CampusPin Glossary
Research university (R1 / R2)
A university with significant doctoral programs and high research activity. Carnegie classifies the largest as R1; the next tier as R2.
Research universities prioritize advanced research alongside undergraduate teaching. The Carnegie Classification ranks them: R1 ("very high research activity") is the top tier of about 145 schools; R2 ("high research activity") includes approximately 135 more. Research universities offer doctoral programs in many fields, larger lecture-format classes for introductory courses, and access to research labs and graduate-level facilities. Famous R1 schools include MIT, Stanford, the Ivy League, the University of California flagships, and most large state flagships.
See also
CampusPin tools
Find colleges that match your criteria
Use CampusPin's filter-first search to narrow 3,800+ U.S. universities and community colleges by tuition, program, location, acceptance rate, school size, and more.