LSU’s Research Impact Grows with Major Carnegie Recognition Across Three Campuses
April 25, 2025
The latest Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, released in April, recognizes three LSU institutions for their research activity, measured by total research spending and doctoral degrees awarded.
This recognition of the LSU system’s research excellence aligns with President William F. Tate IV’s ambitious goal of becoming one of the Top 50 research universities in the U.S., tackling Louisiana’s most pressing challenges and making a global impact.
The Carnegie Classifications are published on a three-year cycle. The current designations are based on data from 2022-23.
- The LSU main campus retained its top-level Research 1 status, signifying that it met a threshold of $50 million in total research spending and 70 research doctorates awarded annually. LSU conferred 299 research doctorates and reported $384,268,000 in total research spending.
- LSU Health New Orleans received the Research 2 level, signifying that it met a threshold of $5 million in total research and 70 research doctorates.
- LSU Health Shreveport joined Carnegie's new Research Colleges and Universities category, which recognizes colleges and universities that spend more than $2.5 million on research yearly, including schools that don’t confer doctoral degrees.
The research designations, including the new Research Colleges and Universities category, reflect criteria changes by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to better reflect the multifaceted nature of higher education in the 21st century, the groups said.
The Carnegie Classifications are used by policymakers, funders, researchers, and others who rely on the classification system for a comprehensive view of higher education in the United States.
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