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How many research universities are there in the US?

Hey folks, I've been thinking a lot about my college choices, and I'm considering applying to research universities. Does anyone know the total number of research universities in the US? I want to know how many options I might have to choose from. Thanks for your help!

a year ago

Hi there! It's great that you're considering applying to research universities. These institutions can provide fantastic opportunities for students because they often focus on cutting-edge fields and have faculty members working on exciting research projects.

To answer your question, there are around 131 universities designated as R1 (Doctoral Universities with very high research activity) by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in the US. Additionally, there are about 135 R2 (Doctoral Universities with high research activity) universities. So, in total, there are roughly 266 research universities in the country. However, it's important to keep in mind that not all of them may be the right fit for you. Each university varies in terms of size, location, and academic programs.

As you're narrowing down your options, you can use resources like CollegeVine, U.S. News rankings, and the individual university websites to help you research and decide which schools align with your interests. Best of luck with your college search!

a year ago

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