The Federal's funds makes up about two-thirds of UM's research dollars while the Department of Health and Human Services contributed too much for this year's growth with costs increasing 6 percent to $467 million.

On the other hand, the National Science Foundation funding went up to 8.6 percent equivalent to $86 million; Department of Defense's funding increased7.8 percent, to $80.5 million; contracts with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration rose 19.5 percent, to $52 million; and funding from the Department of Energy grew 4.3 percent, to $40 million.

S. Jack Hu, UM's Vice President for Research said in a news release, "As one of the largest and most diverse research universities in the world, U-M plays a significant role both in generating a steady stream of innovative ideas and in educating the people that together underlie the nation's economic success and quality of life."

"The growing investment in U-M research is a measure of the continuing confidence of our sponsors in the value that our faculty and students bring to society," he added.

Industry-sponsored research also increased $85 million, up 8.5 percent, a record higher from the previous year.

"Industry plays a vital role in university research," Hu said. "Working with industry not only helps us translate the results of our research into practice, but it also helps us better prepare our students for the challenges they will face in their future careers."

Considered one of the foremost research universities in the United States, the University of Michigan has very high research activity and its comprehensive graduate program offers doctoral degrees in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as well as professional degrees in architecture, business, medicine, law, pharmacy, nursing, social work, public health, and dentistry.

During the previous year, researchers from UM reported 428 new inventions, the fourth consecutive year of more than 400, along with 135 new patents. The university's Office of Technology Transfer, on the other hand, also signed a record 173 license and option agreements with companies seeking to commercialize UM discoveries. Also, UM's Tech Transfer Venture Center has launched 12 startups.

UM also initiated a $100 million Data Science Initiative aiming to develop the potential of a "bigger data".