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Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
Definitions of Categories
The 1994 Carnegie Classification includes all colleges and universities in the United States that are degree- granting and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Research Universities I (11): These institutions offer a full range of baccalaureate programs, are committed to graduate education through the doctorate, and give high priority to research. They award 50 or more doctoral degrees1 each year. In addition, they receive annually $40 million or more in federal support.2
Research Universities II (12): These institutions offer a full range of baccalaureate programs, are committed to graduate education through the doctorate, and give high priority to research. They award 50 or more doctoral degrees1 each year. In addition, they receive annually between $15.5 million and $40 million in federal support.2
Doctoral Universities I (13): These institutions offer a full range of baccalaureate programs and are committed to graduate education through the doctorate. They award at least 40 doctoral degrees1 annually in five or more disciplines.3
Doctoral Universities II (14): These institutions offer a full range of baccalaureate programs and are committed to graduate education through the doctorate. They award annually at least ten doctoral degrees-in three or more disciplines-or 20 or more doctoral degrees in one or more disciplines.3
Master's (Comprehensive) Universities and Colleges I (21): These institutions offer a full range of baccalaureate programs and are committed to graduate education through the master's degree. They award 40 or more master's degrees annually in three or more disciplines.3
Master's (Comprehensive) Universities and Colleges II (22): These institutions offer a full range of baccalaureate programs and are committed to graduate education through the master's degree. They award 20 or more master's degrees annually in one or more disciplines.3
Baccalaureate (Liberal Arts) Colleges I (31): These institutions are primarily undergraduate colleges with major emphasis on baccalaureate degree programs. They award 40 percent or more of their baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts fields4 and are restrictive in admissions.
Baccalaureate Colleges II (32): These institutions are primarily undergraduate colleges with major emphasis on baccalaureate degree programs. They award less than 40 percent of their baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts fields4 or are less restrictive in admissions.
Associate of Arts Colleges (40): These institutions offer associate of arts certificate or degree programs and, with few exceptions, offer no baccalaureate degrees.5
Specialized Institutions
These institutions offer degrees ranging from the bachelor's to the doctorate. At least 50 percent of the degrees awarded by these institutions are in a single discipline. Specialized institutions include:
Theological seminaries, Bible colleges and other institutions offering degrees in religion (51): This category includes institutions at which the primary purpose is to offer religious instruction or train members of the clergy.
Medical schools and medical centers (52): These institutions award most of their professional degrees in medicine. In some instances, their programs include other health professional schools, such as dentistry, pharmacy, or nursing.
Other separate health profession schools (53): Institutions in this category award most of their degrees in such fields as chiropractic, nursing, pharmacy, or podiatry.
Schools of engineering and technology (54): The institutions in this category award at least a bachelor's degree in programs limited almost exclusively to technical fields of study.
Schools of business and management (55): The schools in this category award most of their bachelor's or graduate degrees in business or business-related programs.
Schools of art, music, and design (56): Institutions in this category award most of their bachelor's or graduate degrees in art, music, design, architecture, or some combination of such fields.
Schools of law (57): The schools included in this category award most of their degrees in law. The list includes only institutions that are listed as separate campuses in the 1994 Higher Education Directory.
Teachers colleges (58): Institutions in this category award most of their bachelor's or graduate degrees in education or education-related fields.
Other specialized institutions (59): Institutions in this category include graduate centers, maritime academies, military institutes, and institutions that do not fit any other classification category.
Tribal colleges and universities (60): These colleges are, with few exceptions, tribally controlled and located on reservations. They are all members of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.
Notes on Definitions
1Doctoral degrees include Doctor of Education, Doctor of Juridical Science, Doctor of Public Health, and the Ph.D. in any field.
2Total federal obligation figures are available from the National Science Foundation's annual report called Federal Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions. The years used in averaging total federal obligations are 1989, 1990, and 1991.
3Distinct disciplines are determined by the U.S. Department of Education's Classification of Instructional Programs 4-digit series.
4The liberal arts disciplines include English language and literature, foreign languages, letters, liberal and general studies, life sciences, mathematics, philosophy and religion, physical sciences, psychology, social sciences, the visual and performing arts, area and ethnic studies, and multi- and interdisciplinary studies. The occupational and technical disciplines include agriculture, allied health, architecture, business and management, communications, conservation and natural resources, education, engineering, health sciences, home economics, law and legal studies, library and archival sciences, marketing and distribution, military sciences, protective services, public administration and services, and theology.
5This group includes community, junior, and technical colleges.
A Note on Changes in Carnegie Classifications
The Carnegie Endowment revises institution classifications at regular 5-7 year intervals. Carnegie issued an interim update to its 1994 classification in 1997. The 1997 update, affecting classifications for 22 institutions, has been incorporated in the 1998 institution crosswalk distributed with the Doctorate Records File data set.