List of research universities in the United States

The 1994 edition of the Carnegie Classification defined Research I universities as those that: • Offer a full range of baccalaureate programs • Are committed to graduate education through the doctorate • Give high priority to research • Award 50 or more doctoral degrees each year • Receive annually $40 million or more in federal support The Carnegie Foundation reported that 59 institutions met these criteria in 1994. In their interim 2000 edition of the classification, the Carnegie Foundation renamed the category to Doctoral/research universities-extensive in order to avoid the inference that the categories signify quality differences." The foundation replaced their single classification system with a multiple classification system in their 2005 comprehensive overhaul of the classification framework so that the term "Research I university" was no longer valid, though many universities continued to use it. In 2015, the Carnegie Classification System reinstated the "Research I university" designations along with "Research II" and "Research III." The system in use from 2018, included the following three categories for doctoral universities: • R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity • R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity • D/PU: Doctoral/Professional Universities In the 2018 classification, institutions were classified as either R1 or R2 if they "conferred at least 20 research/scholarship doctorates in 2016-17 and reported at least $5 million in total research expenditures." == Universities classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research spending and doctorate production" ==

There are 187 institutions that are classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research spending and doctorate production" in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as of the 2025 update. R1 universities spend at least $50 million a year on research and development and award at least 70 research doctorates. Prior to the 2025 update, the R1 designation indicated that the university had a very high level of either aggregate research activity or per capita research activity (or both). Map of R1 institutions {{Location map+|USA2|caption=A map of all R1 research universities in the United States. Blue dots represent public institutions whereas red dots represent private institutions.|float=center|width=1200|places= {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States == Universities classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research spending and doctorate production" ==

There are 140 institutions that are classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research spending and doctorate production" in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as of the 2025 update. The R2 designation indicates that, on average, the university spends at least $5 million a year on research and development and awards at least 20 research doctorates. Prior to the 2025 update, the R2 designation was assigned to universities with a high level of aggregate research activity or per capita research activity (or both), but not a very high level in either. Map of R2 institutions {{Location map+|United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States {{Location map~ | United States ==Institutions classified among "Research Colleges and Universities"==

As of the 2025 update, the Carnegie Foundation classifies 216 institutions as "Research Colleges and Universities". This new category requires institutions spend at least $2.5 million on research & development and are not included in the R1 or R2 categories. == See also ==