Delaware State University now holds a higher status among the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education.
DSU has recently reached the R2 level - one of only 14 among 101 Historically Black Colleges and Universities to hold R2 status.
DSU’s Associate Vice President of Research Melissa Harrington explains what this means.
"So it classifies universities by the size of the research portfolio and their doctoral degree production, and R2 is a high level of research and a high level of doctoral degree production. It's not the highest, but it's getting there. It's just the next level down from the very highest level," said Harrington.
Currently, Howard University is the only HBCU to achieve that highest R1 level.
The rankings are given to institutions that produce a rolling average of 20 research and scholarship doctorates per year and have more than $5 million per year of research expenditures.
Last year, DSU had more than 40 doctoral graduates and research expenditures of $45 million - up significantly from the $17 million in 2017.
Harrington says this helps the university in recruiting.
"We want to be an institution that is prominent for our research that involves our students in cutting-edge research, and that we produce doctoral graduates who can go out and be scientists and leaders in higher education and administration," said Harrington.
Harrington notes DSU is producing the leaders for the next generation as well as having a research portfolio for undergraduates that can have an impact on the world.
