University of Oklahoma

What University of Oklahoma does

The University of Oklahoma is a public R1 research university founded in 1890, headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma, and operating across three campuses (Norman, Tulsa, and the Oklahoma City Health Sciences Center), with 36,500+ students and 1,001–5,000 faculty and staff. The university runs 170+ academic programs across 13 colleges and reports more than $470M in annual research expenditures, 719 sponsored awards in FY24 ($183M in sponsored awards, $286M in expenditures), and representation from 125+ countries. It is governed by the OU Board of Regents under the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.

OU's core "products" are education, research, and clinical care, delivered through OU Online, in-person degree programs, and OU Health. Underlying technologies include the Horus fully digital polarimetric phased-array weather radar (world's first, developed with NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory), the ECHO open-source generative-AI research platform, and an AI/ML cell-line prediction model for monoclonal antibody manufacturing developed with Wheeler Bio. Revenue is generated through a hybrid mix: state appropriations and TSET grants (e.g., $25M for the Tulsa cancer center), federal research grants (NSF, NIH, DoD, DOT, Air Force, DOE), tuition and fees across three campuses plus OU Online, private donations and corporate contributions (e.g., DentaQuest), and athletics revenue via SEC membership and national-championship-level programs in baseball, gymnastics, and softball. The institution is currently executing a "Lead On" strategic plan, a Project 200 talent-recruitment initiative targeting 200 researchers by 2032, and a campus master plan, all positioning it for expanded research output and enrollment.

Name

University of Oklahoma

Legal name

The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents

Website

https://ou.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1890

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The University of Oklahoma is a public R1 research university founded in 1890, serving 36,500+ students across three Oklahoma campuses with $470M+ in annual research expenditures, 170+ academic programs, and federally funded research in atmospheric science, biomedical engineering, and aerospace.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Flagship Public Research Universities (R1/R2) (EDAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Research Universities with Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) (EDAHAAAC)

Keywords

• Higher education
• Research university
• Health sciences
• Atmospheric research
• Biomedical research

Headquarters

HQ city

Norman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Research Grants: OU receives substantial federal research funding from agencies including NSF, NIH, DoD, and USDOT. FY24 expenditures reached $286 million with $183 million in sponsored awards.
2. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs across Norman, Tulsa, and Health Sciences campuses, including online programs.
3. State Funding and Grants: TSET and state grants including $25 million for Tulsa cancer center, $30 million to OSU Medical Center for residency positions, and other state appropriations.
4. Private Donations and Grants: Contributions from foundations and corporations such as $25,000 from DentaQuest for College of Dentistry support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The University of Oklahoma is a public R1 research university offering 170+ undergraduate, graduate, and professional academic programs across three campuses (Norman, Tulsa, and Health Sciences Center) and OU Online. It delivers degree education, federally funded research ($470M+ annual expenditures), NCAA Division I athletics in the SEC, and academic healthcare through OU Health. The university also conducts sponsored research for agencies including NSF, NIH, DoD, NOAA, and DOT, and operates specialized research centers in atmospheric sciences, immunoengineering, and data science.

Product overview

The University of Oklahoma operates as Oklahoma's number one research university (R1 institution) offering a multi-platform educational and research portfolio. The university provides OU Online for remote education, hosts the NIH-funded Oklahoma Center for ImmunoEngineering (OCIE) for biomedical research, developed the HORUS fully digital phased-array weather radar through its Advanced Radar Research Center, created the ECHO open-source AI research tool, and runs Project 200 as a major researcher recruitment initiative. These products span educational services, advanced research centers, proprietary technology development, and open-source research tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OU Health: Healthcare brand encompassing OU Health Sciences Center and related medical services
• OU Online
• Kimrey Family Stadium
• Love's Field
• Oklahoma Center for ImmunoEngineering (OCIE)
• Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations
• Data Institute for Societal Challenges (DISC)
• Institute for Environmental Genomics
• HyDROS Laboratory
• Native Nations Center
• Sooners

