University Of Southern California

The University of Southern California's Department of Contracts and Grants Division operates as a tax-exempt private research university serving as a prime recipient and contractor for federal research, educational, and training programs across the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and civilian agencies. The institution delivers basic and applied research, graduate training, tuition-funded military officer education, and specialized workforce development across biomedical sciences, engineering, physical sciences, and social-behavioral research domains.

USC competes predominantly in full-and-open federal research solicitations without set-aside restrictions, reflecting its status as a major research university. The institution's federal portfolio spans 9,196 total awards (88% prime, 12% sub) valued at approximately $3.93 billion in combined potential value, with $12.6 billion in total obligations across five years. Most recent activity shows 165 awards in 2026 year-to-date, declining from a 2024 peak of 666 awards, reflecting natural variation in annual solicitation cycles and funding announcements.

Research concentration aligns with the NIH and NSF portfolios. The National Cancer Institute, Army Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency anchor the dollar rankings, collectively representing over $2.8 billion in combined potential value. By award count, NSF leads with 1,208 awards (primarily project grants), followed by NIH with 614 awards and Navy with 484 awards. NIH's National Cancer Institute (322 awards, $1.1 billion), Army RDECOM (159 awards, $1.09 billion), and DARPA (179 awards, $613.7 million) dominate dollar value. SCI-reportable federal service contract invoicing totaled $11.1 million across FY2022–FY2024, with median government-paid rates of $198/hr and senior labor pricing through $400/hr, reflecting faculty and research-scientist labor pools.

Recent awards exemplify the research breadth. NIH funded $17.18 million for the PACE+ program (personalized automated continuous treatment for eye and systemic disease), $14.96 million for Head Start and Early Head Start services, and multiple cancer, neuroscience, and aging research grants in the $500k–$4.5M range. NSF awarded $966 thousand for emergency medical services digital optimization, $753 thousand for deep-ocean microbial enzyme research, and $665 thousand for tunable anisotropic chalcogenides for optical applications. Army RDECOM and DARPA funded quantum information science ($138k transmon qubit design, $330k superconducting multi-qubit circuits), AI-accelerated naval ship design ($150k), and advanced materials research. Navy tuition delivery (NROTC midshipmen, medical officers) generated $8.5 million across three recent orders. Federal grant programs captured include NSF CAREER awards, NIH R01/R35 research grants, NSF I-CORPS commercialization training, and cooperative agreements with the Department of State on cultural exchange (American Film Showcase, $1.69M) and the Department of Energy on quantum information science ($199k).

Vehicles on which USC maintains seat positions include Navy IDC N0014098G2529 (192 task orders, $23.4M), GSA Basic Ordering Agreement GS09B70160 (117 task orders, $39.3M), and Army IDC W911NF04D0005 (43 task orders, $167.5M). A February 2026 Navy Basic Ordering Agreement (no ceiling) supports educational services and tuition delivery through February 2036. A July 2025 DARPA Other Transaction IDV (BNG program, $300k ceiling) permits flexible research task orders outside FAR constraints.

In its subcontractor role, USC delivered research services to Leidos (database centric code development for nuclear effects modeling), Aerospace Corporation (AI-enabled cybersecurity engineering), prime contractors on NASA engineering services, and prime grant recipients including Jackson Laboratory, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Scripps Research Institute, and others across collaborative research projects. Sub-awards to USC from prime grantees (Jackson Lab, UMass Lowell, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Penn, Columbia) reflect research collaborations in biomedical sciences, computational methods, and clinical studies. USC serves administrative and scientific leadership roles in multi-institutional consortia, including the Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute, Children's Oncology Group, and the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.

Recompete exposure in the next twenty-four months totals $128.3 million across 526 awards approaching completion. Activity trajectory shows 2024 peak of 666 awards declining to 483 in 2025 and 165 year-to-date in 2026, consistent with federal grant cycle timing and announcement variability rather than market-share loss. Corporate structure includes USC Credit Union and Southern California Marine Institute as named subsidiaries, with the primary entity operating as the Contracts and Grants Division of the parent university.