What is a research University???

Question

I got into all the top research universities in the US but I don't know what purpose they serve. What does it mean for an institution to be a 'research' university and what does it imply??????

Answer 1

"Research university" is a term created by the Carnegie Foundation to classify institutions of higher education in the US.

(They actually changed the classification system this year, but colleges often still use the old terms: Research 1, Research 2, Baccalaureate, etc.)

Professors at research universities must do more research and publication than their counterparts in baccalaureate insitutions in order to gain tenure and achieve promotion.

In baccalaureate institutions, although professors must still research and publish, their teaching accomplishments are also counted when it comes to tenure and promotion.

Answer 2

I believe the term "research university" is a title that a university gives itself, similar to "a community oriented university" or other such things. More than likely, if a university were to give itself such a title, it's major focus is on research, building infrastructure and staffing professors that are research oriented, and teaching students scientific skills by using both the classroom and through on campus research. Alternatively, if some other organization were to look at a university with the above characteristics, it may claim that university to be a "research university" for ranking purposes or otherwise.

I go to the University of Minnesota, and I believe we call ourselves a "research university". We do have a massive amount of Medical, Chemical and Engineering research that goes on at UMN, so I'd say the term is accuratly applied by ourselves about ourselves.

Answer 3

They say that if they have a large focus on research and publication. This might be at the expense of teaching, but since top research universities are top schools as well, it usually just means they have a lot of research faculty (who don't teach), a lot of post-docs and grad students, and a lot of funding for research.