The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education (ACE) have recognized Colorado College with a Research College and University (RCU) Designation. The organizations have released the 2025 Research Activity Designations, unveiling an updated methodology that better reflects the diverse and expansive research landscape in U.S. higher education.
The RCU designation is a newly established classification that highlights research contributions from institutions that have historically not been recognized for their research activity. Unlike the traditional R1 and R2 classifications, RCU status acknowledges colleges and universities that invest significantly in research, even if they do not offer many or any doctoral degrees.
To qualify, institutions must spend more than $2.5 million annually on research. CC is one of 36 undergraduate liberal arts colleges that have been awarded this designation. CC’s talented faculty are teacher-scholars who are active in their research and creative endeavors, holding federal awards of $3.3 million for 21 projects.
“Colorado College is honored to be recognized in the Carnegie Classification as a Research College," says Vice President and Dean of Faculty Emily Chan. “This designation affirms our commitment to the teacher-scholar model, where faculty excellence in research and scholarship directly enriches student learning. Grounded in our core value of the liberal arts, we champion interdisciplinary inquiry, critical thinking, and creative problem-solving. Research in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities is crucial to addressing the grand challenges facing our nation and the world. This recognition underscores our dedication to integrating research, teaching, and mentorship, ensuring transformative academic experiences that prepare students for impactful careers and citizenship.”
These updates are just the first part of a series of significant changes to the Carnegie Classifications designed to better reflect the multidimensional nature of higher education in the United States. The full 2025 Carnegie Classifications, including the Institutional Classification and Student Access and Earnings Classification, will be released in April 2025.
“It’s so gratifying to see the strong research culture at the College recognized in this way,” says Tess Powers, Director of Sponsored Research and Research Compliance Officer at CC. “I’ve been working with CC faculty to help them win external research grants for more than 15 years, and in that time, I've seen again and again how passionate they are about their scholarly and creative work. This work is central to their teacher-scholar identities, and I see them light up as they make plans for sharing it with their students. When our faculty have the resources to dig deeply into important issues, it enriches the entire Colorado College community.”
The 2025 Research Activity Designations were determined using the following data sources:
- Research expenditures as reported by institutions through the National Science Foundation HERD Survey for FY2021, FY2022, and FY2023, reflecting total research expenditures.
- Research doctorates as reported by institutions through the IPEDS Completions Survey for the 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 academic years.
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education. Established in 1973 by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, the classification supports research and policy analysis and has been updated periodically to reflect changes in the higher education landscape. Past updates occurred in 1976, 1987, 1994, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2018, and 2021, with the next scheduled update in April 2025 and subsequent updates occurring every three years.
For more information about the 2025 Research Activity Designations, visit The Carnegie Foundation webpage.