{{Short description|University committed to research as a central part of its mission}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} [[File:Sir_Thomas_Lawrence_(1769-1830)_-_Charles_William,_Baron_von_Humboldt_(1767-1835)_-_RCIN_404936_-_Royal_Collection.jpg|thumb|Wilhelm von Humboldt, credited with the Humboldtian model of higher education]] A '''research university''' or a '''research-intensive university''' is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission.<ref name=Role>{{cite news|url=http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20130811091502202|title=The role of research universities in developing countries|date=11 August 2013|work=University World News|access-date=9 August 2018|archive-date=5 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905044435/http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20130811091502202|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Altbach">{{cite book |last1=Altbach |first1=Philip G. |authorlink1=Philip Altbach |editor1-last=Altbach |editor1-first=Philip G. |editor2-last=Salmi |editor2-first=Jamil |title=The Road to Academic Excellence: The Making of World-Class Research Universities |date=2011 |publisher=The World Bank |location=Washington, D.C., US |isbn=978-0-8213-8806-8 |pages=11–32 |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2357 |chapter=The Past, Present, and Future of the Research University |access-date=15 October 2022 |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015065929/https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2357 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://about.usc.edu/steven-b-sample/speeches/the-research-university-of-the-21st-century-what-will-it-look-like/|title=The Research University of the 21st Century: What Will it Look Like?|access-date=8 August 2018|date=2 December 2002|author=Steven Sample|author-link=Steven Sample|publisher=University of Southern California|archive-date=23 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223005034/https://about.usc.edu/steven-b-sample/speeches/the-research-university-of-the-21st-century-what-will-it-look-like/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Taylor>{{cite journal|url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/managing-the-unmanageable_hemp-v18-art8-en|title=Managing the Unmanageable: The Management of Research in Research-Intensive Universities|journal=Higher Education Management and Policy|publisher=OECD|author=John Taylor|date=21 June 2006|volume=18|issue=2|pages=3–4|access-date=9 August 2018|archive-date=23 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323041234/https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/managing-the-unmanageable_hemp-v18-art8-en|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> They are "the key sites of knowledge production", along with "intergenerational knowledge transfer and the certification of new knowledge" through the awarding of doctoral degrees, and continue to be "the very center of scientific productivity".<ref name="Powell">{{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=Justin J. W. |editor1-last=Powell |editor1-first=Justin J. W. |last2=Fernandez |first2=Frank |editor2-last=Fernandez |editor2-first=Frank |last3=Crist |first3=John T. |last4=Dusdal |first4=Jennifer |last5=Zhang |first5=Liang |last6=Baker |first6=David P. |editor3-last=Baker |editor3-first=David P. |title=The Century of Science: The Global Triumph of the Research University |date=2017 |publisher=Emerald Publishing |location=Bingley |isbn=9781787144699 |pages=1–36 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sE80DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |access-date=6 November 2022 |chapter=Introduction: The Worldwide Triumph of the Research University and Globalizing Science |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013057/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Century_of_Science/sE80DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA8&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }} (At p. 8.)</ref> They can be public or private, and often have well-known brand names.<ref name="CollegeSolution">{{cite book|last1=O'Shaughnessy|first1=Lynn|title=The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price|date=2012|publisher=Pearson Education|location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey|isbn=9780132944694|pages=132–136|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djq9hj_WNboC&pg=PA132|access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref>
Undergraduate courses at many research universities are often academic rather than vocational and may not prepare students for particular careers, but many employers value degrees from research universities because they teach fundamental life skills such as critical thinking.<ref name="Andreatta2">{{cite book|last1=Andreatta|first1=Britt|title=Navigating the Research University: A Guide for First-Year Students|date=2011|publisher=Wadsworth|location=Boston|isbn=9780495913788|page=136|edition=3rd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VeI8AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA136|access-date=5 December 2020|archive-date=14 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013059/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Navigating_the_Research_University_A_Gui/VeI8AAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA136&printsec=frontcover|url-status=live}}</ref> Globally, research universities are overwhelmingly public institutions, while some countries like the United States and Japan also have well-known private research institutions.<ref name=Role/>
Institutions of higher education that are not research universities or do not aspire to that designation, such as liberal arts colleges, instead place more emphasis on student instruction or other aspects of tertiary education, whereas research university faculty members, in contrast, are under more pressure to publish or perish.<ref name="Irons">{{cite book |last1=Irons |first1=Jessica G. |last2=Buskist |first2=William |editor1-last=Davis |editor1-first=Stephen F. |editor2-last=Giordano |editor2-first=Peter J. |editor3-last=Licht |editor3-first=Carolyn A. |title=Your Career in Psychology: Putting Your Graduate Degree to Work |date=2009 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=Malden, Massachusetts, US |isbn=9781405179423 |pages=117–132 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=97JcaLZeYGcC&pg=PA119 |access-date=6 August 2020 |chapter=Chapter 9: Preparing for a Career at a Teaching Institution |archive-date=13 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113162234/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Your_Career_in_Psychology/97JcaLZeYGcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA119&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }} (At p. 119.) This source refers to research universities as R1, a common shorthand for the highest level of American research universities recognized by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.</ref>
