BU Social Sciences Ranks in Top 10% of Universities for Federal Funding
The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) has released its 2025 annual College and University Rankings for Federal Social and Behavioral Science R&D, which highlight the top university recipients of research dollars in the social and behavioral sciences.
COSSA’s website also features a rankings dashboard with an interactive map of recipients of social and behavioral science R&D funding so you can see how Boston University stacks up among U.S. institutions. BU is currently ranked #41 out of 559 institutions, with R&D funding totaling more than $18 million.
Based on federally collected data, the COSSA rankings use an inclusive selection of fields representing the breadth of the social and behavioral sciences to calculate the total federal R&D funding received by universities in the social and behavioral sciences. The 2025 rankings reflect spending from fiscal year 2023, the most current available data.
COSSA is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to promote sustainable federal funding for social and behavioral science research and federal policies that positively impact the conduct of research. COSSA serves as a united voice for a broad, diverse network of organizations, institutions, communities, and stakeholders who care about a successful and vibrant social science research enterprise. The COSSA membership includes professional and disciplinary associations, scientific societies, research centers and institutes, and U.S. colleges and universities.