Research Universities

Postsecondary institutions that prioritize research activities are referred to as research universities.

Compared with most other schools, they tend to offer a wider range of undergraduate and graduate programs.

There are over 250 research universities in the US, and more than 140 of them have the Carnegie R1 classification.

Ivy League schools such as Harvard University and Columbia University as well as selective institutions such as MIT, UCLA, Georgia Tech and Stanford University are some examples of research institutions.

Many things are shared by research universities, and they include:

• A broader range of undergraduate and graduate programs
• Extensive and state-of-the-art facilities and resources
• Faculty members who are experts in their respective fields
• Publication of research findings and journals
• Collaboration with other institutions as well as various organizations and industries

Top Research Universities

Not all research universities are the same.

While they share many things in common that make them more about research alongside the provision of top-notch programs and teachings, some research institutions in the US are superior to others, making them rank highly in the country and globally.

Multi-disciplinarity of research studies, the impact of research conducted, and domestic and international collaboration — are just some of the criteria that set research universities apart from one another.

The following are American institutions that made it to the most recent World University Research Rankings:

Global Ranking	Institution Name
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4	Carnegie Mellon University
11	Stanford University
13	Georgia Institute of Technology
14	University of California, Berkeley
16	Harvard University
17	Princeton University
18	California Institute of Technology
22	University of California, Santa Barbara
26	University of California, San Diego
29	Rice University
34	Duke University
36	University of Washington
39	University of Chicago
44	University of Maryland, College Park
50	Columbia University
55	University of California, Los Angeles
59	Northwestern University
61	University of Texas at Austin
63	Yale University
65	Johns Hopkins University
70	Washington University
71	University of Colorado Boulder
72	University of Pennsylvania

US News also ranks colleges and universities where undergraduate students are given the opportunity to conduct intensive and independent research or creative work that results in either a unique scholarly article or any other writing.

Below are the top schools included in the Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects by US News.

I have also included their rankings in the same college site’s Best National University Rankings just to give you an idea of how each of them fares against other highly-ranked universities in the land.

Ranking	Institution Name	National Universities Ranking
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	2
2	Carnegie Mellon University	24
3	California Institute of Technology	7
4	Harvard University	3
5	Princeton University	1
5	University of Michigan – Ann Arbor	21
7	Georgia Institute of Technology	33
7	Stanford University	3
9	Yale University	5
10	Johns Hopkins University	9
11	Elon University	133
12	Duke University	7
13	University of California, Berkeley	15
14	The College of Wooster	Unranked
15	Cornell University	12
15	University of Texas at Austin	32
17	Brown University	9
18	Amherst College	Unranked
18	Harvey Mudd College	Unranked
20	Carleton College	Unranked
21	Arizona State University	105
21	Baylor University	93
21	Case Western Reserve University	53

What is the Carnegie Classification?

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is the leading framework for recognizing as well as describing institutional diversity in the US.

Since 1970, it has been classifying thousands of universities based on the measure of research activity, assigning them into the following categories: R1, R2, and R3.

Every three years, the Carnegie Classification categorizes more than 4,500 colleges and universities in the country.

In a nutshell, research institutions of higher education are reviewed based on factors such as the number of research and scholarship doctoral degrees awarded per year and how much funding for research is obtained.

Let’s take a look at the different classifications and their meaning:

• R1 – very high research activity
• R2 – high research activity
• R3 – moderate research activity

The more research-heavy the major you are considering, as a general rule of thumb, the much better idea it is to attend an institution with a high Carnegie Classification.

Here are some colleges and universities with an R1 classification:

• Arizona State University
• Binghamton University
• Brandeis University
• Brown University
• California Institute of Technology
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Colorado State University
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth College
• Duke University
• Florida International University
• George Washington University
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Harvard University
• Indiana University Bloomington
• Johns Hopkins University
• Kansas State University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• New York University
• Northeastern University
• Ohio State University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Princeton University
• Purdue University
• Stanford University
• SUNY at Albany
• Texas A&M University
• Tufts University
• University at Buffalo
• University of Arizona
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Chicago
• University of Hawaii at Manoa
• University of Maryland, College Park
• University of Massachusetts – Amherst
• University of Pennsylvania
• Vanderbilt University
• Yale University

On the other hand, the following are some institutions with an R2 classification:

• American University
• Arkansas State University
• Ball State University
• Baylor University
• Brigham Young University
• Chapman University
• College of William & Mary
• Colorado School of Mines
• CUNY City College
• DePaul University
• Florida Atlantic University
• Florida Institute of Technology
• Hampton University
• Idaho State University
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Kennesaw State University
• Lehigh University
• Louisiana Tech University
• Loyola Marymount University
• Marquette University
• Miami University
• Michigan Technological University
• New Mexico State University
• North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
• Northern Arizona University
• Ohio University
• Portland State University
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• Rutgers University – Camden
• San Diego State University
• Seton Hall University
• SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• Tennessee State University
• Texas State University
• University of California, Merced
• University of Maine
• University of San Diego
• Villanova University
• Wake Forest University
• Yeshiva University