62 ophthalmology departments ranked by NIH funding

The National Institutes of Health awarded more than $373 million in funding to ophthalmology departments at universities and schools of medicine in the U.S. in 2025, according to data from the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

The mean funding for ophthalmology departments in 2025 was just over $6 million, and the median was $4.12 million. 

Three universities received more than $20 million: Johns Hopkins University, the University of California San Francisco and Washington University in St. Louis.

Here is what 62 U.S. schools received from the NIH last year for ophthalmology:

1. Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore): $25,813,592
2. University of California San Francisco: $24,585,418
3. Washington University in St. Louis: $22,793,703
4. Stanford (Calif.) University: $16,850,123
5. University of Southern California (Los Angeles): $15,832,738
6. Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tenn.): $15,812,917
7. University of Washington (Seattle): $14,337,226
8. University of Michigan (Ann Arbor): $12,686,215
9. University of California Irvine: $11,639,715
10. Duke University (Durham, N.C.): $10,889,788
11. University of Pittsburgh: $9,685,939
12. University of California San Diego: $9,484,742
13. Oregon Health & Science University (Portland): $9,361,067
14. Wayne State University (Detroit): $8,837,382
15. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia): $8,597,561
16. University of Wisconsin (Madison): $8,282,682
17. University of Illinois Chicago: $8,010,605
18. Columbia University Health Sciences (New York City): $7,948,972
19. University of Rochester (N.Y.): $7,443,677
20. University of California, Los Angeles: $7,094,363
21. Baylor College of Medicine (Houston): $6,957,375
22. University of Utah (Salt Lake City): $6,901,920
23. University of Miami School of Medicine: $6,488,377
24. Case Western Reserve U & Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine: $6,373,618
25. Northwestern University (Chicago): $6,233,126
26. New York University School of Medicine (New York City): $6,106,835
27. University of Colorado Denver: $5,789,238
28. University of Iowa (Iowa City): $5,740,948
29. University of Alabama at Birmingham: $4,867,206
30. SUNY Upstate Medical University (Syracuse, N.Y.): $4,578,843
31. University of California, Davis: $4,571,039
32. Yale University (New Haven, Conn.): $3,812,107
33. University of Oklahoma Health Sciences (Oklahoma City): $3,710,541
34. Emory University (Atlanta): $3,658,286
35. University of Texas Southwestern (Dallas): $3,615,896
36. University at Buffalo (New York): $3,460,035
37. Ohio State University (Columbus): $3,190,947
38. Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee): $3,046,453
39. University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston): $3,024,992
40. Indiana University (Bloomington): $2,490,784
41. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York City): $2,478,773
42. University of South Florida (Tampa): $1,969,606
43. University of Missouri (Columbia): $1,903,268
44. University of Virginia (Charlottesville): $1,880,672
45. Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston): $1,797,285
46. University of Florida (Gainesville): $1,603,304
47. Augusta (Ga.) University: $1,507,509
48. Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York City): $1,415,684
49. University of Minnesota (Minneapolis): $1,202,830
50. University of Maryland, Baltimore: $1,069,875
51. West Virginia University (Morgantown): $824,925
52. University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha): $809,634
53. University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Memphis): $671,335
54. University of Massachusetts Medical School (Worcester): $670,000
55. University of Louisville (Ky.): $574,292
56. SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (New York City): $555,354
57. University of Kentucky (Lexington): $531,481
58. Cornell University Weill Medical College (New York City): $517,936
59. Drexel University (Philadelphia): $318,608
60. University of Cincinnati ($243,000):
61. Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.): $193,908
62. Harvard Medical School (Boston): $37,547