmount
California1,904$1.2 billion
Arizona286$814 million
Virginia396$777 million
New York1,176$719 million
Illinois811$475 million
Massachusetts905$390 million
Florida442$390 million
Texas969$335 million
Pennsylvania815$330 million
Michigan541$243 million
New Jersey476$225 million
Indiana464$222 million
North Carolina485$209 million
Colorado349$193 million
Wisconsin294$184 million
Maryland370$167 million
Ohio363$134 million
Washington271$129 million
Georgia373$123 million
Minnesota242$91.9 million
Utah201$83.6 million
District of Columbia129$79.6 million
Rhode Island172$72.9 million
Connecticut223$71.8 million
Nebraska93$70.3 million
Tennessee180$67.8 million
Oregon142$67.7 million
Louisiana175$61.0 million
Missouri201$58.9 million
Alabama163$49.2 million
South Carolina136$48.3 million
Iowa126$41.9 million
Delaware74$36.4 million
Kansas112$34.3 million
Montana41$32.1 million
New Mexico78$31.9 million
Puerto Rico19$28.2 million
Hawaii65$24.5 million
Nevada57$23.6 million
Kentucky87$23.5 million
Mississippi74$22.2 million
Oklahoma80$18.6 million
New Hampshire61$17.6 million
West Virginia46$14.7 million
Wyoming25$11.9 million
Idaho44$11.5 million
Arkansas31$9.5 million
South Dakota34$8.2 million
Vermont28$6.8 million
Maine33$5.6 million
North Dakota16$4.3 million
Alaska11$1.9 million
Guam1$78,372

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.