Alerts Sign-up
The Catholic University of America in Washington has achieved the prestigious R1 research designation, joining six other Catholic institutions with this status. The university announced the recognition on February 13. This designation, granted by the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, requires universities to meet strict criteria, including spending at least $50 million on research and grants and awarding an average of at least 70 research doctorates annually.
The university's current research projects cover various fields such as suicide prevention, a partnership with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, vaccine delivery, robotic assistance technology for stroke survivors, and nuclear waste containment.
CUA President Peter Kilpatrick stated that "being named an R1 institution affirms what we have long known: that academic rigor and a commitment to Catholic identity are mutually supportive." He added that since its founding, the pursuit of truth through research has been seen as a sacred duty at the university.
Before 2025, only 146 out of nearly 4,000 universities nationwide held R1 status. Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation, remarked on all the group's 2025 designations: "These updates to the Carnegie Classifications are the first step to bring a decades-old system into the 21st century. We are expanding our recognition of the range of ways colleges and universities engage in research and development."
Knowles also noted that removing guesswork from achieving R1 status would benefit scholarship, policymakers, and students over time.
Other Catholic universities with R1 status include Georgetown University, Boston College, St. Louis University, Loyola Chicago, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Dayton in Ohio. CUA joins other D.C. institutions such as Georgetown University, Howard University, American University, and George Washington University in holding R1 status.
H. Joseph Yost, CUA's senior vice provost of research said: "Our commitment to academic excellence and our Catholic identity set us apart in the research landscape. We are proud to be one of a small number of Catholic institutions to have achieved R1 status."
