Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

List of research universities in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Remove ads

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]

Remove ads

History

Summarize
Perspective

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their 2005 comprehensive overhaul of the classification framework [4][5] so that the term "Research I university" was no longer valid, though many universities continued to use it.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 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. The labels for R1 and R2 were changed, with the words "research activity" replaced by "research spending and doctorate production". All institutions with more than $2.5 million in research expenditures that were not classified as R1 or R2 were placed in the new classification of "Research Colleges and Universities".[7]

Remove ads

Universities classified as "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research spending and doctorate production"

Summarize
Perspective

There are 187 institutions that are classified as "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research spending and doctorate production" in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as of the 2025 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]

In 2025, 187 institutions have been given a designation of R1, up from the previous 146 in the 2021 classification.

More information Name, City ...
  1. The campus has a Binghamton mailing address, but is mostly located in the adjacent town of Vestal.
  2. "New York" is the U.S. Postal Service designation for the New York City borough of Manhattan.
  3. The campus has a Miami mailing address, but is in the unincorporated Miami-Dade County community of Westchester.
  4. The main campus has a Fairfax mailing address, but is in unincorporated Fairfax County.
  5. The campus has a Dallas mailing address, but is almost entirely located in the separate city of University Park.
  6. "University Park" is the postal designation for the main Penn State campus, which is divided between the communities of State College and College Township.
  7. The campus has a Buffalo mailing address, but is mostly located in the adjacent town of Amherst.
  8. La Jolla is a San Diego neighborhood served by a separate post office from most of the city.
  9. The campus has a Santa Barbara mailing address, but is mostly located in the adjacent community of Isla Vista.
  10. The main campus has an Orlando mailing address, but is located in unincorporated Orange County.
  11. The campus is almost evenly divided between Champaign and Urbana. The main administration building for the campus is in Champaign.
  12. The campus has a Las Vegas mailing address, but is located outside the city limits in the unincorporated community of Paradise.

