School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University

What School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University does

The School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University operates within the USU Office of Research, the central research administration division of a Carnegie-classified R1 public land-grant research university founded in 1888 in Logan, Utah. It administers the full lifecycle of sponsored research activity across the university — from funding discovery and proposal development through award setup, compliance oversight, and technology transfer — supporting faculty researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates across space, water, land, air, and quality-of-life domains. The office managed a record $517 million in research awards in 2025 and produced 16 issued patents, 36 patent applications, 47 innovation disclosures, and $2.7 million in licensing and intellectual property revenue in FY 2025.

The office's core technology platform is Kuali Research, a community-built research administration system that handles proposal development, compliance, budgeting, and award management with System-to-System submissions to Grants.gov. This platform is supported by a network of 15+ college-based proposal development specialists, a Sponsored Programs Office, a Research Integrity & Compliance division (AAHRPP-accredited), Institutional Review Board and IACUC oversight, and a Technology Transfer division. The office maintains institutional partnerships with ORAU, GrantForward (40,000+ funding opportunities), Hanover Research, and the Utah Research Development Network across 80+ higher education institutions.

Its revenue mechanics are not commercial: services are provided to internal faculty at no direct cost, funded through institutional overhead, state appropriations, and federal flow-through. Income-generating activity is concentrated in sponsored research awards ($517M administered in 2025) and technology transfer/licensing ($2.7M FY2025). In October 2025, the office launched a new Research Innovation & Impact (RII) division combining Research Development, a newly created External Research Partnerships team, and Technology Transfer under Executive Director Jeri Hansen, signaling an intent to expand external funding channels and commercialization capacity.

Name

School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University

Legal name

Utah State University

Website

https://rgs.usu.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1888

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The USU Office of Research, part of Utah State University's School of Graduate Studies, administers the full research lifecycle — funding discovery, proposal development, compliance, and technology transfer — for R1-classified faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates, managing $517M in 2025 awards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Research Administration

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Educational Services (8200), Patent Owners & Lessors (6794)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools (EDAHAAAF), Public Research Universities with Major Extension & Outreach Missions (EDAHAAAG), Public Research Universities with Engineering/Polytechnic Emphasis (EDAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Research administration services
• Grant proposal development
• Research compliance oversight
• Technology transfer licensing
• Sponsored programs management

Headquarters

HQ city

Logan, UT

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Awards and Grants: USU Office of Research administers $517 million in research awards (2025), supporting faculty research across all disciplines including space, water, land, air, and quality-of-life questions. Revenue comes from federal agencies, state programs, and private foundations.
2. Technology Transfer and Licensing: Technology Transfer division protects innovations and commercializes USU-generated technologies. FY 2025 generated $2.7M total revenue from licensing and intellectual property.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The School of Graduate Studies / Office of Research at Utah State University operates an integrated research administration ecosystem supporting faculty and student researchers. Core offerings include proposal development assistance, sponsored programs administration, research integrity and compliance oversight, technology transfer and IP commercialization services, and undergraduate/graduate research programs. The division administers $517 million in research awards annually and runs on the Kuali Research administration platform.

Product overview

The Office of Research at Utah State University operates as an integrated research administration and support ecosystem rather than a single product company. The core offering consists of Kuali Research, an internal research administration system that handles the full research lifecycle from proposal development through award closeout. Surrounding this core platform are service divisions including Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) for project administration, Research Integrity & Compliance (RIC) for ethical oversight, Technology Transfer for intellectual property protection, and Research Development for funding support. Student-facing programs include undergraduate and graduate research opportunities, while compliance services cover IRB, animal care, and environmental safety. AI Resources provides guidance on AI use in research. This is a university administrative services portfolio, not a commercial software product with external integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kuali Research: Research administration software system for proposal development, compliance, budgeting, and award management
• Research Development
• External Research Partnerships
• H.E.A.L.

