Announcing WPI's Classification as an R1 University

The following message was sent to the campus community February 13, 2025.

Dear WPI Community,

I am pleased to share that WPI has been designated an R1 institution, the top tier for U.S. research colleges and universities, in new classifications announced today by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. 

This designation is well-deserved recognition for our faculty, students, staff, and administrators who, over the past decade, worked to expand the university’s research enterprise. A few points:

• A total of 544 colleges and universities that conduct research are included in the classifications, and 187 are designated as R1 institutions.
• There are now 11 R1 colleges and universities in Massachusetts. 
• To attain R1 classification, a college or university must spend at least $50 million on research and award at least 70 research doctorates annually. WPI easily met this standard with $66 million in research spending and 88 doctoral degrees in fiscal year 2023. 

I am grateful to the many people in our community who contributed to this R1 classification. Faculty members and students pursued creative and groundbreaking research. Staff members supported the researchers’ work and were crucial to the development of facilities at PracticePoint, the Lab for Education and Application Prototypes, 85 Prescott Street, and Sagamore Lab. Administrators made research a priority for WPI. In addition, I am grateful to the donors whose philanthropy is supporting WPI research.

Congratulations to everyone who worked hard to make this prestigious designation a reality for WPI.

Sincerely,

Bogdan Vernescu

Vice President and Vice Provost for Research and Innovation