See the numbers behind UNC Charlotte’s move to top research status in 2025

Rebecca Noel
·1 min read

UNC Charlotte has focused on gaining R1 status in its sights for years, with achieving “national prominence as an emerging, top-tier research university” explicitly stated as part of its strategic plan.

Investment in research capabilities coupled with a newly changed framework for the Carnegie Classification’s rating of research universities means the school is poised to reach its goal in 2025.

The university has doubled down on its commitment to research over the last 10 years, including doubling its research spending.

“Over the last 24 years I’ve been here, we’ve been steadily and radically increasing our research infrastructure,” UNC Charlotte chief research officer John Daniels told The Observer. “So now, we really do have the depth and breadth that you would expect from a large R1 institution.”

The criteria for R1 status is changing in 2025. It used to be determined by a complex set of calculations with a cap on the number of schools that could qualify. Next year, schools will need to spend at least $50 million on research and award at least 70 research doctorates to be considered R1.

Here are some numbers behind the school’s move to R1 status:

  • $55.2 million - How much UNC Charlotte reported spending on research in 2022-2023

  • $125 million - How much research and development funding UNC Charlotte aims for by 2035

  • 850 - How many UNC Charlotte faculty participated in research during the 2022-2023 school year

  • 30,298 - Total enrollment, including undergraduate and graduate students

  • 4% - The proportion of universities that are R1

  • 156 - Number of research doctorates awarded at UNC Charlotte in 2022-2023