The 2021 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is now out for review. https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/index.php Some schools brag about retaining their R1 status, while others just achieved the R1 tier. UTSA attains prestigious Carnegie R1 Classification, elevating San Antonio as a destination for innovation https://www.utsa.edu/today/2021/12/story/utsa-attains-carnegie-r1-classification.html University again recognized as a top research university https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2021-12-16-university-again-recognized-as-top-research-university University of Memphis reaches top tier research status. So what does that mean for the school? https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/education/university-of-memphis-top-tier-research-status-carnegie-r1-status/522-00d128eb-ff77-4587-a7e8-fb7524aeee39 Did your school(s) earn or retain its R1 or R2 status? Perhaps it achieved D/PU? Liberty and Lamar retained their D/PU status. I also noticed that a few colleges that are on my radar achieved D/PU classification: Radford University (VA), Springfield College (MA), and Stockton University (NJ).
Is a university's R1 or R2 status outside of the academic world really that big of a deal? I mean, doing a PhD from an R1 institution probably makes sense if your goal is a tenure track job, but does the public care at all?
I think if you asked 1,000 people on the street about this, 999 wouldn't even know what you were talking about.
To be honest, I asked because I wanted your opinion. But if you ask me what I think, I can't remember that the Carnegie classification of a school ever was a subject outside of the academic world. Rankings are much more important to most people. But that's just my own opinion. Maybe I'm wrong after all. I think exactly the same.
True. It seems like this is a US thing. About 3 years ago, I spoke with 3 colleagues in Germany that attended various German Universities and also the Max Planck Institute, they are not aware of this classification.
Perhaps it is not important to the general public. However, it is significant to those of us in academia and even those who aspire to be in academia. For instance, I work at a "master's university" per Carnegie Classification. While I would apply for positions at D/PU or R2 universities, I would not do so if the school has an R2 status. For one, I earned my Ph.D. at a school that is neither R1 nor R2 nor among the top graduate criminal justice schools. Hence, I know my chances of getting a job at an R1 are slim to none. Similarly, I also would not want to work at an R1 due to the demanding research expectations. So, I always check Carnegie Classification when I see an opening.
It is a classification by US universities. So yeah, it's mostly a US thing. Outside the United States, most within the academic world rely on international rankings. Furthermore, there are no comparable classification systems in most countries.