Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Private nonprofitSpecial Focus: Medical Schools/CentersGraduate/Professional

Fin. Resilience

Resilience score

vs. 118 peers in its group

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute is a private nonprofit institution in La Jolla, CA, classified by Carnegie as “Special Focus: Medical Schools/Centers.”

It is benchmarked here against 118 peer institutions (Special Focus: Medical Schools/Centers · Private nonprofit).

On Ibex's Financial Resilience score it rates 1 out of 100 within that peer group, a transparent composite of endowment per undergraduate, net tuition revenue per student, and instructional spend per student.

Its strongest standing relative to peers is federal funding obligated ($55.1M, 100th percentile).

Its weakest is instructional spend / fte ($0).

Peer group

Special Focus: Medical Schools/Centers · Private nonprofit

118 institutions

No cross-metric risk flags triggered.

Policy & demographic exposure

How exposed Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute is to the structural shifts reshaping higher ed: a composite structural-risk index plus the 2025 federal budget law’s endowment excise tax, Grad PLUS elimination, new Parent PLUS borrowing cap and new Workforce Pell short-term-credential opportunity, and the demographic enrollment cliff. Only signals that apply to this institution are shown.

Enrollment cliff (home state)

-27.7%

Severe decline

Indicative signals, not forecasts, see each metric’s definition and the methodology. Endowment-tax, Grad PLUS, Parent PLUS and Workforce Pell figures appear only where the institution is actually exposed; “nationally” compares against all schools that report each signal.

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Revenue composition

Where the money comes from $1.8M total revenue · IPEDS FY2022-23

Private gifts & grants is the largest single source at 55% of revenue.

Private gifts & grants54.7%

Government grants & contracts45.3%

Where each dollar of revenue comes from, as a share of total positive revenue. Sources are standardized across public (GASB) and private (FASB) reporting; a net investment loss in a down market is shown as 0% and excluded from the mix.

Federal funding mix

Which agencies fund this school $55.1M obligated · FY2024

Health & Human Services is the largest single funder at 96%.

Health & Human Services95.8%

Defense2.9%

NASA1.4%

Federal dollars each agency committed to this institution in FY2024, as a share of its total positive obligations (USAspending.gov). Obligations are money committed, not money spent, so this total will not match the audited “Federal awards expended” figure elsewhere on this page. Amounts an agency reclaimed during the year are excluded.

Financial Health

Net tuition revenue / FTE

Below peers

1st percentile in peer grouppeer median $19,764

2024-25117 peers

Instructional spend / FTE

Below peers

1st percentile in peer grouppeer median $10,574

2024-25117 peers

Avg monthly faculty salary

Strong

$17,775

98th percentile in peer grouppeer median $7,826

2024-25110 peers

Average monthly salary of full-time faculty, as reported to IPEDS.

Administrative cost share

16.7%

29th percentile in peer grouppeer median 22.4%

FY2022-23108 peers

Institutional support, central administration, executive management, governance, general administration, fundraising and (under FASB rules) operation & maintenance of plant, as a share of total expenses (IPEDS FY2022-23, FASB). Private nonprofit institutions only: public (GASB) institutions report functional expenses on a different basis and frequently consolidate large hospital and auxiliary operations, which makes a comparable ratio unreliable, so they are not shown. Because FASB folds plant operations into institutional support, this runs higher than a narrow 'central-office' figure, and schools with sizable hospital or auxiliary operations show a lower ratio as those costs enlarge total expenses. An informational benchmark of administrative intensity, compared within the peer group, not a measure of waste or quality.

Spent on instruction

2nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 44.3%

2024-25109 peers

Instruction spending divided by total functional expenses (IPEDS Finance, FY2022-23 (FASB)). 'Where the money goes' context, reported here for private-nonprofit (FASB) institutions only, where the functional split is comparable; not computed for public or for-profit institutions. Higher is not automatically better; research universities and those with hospitals or large auxiliaries spread spending across other functions.

Spent on student services

7th percentile in peer grouppeer median 9.6%

2024-25109 peers

Student-services spending (admissions, registrar, student life, counseling) divided by total functional expenses (IPEDS Finance, FY2022-23 (FASB)). Private-nonprofit (FASB) institutions only. Spending-mix context, not a quality measure.

