About

Points of pride

recognition

University Recognition

  • In 2023, USF became the first public university in Florida in nearly 40 years to be invited to join the , a prestigious group of the leading universities in the United States and Canada. 

  • USF is one of 135 public research universities nationwide classified as a Doctoral University with very high research impact and doctorate production by the . This classification is a distinction only bestowed on universities with at least $50 million in annual research investment and 70 research doctorates. USF is one of six public universities in the state of Florida classified as such (2025).

  • USF is designated by the as an Innovation & Economic Prosperity University, one of only 89 in the nation. USF was honored by APLU with the International Impact Award for Global Teaching and Learning in 2023 and the Institutional Award for Global Learning, Resarch & Engagement in 2019. 

Research Funding & Expenditures

research lab
  • USF was awarded $750 million in research contracts and grants in fiscal year 2025. According to the National Institutes of Health, every $1.00 in research funding brings in $2.56 in local economic growth. In FY2024, USF鈥檚 $750 million in research funding generated over $1.9 billion in local economic growth. USF had $522 million in total research expenditures in fiscal year 2024.

  • USF鈥檚 innovation and economic development efforts generate more than $9 billion in impact each year and supports 68,704 jobs (USF Economic Impact Report).

  • Sponsored Programs annually submits approximately 2,000 proposals totaling over $1 billion in funding and processes approximately 3,000 awards and award modifications totaling over $400 million in funding.

  • USF is in the top 10% of research institutions ranked by NSF (National Science Foundation) by total research expenditures for their most recent year (2023).

Patents and Innovation

  • USF is among the top 20 U.S. public universities for granted U.S. patents according to the (2025), and has ranked in the top 20 among American public universities for more than a decade.

    USF Connect lab
  • USF CONNECT supports 128 companies across the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator, Evolve Accelerator, and Student Innovation Incubator. TBTI companies have attracted more than $600 million in investment, funding and grants, generated over $613 million in cumulative sales, and produced 195 granted patents. CONNECT companies currently employ more than 200 people, including 33 USF students, strengthening the university鈥檚 pipeline from innovation to commercialization and economic impact.

  • USF鈥檚 Student Innovation Incubator has supported more than 250 student-led companies since its launch in 2013. In Academic Year 2025鈥2026, SII welcomed 49 student-led ventures, nearly doubling the size of prior cohorts and representing one of its largest and most multidisciplinary cohorts to date. Nine ventures participated in the Invent2Impact Student Innovator Track, which connects students with existing USF technologies to explore new pathways for commercialization.

  • In FY2026, the Matching Grants Research Program  awarded more than $1.5 million to support 19 research projects across six USF colleges. These funds, in part, support more than 60 student research engagements with industry. Through its Early-Stage Innovation Fund, the Corridor awarded $275,000 to support eleven faculty across five USF colleges as they further drive their innovations toward commercial viability. Projects focused on healthcare, sustainability, advancement in education, security, and beyond. Past awards have supported the formation of six new startup companies, more than 70 student research experiences, and nearly $750K in follow on funding to USF.

  • The Florida High Tech Corridor and USF Research, though its Undergraduate Research Initiative, deployed $230,000 to engage more than 200 students in undergraduate research experiences across all 14 colleges, USF St. Petersburg, and Undergraduate Studies.
     

NSF I-Corps Hub: Southeast @ USF

  • USF was among the first three dozen universities nationwide to be designated an I-Corps Site in 2016 by the National Science Foundation. In 2024, USF was selected as one of eight universities for the NSF I-Corps Hub: Southeast, an initiative that will advance innovation and entrepreneurship across the southeast. The I-Corps Hub: Southeast program develops teams of faculty, students, and business entrepreneurs from the community, and helps them learn to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from their academic research. The program features a 5-week 鈥渂oot camp鈥 to provide real-world experience in entrepreneurship, through training in customer discovery and guidance from established entrepreneurs and faculty.
I-corps

  • Since 2015, the I-Corps program at USF has trained more than 339 teams, of which 136 teams were trained in 5-week bootcamps, 167 in courses, and 60 as part of the programming at the student innovation incubator. The teams span all colleges from both USF campuses. Thirty-six teams have advanced to the national NSF I-Corps program to date.

Inventors

  • FIHF Induction
    USF is the founder and home of the , a non-profit member organization with over 4,600 individual members, including fellows, senior members, and chapter members, affiliated with more than 300 institutions worldwide. The NAI鈥檚 nationally recognized fellows program has more than 1,700 elected fellows, including Nobel laureates, U.S. National Medal of Technology & Innovation and National Medal of Science recipients and National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees, who collectively hold more than 58,000 issued U.S. patents. USF has 31 NAI Fellows. The USF Chapter of the NAI has over 600 USF faculty, staff, students and alumni members, who collectively hold nearly 3,000 U.S. patents (2022).

  • The was founded at USF in 2013. As of 2025, 87 outstanding Florida inventors have been elected, including 16 from USF.

USF Research Foundation

  • Research Park sign
    Established as a direct-support organization to advance, promote, and enhance the research activities of USF faculty, staff, and students, the Research Foundation strengthens USF鈥檚 role as a driver of innovation by providing resources and infrastructure that facilitate discovery, collaboration, and commercialization. The Research Foundation supports the full research and innovation lifecycle鈥攆rom research administration and technology transfer to startup development and industry engagement. Through the development and management of the USF Research Park, it fosters a vibrant research ecosystem. By providing facilities, services, and a collaborative community, the Research Foundation helps accelerate innovation, technology development, commercialization, and economic growth.

  • The Foundation Bull Ring Accelerator Grant program (BRAG) is a joint initiative of the USF Foundation and the USF Research Foundation. BRAG is designed to support early-stage start-up companies that were formed on the basis of licensed 911爆料网 technologies (USF start-ups). BRAG provides up to $25,000 of grant funding to help bridge the "valley" of death experienced by early-stage technology companies 鈥 the point between when academic research funding runs out and when a team is credible enough, with sufficient customer and market knowledge, to raise private capital or license/partner with existing companies. To date, awarded companies have secured $10.41 of external funding for every $1 of BRAG funds.
Updated: 8/13/2026