List of research universities in the United States
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This is a list of universities in the United States classified as research universities in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Research institutions are a subset of doctoral degree-granting institutions and conduct research. These institutions "conferred at least 20 research/scholarship doctorates in 2019-20 and reported at least $5 million in total research expenditures in FY20 were assigned to one of two categories based on a measure of research activity."[1]
History
The 1994 edition of the Carnegie Classification defined Research I universities as those that:
- Offer a full range of baccalaureate programs
- Are committed to graduate education through the doctorate
- Give high priority to research
- Award 50 or more doctoral degrees each year
- Receive annually $40 million or more in federal support[2]
The Carnegie Foundation reported that 59 institutions met these criteria in 1994.[3]
In their interim 2000 edition of the classification, the Carnegie Foundation renamed the category to Doctoral/research universities-extensive in order to avoid the inference that the categories signify quality differences."[4] The foundation replaced their single classification system with a multiple classification system in their 2005 comprehensive overhaul of the classification framework [4][5] so that the term "Research I university" was no longer valid, though many universities continued to use it.
In 2015, the Carnegie Classification System reinstated the "Research I university" designations along with "Research II" and "Research III." The current system, introduced in 2018, includes the following three categories for doctoral universities:[6]
- R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity
- R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity
- D/PU: Doctoral/Professional Universities
In the 2018 classification, institutions were classified as either R1 or R2 if they "conferred at least 20 research/scholarship doctorates in 2016-17 and reported at least $5 million in total research expenditures."[6] A "research activity index" was then calculated that included the following measures:
- Research & development (R&D) expenditures in science and engineering (S&E)
- R&D expenditures in non-S&E fields
- S&E research staff (postdoctoral appointees and other non-faculty research staff with doctorates)
- Doctoral conferrals in humanities, social science, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, and in other fields (e.g., business, education, public policy, social work)
These four measures were combined using principal component analysis to create two indices of research activity, one representing an aggregate level of research activity and the other representing per-capita research activity. Institutions that were high on both indices were classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity."[6]
In 2023, it was announced that the Carnegie Classification System would again be revised for the 2025 classifications. R1 institutions will be defined as those that (1) have $50 million USD in research expenditures, and (2) grant 70 research doctorates. Other changes to the classification system include multiple labels to identify institutions, and recognition for non-doctoral universities.[7]
Universities classified as "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity"
There are 146 institutions that are classified as "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as of the 2021 update.[8]
These universities have a very high level of both research activity and per capita in such research activity, using aggregate data to determine both measurements. In other words, these institutions provide a lot of resources for research and have a lot of people conducting research at their respective institution. These two classifications can be seen as the aggregate supply and demand for research, respectively.[9]
Among the 50 U.S. states and the national capital of Washington, D.C., only five states do not have an R1 level university: Alaska, Idaho, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.
- ^ Arizona State's main campus and administration are in Tempe. It has three other physical campuses in the Phoenix area.
- ^ Mailing address is Binghamton.
- ^ a b c More specifically Manhattan; all locations on Manhattan Island have a "New York" mailing address.
- ^ FIU has a Miami mailing address, but is located outside the city limits in the Miami-Dade County community of Westchester.
- ^ The main George Mason campus has a Fairfax mailing address, but is located in unincorporated Fairfax County and is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as George Mason, Virginia.
- ^ a b c Member of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education, a system of privately governed but state-supported universities.
- ^ The campus has a Buffalo mailing address but is mostly located in the adjacent town of Amherst.
- ^ Mailing address is La Jolla, a San Diego neighborhood with its own post office.
- ^ The campus has a Santa Barbara mailing address but is located in the adjacent community of Isla Vista.
- ^ The main campus has an Orlando mailing address but is located in unincorporated Orange County.
- ^ Legally chartered as a "privately governed, state-assisted" institution.
- ^ The campus is divided between Champaign and Urbana. The main administration building is in Urbana, but multiple university offices are in both cities.
- ^ The campus has a Baltimore mailing address, but is located in Catonsville, an unincorporated community in Baltimore County (which encloses but does not include the city of Baltimore).
- ^ The UNLV campus is outside the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated community of Paradise. All unincorporated areas in the Las Vegas Valley, including Paradise, have a Las Vegas mailing address.
Map of institutions
Universities classified as "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity"
There are 133 institutions that are classified as "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as of the 2021 update.[10]
These universities have a very high level of either research activity or per capita in such research activity, using aggregate data to determine both measurements, while having a very low level on the other qualification. In other words, these institutions either lack research facilities or do not have a lot of people conducting research at their respective institution. These two classifications can be seen as the aggregate supply and demand for research, respectively.[9]
- ^ a b c "New York" is the U.S. Postal Service designation for the New York City borough of Manhattan.
- ^ The Indiana University and Purdue University systems will dissolve IUPUI at the end of the 2023–24 academic year. The vast majority of IUPUI academic programs will transfer to the new Indiana University Indianapolis, with some programs becoming part of the new Purdue University in Indianapolis.
- ^ The campus has a Kennesaw mailing address but is located in unincorporated Cobb County.
- ^ LIU has two main campuses—one in Brookville and the other in Brooklyn.
- ^ The main Oakland campus has a Rochester mailing address, but is divided between the separate cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.
- ^ RIT has a Rochester mailing address, but is located in the nearby town of Henrietta.
- ^ SMU has a Dallas mailing address but is located in University Park, a separate city contained within the Dallas city limits.
- ^ The campus has a Princess Anne mailing address but is located in unincorporated Somerset County.
- ^ UTRGV's overall administration is in Edinburg, but it operates multiple campuses within the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and has mailing addresses in Brownsville, Edinburg, and Harlingen.
- ^ Wright State has a Dayton mailing address but is located in the separate city of Fairborn.
Map of institutions
Universities classified as "Special Focus – Research Institutions"
There are 23 institutions that are classified as "Special Focus – Research Institutions" in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as of the 2021 update.
This new category has the same threshold for inclusion as R1 and R2 schools do (At least twenty research doctorates awarded and five million dollars in research expenditures), but unlike R1 and R2 schools, they only award degrees in a single academic area.[11]
Map of institutions
See also
References
- ^ [1] Archived 2016-08-11 at the Wayback Machine. Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
- ^ University of Washington. "Carnegie Research I Universities". Archived from the original on 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ David Weerts, State Governments and Research Universities: A Framework for a Renewed Partnership. New York: Routledge, 2002, p. 26.
- ^ a b Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. "Carnegie Classifications FAQs". Archived from the original on 2013-04-14. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
- ^ Educause. "Appendix E: Carnegie Classification (2000) Definitions" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ a b c "Basic Classification Description". Center for Postsecondary Research. 2019. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ "Carnegie Classifications to Make Major Changes in How Colleges and Universities Are Grouped and Recognized, Set Clear Threshold for Highest Level of Research". American Council on Education. Archived from the original on 2023-12-20. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ "Doctoral Universities: Highest Research Activity". Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Basic Classification Methodology". Carnegie Classifications. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "The Carnegie Classification of Institutions". Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Carnegie Classifications | Standard Listings". Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.