App State earns R2 designation for high research activity and doctorate production University’s commitment to applied research benefits students, communities and industries

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BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University has received a Research Activity Designation of Research 2 from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education — the nation’s leading framework for categorizing U.S. higher education institutions. This new designation is awarded to institutions with high research activity and doctorate production.

“This designation aligns with App State’s steady growth in research investments, giving our students more opportunities to engage in innovative and meaningful research and creative activities alongside App State’s expert faculty and staff,” said App State Interim Chancellor Heather Norris. “This work yields real-world solutions and technologies that drive innovation — answering the needs of our communities and strengthening economies.”

In fiscal year 2024, App State set a university record for research funding, securing over $25 million in awards for faculty and staff projects. Over the last five years, App State’s funded research has increased by nearly 75%.

A strong emphasis on undergraduate research opportunities has long set App State apart from other research universities. App State students benefit from hands-on experience on impactful projects and avenues to present their research at major conferences — deepening learning and preparing students to excel in their future careers and/or graduate studies.

About the Carnegie Classifications

First published in 1973, Carnegie Classifications are updated every three years to reflect changes among colleges and universities and serve as a critical benchmarking tool for postsecondary institutions, as they are frequently used by policymakers, funders and researchers. In 2022, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education began a collaboration to reimagine the Carnegie Classifications, with a goal of making the classifications “more representative of institutions’ missions and better reflect a variety of education pathways and student experiences.”

Carnegie Classifications rely on publicly available data sources that contain data on all institutions in the United States, including the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey.

A Research 2 designation — part of the system’s modernized classifications for 2025 — recognizes institutions that spend at least $5 million on research and development and produce at least 20 research doctorates, on average, in a single year. App State’s research expenditures in fiscal year 2023 were more than $8.4 million — grant funding secured by university faculty and staff for research. In the 2022–23 academic year, the university awarded 20 doctoral degrees.

A working group led by Hendren is engaged in a full assessment of all R2-related factors for the university.

App State’s R2 designation opens the door for additional opportunities for students to conduct groundbreaking research and advance creative endeavors side-by-side with faculty and staff, according to Dr. Christine Ogilvie Hendren, vice provost of research and innovation at App State.

She added that the designation positions the university within a broader, national peer group, helping to more clearly assess App State’s performance, quality and value against similar institutions.

Advancing research and innovation at App State

“We’ve been steadily evolving over time to arrive at this moment because of visionary planning, institutional and state support and, most importantly, the dedication of our faculty, staff and students to meaningful research,” said App State Acting Provost Neva J. Specht. “As we continue to expand our research and creative endeavors, we will remain focused on areas in which App State strategically leads and where the market shows demand.”

The advancement of research, innovation and creativity is one of the university’s six strategic priorities and is informed by the university’s new Academic Affairs Strategic Plan and Strategic Plan for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities.

“At our core, we are still a teaching institution, and that will always remain fundamental to our identity,” Norris said. “This new distinction will support continued teaching and research opportunities for faculty, which provide important pathways for student learning.”

The Office of Research and Innovation, led by Hendren, works to connect and coach App State faculty on their paths to protecting and commercializing intellectual property that has the potential to generate value and financial impact for the state of North Carolina.

This work, performed with support from the Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship, is part of App State’s collaboration with NCInnovation — a nonprofit organization that provides grant funding, mentorship and partnership development to support researchers at North Carolina’s public universities. As a regional NCInnovation hub, App State assists researchers by connecting them with industry and business services, helping advance their research so it can become widely available and applicable for the marketplace.

One example of applied research at App State is led by Dr. Rahman Tashakkori, Lowe’s Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science, who was awarded over $640,000 in grant funding from NCInnovation for his work on the Beemon Hive Monitoring System — an innovative tool for decreasing honeybee die-off and increasing hive production. This funding will help bring parts of the system to market that will assist beekeepers in preserving the health of their hives.

The Office of Student Research supports opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to engage in research and mentored scholarship at App State. In the 2023–24 academic year, the Office of Student Research awarded almost $100,000 to students to perform and present their research and creative activities and supported 60 paid Undergraduate Research Assistantships with faculty mentors.

“Our unique excellence in research, scholarship and creative endeavors stems from the special intersection of our wonderful people and this amazing place,” said Hendren. “This positions us to generate significant place-based impact with local-to-global applications, drawing on history and tradition, navigating our present times, and adapting tech, business and social systems to build a vibrant future for communities in North Carolina and beyond.”

App State’s upcoming 2025 classifications

In addition to its R2 designation, the university will receive two additional Carnegie Classifications in April — an Institutional Classification and a Student Access and Earnings Classification.

• The Institutional Classification is an update to Carnegie’s current Basic Classification, which has been in place for more than 50 years. The new Institutional Classification will group institutions by characteristics, including the types of academic programs an institution offers, the types of degrees they award and the institution’s size.
• According to Carnegie, the new Student Access and Earnings Classification is focused on the long-term success of learners, with institutions to be classified according to student characteristics, access and outcomes.

Until the new Institutional Classifications are released in April, App State’s 2021 Basic Classification — a regional, master’s comprehensive institution — remains in effect, alongside its R2 designation. The Research Activity and Student Access and Earnings designations are separate and distinct from Institutional Classifications.

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