Spent on academic support

6th percentile in peer grouppeer median 8.5%

2024-25109 peers

Academic-support spending (libraries, academic computing, deans' offices) divided by total functional expenses (IPEDS Finance, FY2022-23 (FASB)). Private-nonprofit (FASB) institutions only. Context, not a quality measure.

Spent on research

83.3%

100th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0%

2024-25109 peers

Research spending divided by total functional expenses (IPEDS Finance, FY2022-23 (FASB)). Private-nonprofit (FASB) institutions only; near zero at teaching-focused colleges and sizeable at research universities. Spending-mix context, not a quality measure.

Federal funding obligated

Strong

$55.1M

100th percentile in peer grouppeer median $949,164

FY2024 (USAspending.gov)54 peers

Obligations reported to USAspending.gov for FY2024 (Oct 2023 to Sep 2024), summed across every awarding agency. This is money committed, not money spent, so it will not equal the audited 'Federal awards expended' figure and the two should not be subtracted from one another. Negative amounts (agencies reclaiming prior commitments) are excluded.

Federal funding agencies

98th percentile in peer grouppeer median 1

FY2024 (USAspending.gov)54 peers

A count of awarding agencies with positive FY2024 obligations. Neither high nor low is inherently better: a community college funded solely by the Department of Education is behaving normally, while a research university typically draws on ten or more agencies.

Largest funder's share

95.8%

31st percentile in peer grouppeer median 100%

FY2024 (USAspending.gov)54 peers

The largest agency's FY2024 obligations as a share of the institution's total positive federal obligations. Read it as concentration, not risk: most teaching colleges sit near 100% because nearly all their federal money is Department of Education student aid.

Enrollment & Pipeline

12-month FTE enrollment

3rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 466

2022-23118 peers

Full-time-equivalent enrollment over the full 12-month year (IPEDS 12-month enrollment, 2022-23). Counts part-time students at their fractional load, so it runs above fall full-time headcount and is the denominator used for per-student finance measures.

Fully online students

35th percentile in peer grouppeer median 8%

2024-25118 peers

Share of students enrolled exclusively in distance-education courses (IPEDS, Fall 2023). Describes delivery model, not quality; online-heavy institutions look different on residential measures.

Applicant-pool diversity shift

+5%

WICHE 2024 (11th ed.)

Percentage-point change in the non-white share of the institution's home-state public high-school graduating class between the class of 2025 (the national peak) and 2037 (WICHE, Knocking at the College Door, 11th ed., public-school race detail). A forward look at who the future applicant pool will be: a positive value means the state's graduating class is projected to grow more racially diverse. Strategic recruiting context, not a forecast of any one school's enrollment, and a college recruits from many states.

Hybrid (some online) enrollment

28th percentile in peer grouppeer median 29%

Fall 2023118 peers

Share of all students taking some, but not all, of their courses at a distance (IPEDS, Fall 2023). This is the hybrid middle ground between the fully online share and the fully in-person share, and it signals how far a school has moved coursework online without going exclusively remote. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Graduate share of enrollment

100%

100th percentile in peer grouppeer median 64.1%

Fall 2023118 peers

Graduate students as a share of total headcount enrollment (IPEDS, Fall 2023). It separates research-intensive universities with large graduate bodies from undergraduate-focused institutions. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Women share of faculty

21.4%

2nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 71.9%

2023-24116 peers

Women as a share of all instructional staff, full- and part-time combined (IPEDS Human Resources, Fall 2023). A gender-composition signal for the teaching workforce. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Faculty of color share

38.1%

74th percentile in peer grouppeer median 20.9%

2023-24116 peers

Instructional staff who are American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or two-or-more races, as a share of all instructional staff (IPEDS Human Resources, Fall 2023). Nonresident and race-unknown staff are excluded from the numerator. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Direct competitors within 100 mi

Below peers

92nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 4

2024-25118 peers

How many institutions of the same type (same Carnegie classification and control, i.e. the schools competing for the same students) sit within roughly 100 miles. A higher count means a more crowded local market and a harder yield fight, which matters most as the regional pool of high school graduates shrinks; a low count means the school has its catchment largely to itself. Distance is straight-line from campus coordinates. Banded against the school's peer group. Fewer is better for recruiting leverage.

