Texas State Earns Higher Carnegie Foundation Research Ranking

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has reclassified Texas State University under “Doctoral Universities: Higher Research Activity,” the second-highest designation for research institutions in the country under Carnegie’s respected classification system.

The new classification reflects the university’s fast-growing research activities across numerous disciplines and the number of Ph.D. programs Texas State offers. For doctoral universities, the level classifications are based on a research activity index.

“The new Carnegie designation validates that Texas State’s efforts to have a greater impact in the research and graduate education arenas are paying off, and that the university has shown remarkable growth in its research activities,” said Texas State President Denise M. Trauth.

The Carnegie Classification has been the leading framework for recognizing and describing various institutional types in U.S. higher education for the past four and a half decades. This framework has been widely used in the study of higher education, both as a way to represent and control for institutional differences, and also in the design of research studies to ensure adequate representation of sampled institutions, students or faculty.

Texas State’s new Carnegie designation reflects the university’s commitment to becoming a top research university. In 2012, Texas State was reclassified as an Emerging Research University by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Universities with the strongest research profiles tend to attract the best and brightest faculty and students. Top research universities also offer cutting-edge learning opportunities for students so that they are well prepared for the high-skill jobs of tomorrow. Statistics show that undergraduate students at research universities graduate at a rate higher than students who graduate from other universities.

As one of eight Emerging Research Universities in Texas, Texas State is eligible for state programs that offer funding to help universities advance their research activities. Among the state’s eight Emerging Research Universities, Texas State has experienced the largest percentage increase in externally funded research – a critical metric for measuring success among research universities – over a one-, five- and 10-year period.