Map of institutions

Thumb
UAB
UAB
AU
AU
UA
UA
UA
UA
ASU
ASU
UA
UA
NAU
NAU
UCSF
UCSF
UCD
UCD
UCB
UCB
Stanford
Stanford
UCSC
UCSC
UCSB
UCSB
UCLA/USC
UCLA/USC
List of research universities in the United States
UCI
UCI
UCM
UCM
Caltech
Caltech
UCR
UCR
UCSD
UCSD
SDSU
SDSU
CSU
CSU
CUB
CUB
CUD
CUD
UND
UND
DU
DU
Mines
Mines
UConn
UConn
Yale
Yale
American/GWU/Georgetown
American/GWU/Georgetown
List of research universities in the United States
UDel
UDel
FIU
FIU
FSU
FSU
UF
UF
UCF
UCF
FAU
FAU
NSU
NSU
USF
USF
UMiami
UMiami
Emory/GA Tech/GSU
Emory/
GA Tech/GSU
List of research universities in the United States
List of research universities in the United States
UGA
UGA
U Hawaiʻi
U Hawaiʻi
U of Idaho
U of Idaho
NU
NU
UChicago/UIC
UChicago/UIC
List of research universities in the United States
UIUC
UIUC
SIU
SIU
IU
IU
Purdue
Purdue
ND
ND
IU Indy
IU Indy
UIowa
UIowa
ISU
ISU
KU
KU
KSU
KSU
UK
UK
U of L
U of L
UL
UL
LSU
LSU
Tulane
Tulane
UMaine
UMaine
JHU/UMB
JHU/UMB
List of research universities in the United States
UMBC
UMBC
UMD
UMD
UMass
UMass
UMass Lowell
UMass Lowell
BC/BU/Harv./MIT/NEU/Tufts/Umass B
BC/BU/Harv./MIT/NEU/Tufts/Umass B
List of research universities in the United States
List of research universities in the United States
List of research universities in the United States
List of research universities in the United States
List of research universities in the United States
List of research universities in the United States
WPI
WPI
WSU
WSU
UMich
UMich
Mich. St.
Mich. St.
MTU
MTU
UMN
UMN
MU
MU
UMKC
UMKC
S&T
S&T
WUSTL
WUSTL
SLU
SLU
Ole Miss
Ole Miss
USM
USM
MS St.
MS St.
UM
UM
MT St.
MT St.
UNMC
UNMC
UNL
UNL
UNR
UNR
UNLV
UNLV
Dartmouth
Dartmouth
UNH
UNH
NJIT
NJIT
Rutgers
Rutgers
Princeton
Princeton
UNM
UNM
NMSU
NMSU
List of research universities in the United States
UB
UB
Bing.
Bing.
UAlbany
UAlbany
RPI
RPI
SBU
SBU
Syr.
Syr.
Cornell
Cornell
UR
UR
Colum./CUNY/NYU/Cornell
Colum./CUNY/NYU/Cornell
List of research universities in the United States
UNC
UNC
NCSU
NCSU
Duke
Duke
ECU
ECU
UNCC
UNCC
NDSU
NDSU
UDayton
UDayton
UToledo
UToledo
KSU
KSU
OSU
OSU
Ohio
Ohio
UC
UC
CWRU
CWRU
OU
OU
OK St.
OK St.
UO
UO
OR St.
OR St.
Drexel/Penn/TU
Drexel/Penn/TU
List of research universities in the United States
List of research universities in the United States
LU
LU
CMU/Pitt
CMU/Pitt
PSU
PSU
List of research universities in the United States
Brown
Brown
URI
URI
MUSC
MUSC
USC
USC
Clemson
Clemson
UTHSC
UTHSC
Memphis
Memphis
UTK
UTK
VU
VU
UTHSCH
UTHSCH
Baylor Med
Baylor Med
UTHSCSA
UTHSCSA
UTSW
UTSW
SMU
SMU
Baylor
Baylor
Rice
Rice
UT
UT
TAMU
TAMU
UNT
UNT
TTU
TTU
UH
UH
UTA
UTA
UTD
UTD
UTEP
UTEP
UTSA
UTSA
USU
USU
Utah
Utah
BYU
BYU
ODU
ODU
UVA
UVA
VT
VT
VCU
VCU
GMU
GMU
W&M
W&M
UW
UW
WSU
WSU
UW
UW
UWM
UWM
WVU
WVU
UVM
UVM
UW
UW
A map of all tier one research universities in the United States. Blue dots represent public institutions whereas red dots represent private institutions.
Remove ads

Universities classified as "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research spending and doctorate production"

Summarize
Perspective

There are 140 institutions that are classified as "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research spending and doctorate production" in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as of the 2025 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]

More information Institution, Control ...
  1. "New York" is the U.S. Postal Service designation for the New York City borough of Manhattan.
  2. The campus has a Kennesaw mailing address but is located in unincorporated Cobb County.
  3. LIU has two main campuses—one in Brookville and the other in Brooklyn.
  4. The main Oakland campus has a Rochester mailing address, but is divided between the separate cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.
  5. The campus has a Malibu mailing address but is located in unincorporated Los Angeles County.
  6. RIT has a Rochester mailing address, but is located in the nearby town of Henrietta.
  7. UTRGV has multiple campuses within its service area of the Lower Rio Grande Valley; its administration is located at the Edinburg campus it inherited from one of its predecessor institutions, the University of Texas–Pan American.
  8. Wright State has a Dayton mailing address but is located in the separate city of Fairborn.

