The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has retained its status as a doctorate-granting institution with the second-highest level of research activity.
It is one of only two universities in Louisiana with that designation in the 2015 update of the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
“Being recognized among the top 5 percent of research institutions in the country helps us attract superior professors, researchers and scholars, and grants,” said UL Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie. “Our continued growth in research dollars positively impacts the state’s economy, as well as helps the Acadiana region’s diversification and growth.”
The Carnegie Foundation classifies all 4,224 degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States that are eligible to offer federal financial aid to students. Empirical data of research activity determines the category for each doctoral university.
An institution that awards at least 20 doctoral degrees per year is assigned to one of three categories:
- R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity;
- R2: Doctoral Universities – Higher Research Activity; and
- R3: Doctoral Universities – Moderate Research Activity.
Within the state, Louisiana State University and Tulane University are R1 institutions. UL Lafayette and the University of New Orleans are R2 institutions. Louisiana Tech University and the University of Louisiana at Monroe are R3 institutions.
A total of 107 institutions across the country hold the R2 classification, including Auburn University, Baylor University, Dartmouth College and Ohio University. Of that total, 76 are public, while 31 are private, non-profit institutions.
The research activity scale includes:
- research and development expenditures in science and engineering;
- research and development expenditures in non-science and engineering fields;
- science and engineering research staff; and
- doctoral conferrals in humanities fields, in social science fields, in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.The latest Carnegie Classification was released earlier this month.
The first Carnegie Classification was published in 1973. It was updated in 1976, 1987, 1994, 2000, 2005, and 2010.