The University of Mississippi was included in the most recent R1 listing by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, a list of the top research universities in the United States.

“The Carnegie R1 classification is a great honor bestowed upon a great institution,” said Donald Cole, assistant provost and assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs. “This places us in an academic category with some of the finest institutions in the nation and confirms our commitment to excellence.”

Chancellor Jeff Vitter said this classification aides in improving the marketability of the University as well as the state in regard to research.
“I mean, that’s a game changer for this state,” Vitter said. “We can’t take this Carnegie classification for granted. We could lose that next time. We’ve got to push the envelope and to make sure that we are firmly established in that realm.”

This sorting of colleges and universities occurs once every five years. As criteria evolve, schools shift between categories. While the University of Mississippi was among the fifteen schools to join the R1 category on the most recent list, others, including Dartmouth and Mississippi State, went from R1 on the 2010 list to R2 in 2015.

“We don’t know what new algorithm they are using to classify institutions, so we can’t replicate the data,” Dartmouth spokeswoman Diana Lawrence told The Washington Post.
In addition to schools joining the ranks of R1 institutions, 30 schools were newly classified as doctoral universities, allowing them to be placed on the U.S. News list of national universities, according to The Washington Post.

“As an institution, we have been working towards this classification for a number of years,” Vice Chancellor of Research Alice Clark said. “It has taken the dedication and hard work of many from all campuses— from the faculty, staff and student researchers to our academic leadership and the university admissions team. This is a historic ranking for the University of Mississippi.”

The 2015 Carnegie listings were developed through a program at Indiana University. Clark said the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education evaluate a number of criteria. Those metrics are gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Department of Education and Title IV data.

“This ranking is validation of our successful and robust research enterprise,” Clark said. “It illustrates the value we place on scholarly inquiry and the application of our expertise to understanding and improving our world and educating future leaders.”