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| FAMU needs to produce more than twice as many PhDs to qualify. |
Howard University appears poised to reclaim its Research-1 (R-1) status, a coveted classification by the Carnegie Foundation for doctoral universities with very high research activity, next year. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the institution, which first secured R-1 status in 1987 but lost it in 2005 following updates to the classification criteria.
The Carnegie Foundation's revised criteria for R-1 status in 2025 have sparked a "healthy competition" among presidents of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including light-hearted banter over who would reach the top. Bruce Jones, senior vice president for research at Howard, noted that this competition is "all in fun."
Howard University officials reported that the institution awarded 91 Ph.D.s and spent approximately $85 million on research in fiscal year 2023, well exceeding the new Carnegie criteria. R-1 status is a badge of honor in the higher education world, attracting high-caliber faculty and prestigious research funding opportunities. However, for the past two decades, this designation has eluded many HBCUs, which continue to face chronic underfunding and other challenges.
Howard had a "head start" on its peers, having begun building research labs and developing graduate programs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
North Carolina A&T State University is also close to achieving R-1 status. Melissa Hodge-Penn, interim research vice chancellor, reported that the university spent $102 million on research and development in the past year and conferred 68 doctorates, just two short of the R-1 requirement. With the addition of new programs, including a nursing doctorate, Ph.D. conferrals are expected to grow.
Morgan State University similarly fell just shy of meeting R-1 criteria this year. David K. Wilson, president of Morgan State, stated that the university conferred an average of 66 Ph.D.s per year over the last three years, only four under the R-1 minimum. Research expenditures were $6 million short, but Wilson projects that Morgan will exceed the R-1 research spending specification by at least $20 million and meet or surpass its Ph.D. conferral requirement in the next cycle.
Achieving R-1 status significantly enhances a university's prestige, making it more competitive for research grants and potentially attracting philanthropic support. However, the ultimate beneficiaries are the students, who gain access to more scholarships, fellowships, and research opportunities. Jones emphasized that Howard disproportionately serves students from low-income families, and the increased investments will better tap into the potential of these students.
Wilson added that the push for R-1 status is not just about benefiting HBCUs but also about adding a distinct perspective to the academic research world. He sees Morgan State as uniquely positioned to conduct research on issues important to minority communities, such as closing education achievement gaps, reducing urban crime, and ensuring artificial intelligence models are free of racial bias.
FAMU has met the Carnegie Foundation's new criteria for research funding but has fallen short in conferring the number of Ph.D.s necessary to reach R-1 status. In 2021-22, FAMU awarded only 32 Ph.D.s, well below the required 70 Ph.D.s over a three-year average.
So if FAMU is to achieve the much talked about R-1 status, anytime soon, it will need to redouble its efforts to graduate more PhD graduates.