Three classifications make up the new tier list, the last of which is new.

Research 1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production (R1): For institutions that spend at least $50 million in research and award 70 research doctorates annually.
Research 2: High Spending and Doctorate Production (R2): Institutions must spend at least $5 million in research and award 20 research doctorates a year. This year, 139 institutions received this designation.
Research Colleges and Universities (RCU): Non-R1 or -R2 spending more than $2.5 million on research annually. It aims to identify research institutions previously unrecognized and which do not offer doctoral degrees. It accounts for 218 institutions.

“Instead of limiting research designations to the select institutions that award PhDs, all types of colleges and universities will now be celebrated for their research contributions,” said Ted Mitchell, president of ACE.

Among some of the new R1 universities were the University of Vermont, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Saint Louis University and the University of Rhode Island. “Attaining R1 status will extend UVM’s ability to attract the best talent, secure groundbreaking grants, and contribute to solving global challenges,” said Patricia Prelock, interim president of the University of Vermont, which attracted $266 million in research funding for the 2024 fiscal year.

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It’s here: The new Carnegie list introduces 41 schools to top-tier status

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