Metro-area unemployment rate

Below peers

6.2%

72nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 5%

ACS 2019-23117 peers

The civilian unemployment rate in the school's metropolitan or micropolitan area (US Census ACS 2019-23, mapped by the school's federal CBSA code). It is a proxy for local labor demand: a lower rate means a tighter job market, a stronger near-term destination for graduates and a smaller pool of working adults to recruit. It describes the local economy, not the school. Schools outside any metro area are not scored. Banded against the school's peer group.

Enrollment cliff (home state)

Severe decline

-27.7%

2024-25

Projected change in the number of high-school graduates in the institution's HOME STATE from the class of 2025 (the national peak) to 2041, per WICHE's Knocking at the College Door, 11th Edition (Dec 2024). The 'enrollment cliff' is the post-2008 birth decline reaching college age; the U.S. total is projected to fall about 13% over this window. A college recruits from many states, so its home-state projection is an indicative directional signal of feeder-market pressure, not a forecast of that institution's own enrollment.

NIH research funding

$66.9M

FY2024 (NIH RePORTER)

Total National Institutes of Health award dollars the institution received in fiscal year 2024, from NIH RePORTER. It signals biomedical research strength and federal grant capacity; reported only for schools NIH funds and that match this tool by name and state. Dollars from multiple campuses or centers are summed. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

In-state HS graduates

469,214

100th percentile in peer grouppeer median 121,741

Class of 2025 (WICHE)109 peers

The size of the school's home-state high-school graduating class in 2025 (WICHE Knocking at the College Door, public and private combined). It is the near-term in-state feeder market, the complement to the enrollment-cliff projection, which shows the direction that market is heading. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Student Outcomes & Risk

Full-time faculty share

Strong

95.7%

78th percentile in peer grouppeer median 61.3%

2024-2599 peers

Top fields of study (all levels)

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute’s largest fields by completions, with graduate earnings (4 years out) and debt benchmarked against the same field at its peer group. Sparklines show the 8-year completions trend.

Field	Completions / yr	Median earnings, 4 yrs out	Median debt	Earnings premium	Risk score
Biological & Biomedical Sciences	6	–	–	–	Moderate · 50

Earnings-premium status is an indicative estimate: median graduate earnings four years out vs the CA state median earnings of a high-school graduate (undergraduate credentials) or a bachelor’s-degree holder (graduate credentials) from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2022 ACS 5-year). The official U.S. Department of Education determination uses its own cohort definition and may differ.

The risk score (0–100) is an indicative blend of earnings-premium margin and the five-year completions trend, higher means a field pays closer to (or below) the benchmark and is shrinking. A directional screen, not an official determination.

Major-level detail (CIP 4-digit)

Biological & Biomedical Sciences – 1 CIP program (4-digit), 0 with earnings

Major (CIP 4-digit)	Compl./yr	Earn 4yr	Earn 1yr	% > threshold	Median debt	Debt/earn	Earnings premium	2 of 3 yrs
Biology, GeneralCIP 2601 ›	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Major-level earnings, debt and threshold pass-rates are reported by College Scorecard only where enough graduates exist to protect privacy, so 0 of 1 major shows an earnings figure; the rest read “–”. % > threshold is ED’s own share of graduates out-earning the federal earnings threshold (the do-no-harm pass rate), drawn from the best available measurement window (4-, 5- or 1-year) pooled across all nine College Scorecard Field-of-Study releases; a small chip marks any figure not on the 4-year window, and hovering names the cohort size and source release. 2 of 3 yrs flags fields below the earnings-premium benchmark in two of the latest three reported cohort-years, the statutory trigger under the 2025 test (effective July 1, 2026). Indicative; the Department of Education’s official determination may differ. Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study (2014–15 through 2022–23 cohorts + most-recent snapshot), accessed March 2026.

See the interactive dashboard for all fields and credential levels (associate through doctoral). Source: College Scorecard Field of Study.

Frequently asked

Which schools are Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute's peers?

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute is benchmarked against 118 institutions in the Special Focus: Medical Schools/Centers · Private nonprofit peer group; all percentiles and medians on this page are computed within that group.

Compare with peers

Academy for Five Element Acupuncture Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College-Berkeley Adler Graduate School Appalachian College of Pharmacy Atlantic Institute of Oriental Medicine

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Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard & IPEDS (most recent releases), with the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Projections, field-demand outlook) and WICHE (enrollment-cliff projections). Figures lag the current academic year by roughly two to three years. Percentiles and medians are computed within the institution's peer group. Financial Resilience is a transparent composite, see each component above. Compiled by Ibex Insights.