American Council on Education & Carnegie Foundation designate CCNY a top U.S. research institute

NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The City College of New York remains one of the leading research institutions in the U.S., according to the latest Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education. The influential classifications are administered by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Under the new criteria for research activity designations, The City College maintains its classification as a Research 2 (R2) institution, a doctoral university with high research activity. It's among 139 institutions nationally awarded R2 designation.

The criteria for R2 classification are at least $5 million in research expenditures and awarding at least 20 doctorates. CCNY's annual expenditures averaged $62 million in fiscal years 2021-23 and the college awarded 30 doctoral degrees.

One example of the research done at CCNY is structural biologists developing a drug-testing technique that led to approval of a new treatment for specific forms of kidney, pancreatic and retinal cancers.

CUNY-wide, the Graduate Center, CUNY, has earned R1 designation. Institutions in that category spend at least $50 million on research, and award at least 70 doctorates, in any research field, in a year.

The Carnegie Classifications, which have been the principal framework for categorizing the nation's colleges and universities since 1973, were updated for this year's lists with new methodology that "better reflect the public purpose, mission, focus, and impact of higher education," according to the organization.

About the Methodology
The 2025 Carnegie Classifications include research designations as separate listings from the Institutional Classification. There are three research designations, all of which are set by a threshold. Thresholds may be changed in future years; updated methodology will be shared ahead of each release. Read more.

About the Carnegie Classification® 
The Carnegie Classification® is the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education. The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed the classification in 1973 to support its program of research and policy analysis. Derived from empirical data on colleges and universities, the Carnegie Classification was updated in 1976, 1987, 1994, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2018 and 2021 to reflect changes among colleges and universities. The next update will be released in April 2025. Read more.

Contact: Jay Mwamba, [email protected]; 917.892.0374

SOURCE City College of New York, Office of Institutional Advancement and Communications