Products and services

• Kuali Research Administration Platform Research administration software system that streamlines proposal development, compliance, budgeting, and award management for USU researchers. Supports System-to-System (S2S) submissions to Grants.gov and covers the full research lifecycle.
• Sponsored Programs Office (SPO)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerORAU provides innovative scientific and technical solutions through a consortium of over 160 major Ph.D.-granting institutions. USU participates in ORAU programs including Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards, Innovation Partnerships Grants, and ORAU-Directed Research and Development (ODRD) Grants for collaborative research opportunities.
• GrantForwardcoreTechnology or IntegrationGrantForward provides curated external AI-related funding opportunities and funding databases. USU maintains institutional subscription for faculty access to 40,000+ funding opportunities across disciplines including Arts & Humanities, Education, Environmental Sciences, Engineering, Biomedical, and more.
• Hanover ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHanover Research provides grants calendars and funding opportunity tracking for USU researchers. Calendars cover AI & Machine Learning, Arts & Humanities, Engineering, Research Centers, Early Career Research, and other specialized areas.
• Kuali Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationKuali Research is a collaborative, community-driven research administration software developed by universities. USU has built strong relationship with Kuali Inc. to implement and customize the platform for USU's research administration needs including proposal development, compliance, budgeting, and award management.
• Utah Research Development NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of 80+ research development professionals across Utah higher education institutions including USU, University of Utah, BYU, Southern Utah University, Utah Valley University, Salt Lake Community College, and others. Vision is to foster innovation and collaboration to advance research excellence across Utah.
• Oak Ridge National LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerORAU collaborates with Oak Ridge National Laboratory for faculty research opportunities and collaborative projects through the consortium network.
• Cumbre KidsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTEM podcast for Spanish-speaking families with 140,000+ listening families. Partners with researchers to translate complex topics into kid-friendly language and make science accessible.
• MinuteEarthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience video content creators with 500+ million views making engaging animated educational videos based on scientific research. Helps researchers translate research into accessible content.
• REACH THE WORLDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnects researchers with K-12 classrooms through virtual exchange. Researchers share work with students nationwide to spark curiosity and improve STEM and global education.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of Research: UW-Madison is a peer R1 public research university with a mature research administration operation that supports a comparable scale of federal research awards, technology transfer, and compliance activities across similar disciplines.
• Purdue University Office of Research: Purdue operates a large R1 research administration office that mirrors USU's structure with sponsored programs, technology transfer, research compliance, and college-embedded research development staff. Its strong engineering focus makes it a particularly close functional peer.
• Oregon State University Office of Research: Oregon State University is a peer R1 public land-grant university with a comparable Office of Research that administers sponsored programs, technology transfer, and compliance for faculty researchers across similar disciplines including agriculture, engineering, and natural resources.
• Virginia Tech Office of Research and Innovation: Virginia Tech is a peer R1 public land-grant university with a comparable Office of Research and Innovation that combines sponsored programs, tech transfer, and research development, with a similar mix of engineering, life sciences, and space research capabilities.
• University of Utah Office of Research: University of Utah is a peer R1 public research university in Utah, sharing state policy context and the Utah Research Development Network. It operates a comparable research administration structure and competes with USU for the same state and federal research dollars.
• University of Maryland Office of Research: University of Maryland is a peer R1 public research university with a comparable Office of Research handling sponsored programs, tech transfer, and research compliance. Its proximity to federal agencies (NIH, NASA) makes it a useful comparator for federal funding dependency.
• Iowa State University Office of Research: Iowa State is a peer R1 public land-grant university with a directly comparable Office of Research structure handling sponsored programs, tech transfer, and research integrity oversight, with overlapping faculty research areas in agriculture and engineering.
• Washington State University Office of Research: Washington State is a peer R1 public land-grant institution with a similar Office of Research that administers federal awards, technology transfer, and compliance, and shares USU's research strengths in agriculture, energy, and life sciences.
• Colorado State University Office of Research: Colorado State is a peer R1 public land-grant university with a comparable research administration structure that supports federal research awards, technology transfer, and compliance across agriculture, atmospheric science, and engineering.

Others

• Kuali Inc. Kuali is a technology vendor that provides the Kuali Research platform used by USU's Office of Research and is explicitly listed as a partner. It is adjacent, not directly competing; it sits in the supply chain that enables the office's research administration workflow.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/research_usu
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/USUResearch
• Facebookfacebook.com/ResearchUSU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/research-and-graduate-studies-at-utah-state-university
• Instagraminstagram.com/research.usu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University