Products and services

• Academic Degree Programs 170+ undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs across 13 colleges and schools at the University of Oklahoma, delivered to 36,500+ students across three campuses and OU Online.
• OU Online Online platform offering high-quality, affordable, professional undergraduate and graduate programs committed to maintaining excellence in an online format for remote learners.
• Federally Sponsored Research Services R1 research services spanning atmospheric sciences, biomedical research, additive manufacturing, autonomous transportation, and social sciences, generating $470M+ in annual research expenditures and 719 awards in FY24.
• OU Health Academic Healthcare Services Comprehensive academic healthcare services delivered through OU Health Sciences Center including cancer treatment at the Stephenson Cancer Center, dental care, residency positions, and clinical training for the Oklahoma City and statewide populations.
• NCAA Division I Athletics Program SEC conference athletics program offering football, baseball, softball, gymnastics, and other Division I sports, with 8 NCAA women's gymnastics national championships and 3 baseball national titles (1951, 1994, 2026).
• Horus Weather Radar Research System The world's first fully digital polarimetric phased-array weather radar developed at OU's Advanced Radar Research Center with NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory, capturing storm updates in seconds versus five-minute intervals using 64 antennas.
• Ranger X-Band Weather Radar System Solid-state X-Band weather radar system co-developed with Enterprise Electronics Corporation (EEC), combining OU ARRC research with EEC manufacturing capabilities for global commercial sale.
• Oklahoma Center for ImmunoEngineering (OCIE) Five-year NIH-funded biomedical research center (Phase I, $11.5 million) integrating experimental immunomodulation technologies with omics data science to develop treatments for cancer, viral infections, and autoimmune disorders. Co-led by Dr. Wei Chen and Dr. Chongle Pan.
• AI-Powered Cell Line Prediction Model Machine learning model developed with Wheeler Bio that predicts high-yield cell lines for monoclonal antibody production with 76.2% accuracy, analyzing early-stage growth data using the Luedeking-Piret equation to identify productive clones weeks earlier than traditional screening methods.
• ECHO (Evaluation of Chat, Human Behavior, and Outcomes) Research Platform Free, open-source, low-code research platform developed by a University of Oklahoma data scientist that enables scholars to design and run behavioral experiments involving conversational AI, Web search, and human-AI interaction.
• Youth Athletic Camps Youth athletic camps at OU facilities including the Nike Tennis Camp, led by former NCAA champions and Division I coaches, with program-specific pricing.
• Professional Certificate Program in Project Management with GenAI Professional certificate program delivered with Simplilearn through OU Outreach, combining online and live instructor-led training on AI applications in project planning, forecasting, and decision-making.
• ACCEL-RT Autonomous Freight Transportation Project University of Oklahoma-led research initiative deploying autonomous freight vehicles along the I-40 corridor spanning Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona, with consortium partners UC-Berkeley and University of New Mexico, supported by $10M USDOT and $20M total funding.
• Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace Program $8.8 million Phase II additive manufacturing research program in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Air Force Sustainment Center, and Air Force Research Laboratory. Developing digital qualification processes for 3D-printed aircraft parts and AI-driven in situ monitoring for repair of legacy aircraft components.
• Global Cloud Property Database Four-year project to create a publicly accessible and updatable online database standardizing cloud property measurements from field projects spanning three decades across the Arctic, tropics, mid-latitudes, and Southern Ocean.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced antibody production development time by enabling cell line selection weeks earlier than traditional screening
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Phase II of $8.8 million additive manufacturing research program with Air Force Sustainment Center and Air Force Research Laboratory. Developing digital qualification processes for 3D-printed aircraft parts and AI-driven in situ monitoring for repair of legacy aircraft components.
• NOAA National Severe Storms LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed Horus radar technology, the world's first fully digital polarimetric phased-array weather radar. Supports improved storm monitoring and severe weather prediction.
• Texas Tech UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating with OU researchers on PAPEL project for lightning detection and storm electrification research using Horus radar.
• Wheeler BiocoreTechnology or IntegrationIndustry partnership to apply OU-developed machine learning model predicting high-yield cell lines for monoclonal antibody production with over 75% accuracy. $35 million EDA funding supports Oklahoma City biotech sector development.
• Enterprise Electronics Corporation (EEC)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to develop, manufacture, and globally sell the Ranger X-Band weather radar system combining OU ARRC research with EEC manufacturing capabilities. Continues advancement of solid-state transmitter technologies.
• SimplilearnminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with OU Outreach to deliver Professional Certificate Program in Project Management with GenAI, combining online and live instructor-led training on AI applications in project planning, forecasting, and decision-making.
• U.S. Forest ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on wildfire research through prescribed burns and managed fire practices, part of multi-university research including Boise State, UNM, and Northwest Nazarene University.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Oklahoma State University: In-state public research university and direct competitor for Oklahoma students, faculty, and athletic recruits. Both schools compete in NCAA Division I, share the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, and overlap in petroleum engineering, agriculture, and atmospheric research.
• Texas Tech University: Regional public R1 peer with strong atmospheric sciences and National Wind Institute research, overlapping OU's radar and severe weather capabilities. Collaborates with OU on the NSF PAPEL lightning/storm electrification project, indicating comparable research scale.
• University of Arkansas: SEC peer public R1 with similar enrollment scale and SEC athletic competition. Comparable research expenditures and federal grant profile, making it a close institutional comparison for Oklahoma.
• University of Kansas: Regional public R1 with overlapping atmospheric research and Big 12/ACC athletic history. Comparable research output scale and graduate program breadth to OU.
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Big Ten public R1 peer with comparable federal research funding profile, NCAA Division I athletics, and land-grant-adjacent research mission. Strong overlap in engineering and atmospheric sciences.
• Iowa State University: Big 12 peer public R1 with overlapping engineering and atmospheric research capabilities. Comparable enrollment and federal research expenditure scale to OU.
• University of Missouri: SEC peer public R1 with comparable NIH funding profile and biomedical research scale. Competes for students in the South-Central/Midwest regional market.

Broad incumbents

• University of Texas at Austin: Texas flagship public R1 and SEC peer; competes with OU for students, faculty, and research funding across energy, engineering, and atmospheric sciences. Larger endowment and broader scale make it a benchmark aspirational peer.
• Texas A&M University: SEC peer and large public R1 with comparable engineering, atmospheric, and defense research scale. Overlaps with OU on petroleum engineering rankings and federal research grants.

Regional players

• Baylor University: Texas-based private R1 with comparable NCAA Division I athletics and biomedical research profile. Regional peer for student recruitment and faculty hiring in the South-Central market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uofoklahoma
• Facebookfacebook.com/uoklahoma
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-of-oklahoma-19179

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors5 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about University of Oklahoma