Map of institutions

Thumb
UAF
UAF
USA
USA
UAH
UAH
UAMS
UAMS
UALR
UALR
ASU
ASU
APU
APU
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal Poly Pomona
CSU Fullerton
CSU Fullerton
CSU Fresno
CSU Fresno
CSULB
CSULB
CU
CU
LLU
LLU
CGU
CGU
LMU
LMU
PU
PU
SFSU
SFSU
SJSU
SJSU
USD
USD
USF
USF
UCCS
UCCS
UNCO
UNCO
SCSU
SCSU
DSU
DSU
ERAU
ERAU
FAMU
FAMU
FIT
FIT
UWF
UWF
UNF
UNF
AU
AU
CAU
CAU
GSU
GSU
KSU
KSU
MU
MU
BSU
BSU
ISU
ISU
DU
DU
IIT
IIT
ISU
ISU
RU
RU
NIU
NIU
BSU
BSU
WSU
WSU
LSUHSC
LSUHSC
LA Tech
LA Tech
SU A&M
SU A&M
UNO
UNO
UMass Med
UMass Med
UMass D
UMass D
CU
CU
MSU
MSU
UNE
UNE
OU
OU
CMU
CMU
EMU
EMU
UoMD
UoMD
WMU
WMU
UMSL
UMSL
JSU
JSU
NC A&T
NC A&T
UNCG
UNCG
UNCW
UNCW
ASU
ASU
WFU
WFU
CU
CU
UNO
UNO
KU
KU
MSU
MSU
RU
RU
RUN
RUN
RUC
RUC
SHU
SHU
SIT
SIT
AECM
AECM
CU
CU
CCNY
CCNY
CHNY
CHNY
FU
FU
HU
HU
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai
LIU
LIU
RIT
RIT
RU
RU
SUNY ESF
SUNY ESF
Teachers
Teachers
New School
New School
UMU
UMU
YU
YU
AFIT
AFIT
BGSU
BGSU
CSU
CSU
WSU
WSU
MU
MU
UA
UA
OSUCHS
OSUCHS
OUHSC
OUHSC
UT
UT
OHSU
OHSU
PDX
PDX
DU
DU
IUP
IUP
SJU
SJU
TJU
TJU
VU
VU
WCU
WCU
UPRM
UPRM
UPRRP
UPRRP
SCSU
SCSU
SDSU
SDSU
USD
USD
ETSU
ETSU
MTSU
MTSU
TSU
TSU
TTU
TTU
ACU
ACU
ETAMU
ETAMU
LU
LU
PV A&M
PV A&M
SHSU
SHSU
TSU
TSU
TAMU CC
TAMU CC
TAMU K
TAMU K
TCU
TCU
TXSO
TXSO
TXST
TXST
TTUHSC
TTUHSC
TWU
TWU
UTT
UTT
UTMB
UTMB
UTRGV
UTRGV
EVMS
EVMS
HU
HU
JMU
JMU
VSU
VSU
UVM
UVM
MCW
MCW
MU
MU
MU
MU
A map of all tier two research universities in the United States and Territories. Blue dots represent public institutions whereas red dots represent private institutions.
Remove ads

Universities classified as "Special Focus – Research Institutions"

Summarize
Perspective

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]

More information Institution, Control ...

Both the Mayo Clinic and USUHS objectively qualify as R2 universities in 2025, but the American Council of Education made a choice to only consider IPEDS and HERD data for the 2025 classification.

Mayo Clinic's IPEDS doctoral production qualifies as R2, but HERD did not collect financial data. Historically, the Carnegie Classifications collected that data directly from the Mayo Clinic.

USUHS doctoral production, as obtained from its website also qualifies as R2, but as it is not a Title IV institution, IPEDS did not collect the data. In past classification years, that data was collected directly from the university. Its financial data is available from HERD, and also qualifies USUHS as an R2.

Map of institutions

Thumb
USUHS
USUHS
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
A map of all special focus research universities in the contiguous United States. Blue dots represent public institutions whereas red dots represent private institutions.
Remove ads

Institutions classified as "Research Colleges and Universities"

As of the 2025 update, the Carnegie Foundation classifies 216 institutions as "Research Colleges and Universities".[12]

This new category has the requirement that these institutions spend at least $2.5 million on research & development given that they are not included in the R1 or R2 categories.[13]

See also

References

Loading content...
Loading content...
Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads