Carnegie Classification Release 2025 Research Activity Designations, Debut Updated Methodology

Thu, 02/13/2025 - 09:25am | By: American Council on Education

The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Carnegie Foundation) published today the 2025 Research Activity Designations, unveiling an updated methodology intended to better account for and reflect the multifaceted, wide-ranging research landscape of higher education institutions in America.

The full list of institutions that received a 2025 Research Activity Designation can be found here.

The 2025 Research Activity Designations include the following categories:

• Research 1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production, now defined by a clear threshold of $50 million in total research spending and 70 research doctorates awarded annually. In 2025, 187 institutions have been given a designation of R1. 

• Research 2: High Spending and Doctorate Production, which continues the previous requirement of $5 million in research spending and 20 research doctorates awarded annually. This year, 139 institutions received a designation of R2. 

• Research Colleges and Universities (RCU), a new designation that identifies research happening at colleges and universities that historically have not been recognized for their research activity, including institutions that do not offer many or any doctoral degrees. This new designation includes any non-R1 or R2 institution that spends more than $2.5 million on research annually, accounting for 218 institutions.

More information about 2025 Research Activity Designations can be found here. 

“These updates to the Carnegie Classifications are the first step to bring a decades-old system into the 21st century. We are expanding our recognition of the range of ways colleges and universities engage in research and development,” said Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation. “And we are taking the guesswork out of what it takes to be recognized as an R1 institution. Over time, this will be good for the sector, for scholarship, for policymakers and for students.”

“A highlight of our work to modernize the Carnegie Classification is the new Research Colleges and Universities designation, which will shed light on institutions that have engaged in research but historically haven’t been recognized for it,” said Ted Mitchell, president of ACE. “Instead of limiting research designations to the select institutions that award Ph.Ds, all types of colleges and universities will now be celebrated for their research contributions. That’s great news.” 

“Before these updates, it was not clear what was required for institutions to earn a research designation. This confusion created distractions and unproductive competition between colleges and universities. Now, the designations are more straightforward, and we are hopeful they will better capture the wide array of institutions whose missions include research,” said Mushtaq Gunja, executive director of the Carnegie Classification systems and senior vice president at ACE. “Research is one of the pillars of American higher education, so it is crucial we have a comprehensive view of how it is reflected at institutions across the country.” 

2025 Research Activity Designations by the numbers:

• R1: 187 

• R2: 139 

• RCU: 218

These changes are part of a series of updates to make the Carnegie Classifications more reflective of the wide range of higher education institutions across America and how well they serve their students.

In April 2025, ACE and the Carnegie Foundation will publish the 2025 Institutional Classification. This is an update to the historic Basic Classification and will group institutions by characteristics including the types of degrees they award, the fields of study in which students receive their degree, and the size of the institution. Previously, the Research Activity Designations were part of the Basic Classification; however, the new Institutional Classification will not incorporate research in its methodology. For that reason, the 2025 Research Activity Designations have been published separately.

Until the new Institutional Classifications are published, the 2021 Basic Classifications are still applicable alongside the newly released 2025 Research Activity Designations. 

Additionally, a new Student Access and Earnings Classification centering students’ access to higher education and their long-term economic success will also be published in April 2025.

To learn more about the updates to the Carnegie Classifications and the data methodology used for the 2025 Research Activity Designations, please visit the website. 

About the American Council on Education 

ACE unites and leads higher education institutions toward a shared vision for the future. With more than 1,600 member colleges, universities, and associations, ACE designs solutions for today’s challenges and advances public policy to support a diverse and dynamic higher education sector. Learn more online or follow ACE on X (formerly Twitter) @ACEducation and LinkedIn american-council-on-education.

About the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching 

The mission of the Carnegie Foundation is to catalyze transformational change in education so that every student has the opportunity to live a healthy, dignified, and fulfilling life. Enacted by an act of Congress in 1906, the Foundation has a rich history of driving transformational change in the education sector, including the establishment of TIAA-CREF and the creation of the Education Testing Service, the GRE, Pell Grants, and the Carnegie Classifications for Higher Education.