BIDDEFORD — It’s another feather in the cap for the University of New England as it has entered an elite classification as one of the top schools in the U.S. for research.
In its 2018 annual update, the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, regarded as the leading framework for categorizing accredited U.S. universities and colleges, has ranked UNE for the very first time in the category of “Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity.”
UNE is among 139 colleges and universities to earn this distinction this year and one of just 10 schools to advance from the “Master’s Colleges and Universities: Larger Programs” category to “Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity” nationally. And, it is the only university in New England to jump to the higher category in the 2018 ratings.
“The reclassification of UNE by Carnegie is a testament to our commitment to high quality research as a key component of the institution,” said UNE President Dr. James Herbert. “Our faculty members have done extraordinary work, often focusing their research on real-world problems that impact the region so that solutions can then be scaled to a larger, even global, level. And they have accomplished this, without exception, by deeply involving undergraduate students in their research.”
An emphasis on focused research and scholarship has been one of six priorities unveiled by Herbert in his strategic plan for the university and published in November.
In that strategic plan, Herbert said that the university strives to make research and scholarship “an essential part of students’ educational experience.”
To earn the “Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity” classification, a university must award a minimum of 20 research or scholarship doctoral degrees and invest at least $5 million in research expenditures per year.
“UNE attracted close to $19 million in external funding for research and scholarship in 2017,” said Provost Dr. Joshua Hamilton. “Forty-one percent of our students participate in faculty research by the time they graduate. And importantly, virtually every research project at UNE directly involves students. There is no doubt that UNE is deeply committed to research and scholarship as a fundamental component of our education and training programs, and the recognition by the Carnegie Classification is a powerful confirmation of that fact.”
The Carnegie Classification was developed by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education in 1970 to support its program of research and policy analysis and prior to the 2018 update, the classification was last revised in 2015.
The University of New England is Maine’s largest private university and has two campuses in Maine, including in Biddeford and Portland. It also has a campus in Tangier, Morocco, and offerings online. UNE offers Maine’s only medical and dental colleges and a variety of other aligned health care programs, and degree paths in the marine sciences, the natural and social sciences, business, the humanities and the arts.
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