UTEP Reaffirms ‘Very High Research’ Carnegie R1 Status
Last Updated on February 01, 2022 at 12:00 AM
Originally published February 01, 2022
By MC Staff
UTEP Marketing and Communications
University is one of 19 Hispanic-Serving Institutions to Receive Top Research Ranking
EL PASO, Texas (Feb. 1, 2022) – With well over $100 million in annual expenditures for research in aerospace, health, cybersecurity, water, border issues and dozens of other impact areas, The University of Texas at El Paso has again earned R1 status by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Carnegie announced the official list of the top research universities this week.
UTEP is one of 141 R1 universities out of the nearly 4,000 accredited degree-granting institutions in the United States, placing it in the top 5% of all universities when it comes to research. UTEP is also one of 19 Hispanic-Serving Institutions to achieve R1 status.
UTEP is the only R1 university in the United States to have continued with a 100% undergraduate student admission rate while it built research excellence. With 83% Hispanic enrollment and 94% minority enrollment, it also has the highest percentage of Hispanic students of any R1 university in the United States.
“We believe that if you are willing to work hard, you should have a chance to study at a university where meaningful research is changing the world,” UTEP President Heather Wilson said. “We’ve proven again that UTEP is America’s leading Hispanic-Serving University.”
UTEP first reached the prestigious research milestone — being elevated to a Carnegie R1 or “Very High Research” classification — in December 2018. The designation is reserved for doctoral universities with the highest levels of research activity that produce large numbers of Ph.D. graduates.
Every three years the Carnegie Foundation classifies higher education institutions in the United States based on factors such as research expenditures, undergraduate and graduate instructional programs, enrollment profile, size and setting.
“Our faculty and their support staff have worked hard and richly deserve this recognition that puts us among the best research universities in America,” said Roberto Osegueda, Ph.D., Vice President for Research. “But what really drives us is knowing that so much of the research we are conducting will positively impact the lives of people in our communities.”
UTEP’s research excellence has been building since 1992 when a lawsuit challenged the restriction that allowed UTEP to only offer one Ph.D. program. Since then, UTEP has added 22 doctoral programs and built itself into a nationally recognized research university.
UTEP’s annual research expenditures have grown from $6 million 30 years ago to more than $109 million in FY2022. There were 569 active grants during 2020-21.
The University’s nine colleges and schools offer 169 degree programs — 74 bachelor’s, 72 master’s and 23 doctoral — both traditional and online.
More than 139 students received doctoral degrees from UTEP in 2019-20.
UTEP’s major research areas include health, biomedical sciences and engineering; energy and environment; global enterprise and border studies; national defense and border security; and education.
“As a public research university, UTEP has a responsibility to positively impact the health, education, economy and culture of the community,” Osegueda said. “We have positioned ourselves to be a leader in research on Hispanic health disparities, with direct implications for improving the health of the community we serve.”
Other Texas universities designated as R1 include The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Rice University, Texas A&M University, the University of Houston, Texas Tech University, University of North Texas and Baylor University.
“Of the 11 top research universities in Texas, 5 are part of the UT System,” Wilson said. “That is a remarkable achievement. Research universities positively impact jobs and the economy in Texas. The decision made by The University of Texas Regents in 1992 to open opportunities and expand research to more campuses is paying dividends today.”
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 94% of our more than 24,000 students are minorities, and half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 169 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top tier research university in America.
