UNC Charlotte Earns Top-Tier R1 Research Status From Carnegie Classification

UNC Charlotte has been added to the country's most elite group of doctoral research universities after receiving R1 status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber said the recognition should open new doors for the school. "What that means is that more will come because now we have been recognized in this way and it gives us opportunities that we might not have been situated with in the past," she said.

The R1 label goes to doctoral universities with a strong commitment to research and a large number of active, innovative projects. A total of 187 institutions now hold it. East Carolina University was also granted the designation, which raises the number of R1 schools in North Carolina to five. UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State and Duke University received the status in earlier years.

To qualify, a university must spend at least $50 million on research and development and award a minimum of 70 research doctorates each year. UNC Charlotte officials say the school produces an average of 160 doctoral graduates annually and spends more than $90 million on research.

Gaber said the new status should help the university win more federal grants and form more partnerships with businesses. She also expects it to help the school attract and keep top faculty members.

Students stand to benefit as well, she said. "I think it will also mean a lot for graduate students who want to get their graduate degree at a very high research university, and even for undergraduate students," Gaber said. "It's important that they have the ability to do research."

According to Gaber, the university's work covers a wide range of subjects, from cancer and gene mutation to vehicle batteries and artificial intelligence. She pointed to one current project in which a researcher developed a new, innovative way to screen water for so-called forever chemicals and remove them. Gaber said the method could help many rural areas and underdeveloped countries, and the researcher is now exploring commercialization.

Despite the school's heavy emphasis on research, Gaber said undergraduates take part in the projects, and the university works to balance that research with classroom instruction. "We're making sure that there is a healthy balance of not allowing our undergraduate students to suffer while they are doing excellent research," she said. She acknowledged that this problem occurs at some universities but said she is pleased with the careful balance at UNC Charlotte.