Research at CCNY, one of the top such institutions in the country, according to the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education.
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.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
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jmwamba@ccny.cuny.edu