R2 Research institutions in the United States
R2 universities are doctoral institutions with high research activity, the second Carnegie research tier. This dataset includes 133 U.S. institutions classified as R2 Research under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, maintained by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, enrolling about 1,993,648 students in total.
Of these, 93 are public and 40 private. The largest by enrollment include ASUDI, Kennesaw State, and CSU. Among institutions that report the figure, the median graduation rate is 61% and the median average net price is $16,697.
R1 vs R2 vs Doctoral/Professional
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, maintained by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation, sorts doctoral universities into these research tiers.
| Tier | Research activity | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| R1 | Very high research activity | Doctoral universities with the highest level of research activity, the top Carnegie research tier (e.g. Harvard, MIT, most flagship state universities). |
| R2 | High research activity | Doctoral universities with high research activity, the second Carnegie research tier, below R1 but above the doctoral/professional category. |
| Doctoral/Professional | Doctoral or professional-practice degrees | Universities that award research or professional-practice doctorates but fall below the research-activity thresholds for R1 or R2. |
133 institutions
Page 2 of 3Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Marquette University
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Marshall University
Huntington, West Virginia
Mercer University
Macon, Georgia
Miami University - Oxford
Oxford, Ohio
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, Michigan
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rolla, Missouri
Montclair State University
Montclair, New Jersey
Morgan State University
Baltimore, Maryland
New Mexico State University - Main Campus
Las Cruces, New Mexico
North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, North Carolina
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, Arizona
Northern Illinois University
Dekalb, Illinois
Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, Michigan
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon
Prairie View A & M University
Prairie View, Texas
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, New York
Rowan University
Glassboro, New Jersey
Rutgers University - Camden
Camden, New Jersey
Rutgers University - Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, Missouri
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, Texas
San Diego State University
San Diego, California
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California
Seton Hall University
South Orange, New Jersey
South Dakota State University
Brookings, South Dakota
Southern Illinois University - Carbondale
Carbondale, Illinois
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas
Southern University and A & M College
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, New Jersey
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Syracuse, New York
Tarleton State University
Stephenville, Texas
Teachers College at Columbia University
New York, New York
Tennessee State University
Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee Technological University
Cookeville, Tennessee
Texas A & M University - Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Kingsville, Texas
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, Texas
Texas Southern University
Houston, Texas
Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas
The Catholic University of America
Washington, District of Columbia
The New School
New York, New York
The University of Texas at Tyler
Tyler, Texas
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Edinburg, Texas
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Akron Main Campus
Akron, Ohio
Frequently asked questions
- What is a R2 Research institution under the Carnegie Classification?
- R2 universities are doctoral institutions with high research activity, the second Carnegie research tier. This dataset tracks 133 of them in the United States.
- Is Harvard a R1 or R2 university?
- Harvard University is classified R1: a doctoral university with very high research activity, the top Carnegie research tier. R1 and R2 are assigned by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation, not self-declared by institutions.
- What are the largest R2 Research in the U.S.?
- By total enrollment, the largest are ASUDI, Kennesaw State, CSU, CSUB, and San Diego State.
- What is the typical graduation rate and net price for these institutions?
- The median graduation rate among institutions that report one is 61%, and the median average net price is $16,697. Figures come from IPEDS and College Scorecard.
Related categories
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Data: IPEDS Fall 2025–26 provisional · College Scorecard (June 2026 release). All sources & release dates →
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