== History == ===19th century=== [[File:Interior_of_the_Hutzler_Reading_room_located_in_Gilman_Hall,_on_the_Johns_Hopkins_University_campus_in_Baltimore,_Maryland_LCCN2013646484.tif|thumb|Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland (Gilman Hall pictured), founded in 1876, is considered the first research university in the United States<ref name="Geiger_Page_8">{{cite book |last1=Geiger |first1=Roger L. |authorlink1=Roger Geiger |title=To Advance Knowledge: The Growth of American Research Universities, 1900–1940 |date=1986 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey, US |isbn=9781412840088 |page=8 |edition=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2SbOAWadz4C&pg=PA8 |access-date=28 May 2021 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013100/https://www.google.com/books/edition/To_Advance_Knowledge/y2SbOAWadz4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref>]] The concept of the research university first arose in early 19th-century Prussia in Germany, where Wilhelm von Humboldt championed his vision of {{Langx|de|Einheit von Lehre und Forschung|label=none}} (the unity of teaching and research), as a means of producing an education that focused on the main areas of knowledge, including the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, rather than on the previous goals of the university education, which was to develop an understanding of truth, beauty, and goodness.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/models-and-stereotypes/germanophilia-and-germanophobia/bas-van-bommel-between-bildung-and-wissenschaft-the-19th-century-german-ideal-of-scientific-education|title=Between 'Bildung' and 'Wissenschaft': The 19th-Century German Ideal of Scientific Education German Education and Science|last=Bommel|first=Bas van|date=14 December 2015|work=Europäische Geschichte Online|access-date=29 April 2018|language=en|archive-date=10 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810105158/http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/models-and-stereotypes/germanophilia-and-germanophobia/bas-van-bommel-between-bildung-and-wissenschaft-the-19th-century-german-ideal-of-scientific-education|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Menand">{{cite news|last1=Menand|first1=Louis |authorlink1=Louis Menand |last2=Reitter|first2=Paul|last3=Wellmon|first3=Chad|title=General Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cWesDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA2|access-date=25 January 2017|work=The Rise of the Research University: A Sourcebook|isbn=9780226414850|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2017|location=Chicago|pages=2–3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215064506/https://books.google.com/books?id=cWesDQAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA2|archive-date=15 February 2017}}</ref>
The concept was brought to Britain in the mid-19th century by Henry Enfield Roscoe, who had studied with Robert Wilhelm Bunsen at the University of Heidelberg. In 1857 he was appointed professor of chemistry at Owen's College, Manchester, and worked during the 1860s to develop the college following the German model.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/68f87167-66f9-3034-bb33-66aff57807d3|title=Papers of Sir Henry Roscoe|website=Archives Hub|publisher=JISC|access-date=25 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/history-heritage/history/victoria/|title=History of the Victoria University of Manchester|website=University of Manchester|access-date=25 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/henry-enfield-roscoe-9780190844257?cc=us&lang=en&|title=Henry Enfield Roscoe|website=Oxford University Press|access-date=25 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Peter Morris |author2=Peter Reed|editor=Stuart Jones |title=Manchester Minds: A University History of Ideas |date=2024 |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester |pages=43–59 |chapter=Heidelberg in Cottonopolis: how Roscoe brought German ideas to Manchester|chapter-url=https://www.manchesterhive.com/display/9781526176332/9781526176332.00012.xml}}</ref> The emphasis on research from the German model was taken up by the other civic university colleges founded in England in the latter part of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M9fhBQAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA135&hl=en&source=gb_mobile_entity#v=onepage&q&f=false|page=135|author=William Whyte|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2015|title=Redbrick}}</ref> Research schools were founded by individual academics at some institutions from the 1870s, and from the 1890s research was pursued as a matter of institutional policy.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-2LbVfzDfjwC&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA42#v=onepage&q&f=false|page=42|title=The Organisation of Knowledge in Victorian Britain|chapter=Science in Nineteenth-Century England: Plural Configurations and Singular Politics|author=John Pickstone|editor=Martin Daunton|publisher=Oxford University Press/British Academy|date=26 May 2005}}</ref> British universities also set up research degrees in this period; however, these were higher doctorates, starting with the Doctor of Science at Durham in 1882 and Cambridge in 1883, aimed at a higher level than the PhD, or lower degrees such as Oxford's BPhil and BSc, Cambridge's BA by research, and the MA by dissertation at London and other newer universities.<ref name=Howarth>{{cite book|chapter-url= https://academic.oup.com/book/39837/chapter/339975006|title=History of Universities|volume= XXXIV/1: A Global History of Research Education: Disciplines, Institutions, and Nations, 1840-1950|chapter=5 Research Training in the Humanities in British Universities, c.1870–1939: Classical Studies, History, Philosophy|pages = 84–107|date= 22 July 2021|author=Janet Howarth|editor1=Ku-ming (Kevin) Chang|editor2=Alan Rocke |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tina Barnes |url=http://www.ukcge.ac.uk/media/Download.aspx?MediaId=1328 |title=Higher Doctorates in the UK 2013 |date=2013 |publisher=UK Council for Graduate Education |isbn=978-0-9563812-7-9 |page=6 |format=PDF |quote=The UK higher doctorate has a long history with the first (a DSc) being offered by Durham University in 1882 |access-date=19 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020142801/http://www.ukcge.ac.uk/Media/Download.aspx?MediaId=1328 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Roger L. Geiger, "the leading historian of the American research university,"<ref name="Macintyre_Page_333">{{cite book |last1=Macintyre |first1=Stuart |author1-link=Stuart Macintyre |title=The Poor Relation: A History of Social Sciences in Australia |date=2010 |publisher=Melbourne University Press |location=Melbourne |isbn=9780522857757 |page=333 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7bYeXHp_-m4C&pg=PA333 |access-date=8 August 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013105/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Poor_Relation/7bYeXHp_-m4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA333&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref> has argued that "the model for the American research university was established by five of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution (Harvard, Yale, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and King's); five state universities (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and California); and five private institutions conceived from their inception as research universities (MIT, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and Chicago)."<ref name="Crow">{{cite book|last1=Crow|first1=Michael M.|last2=Dabars|first2=William B.|author-link1=Michael M. Crow|title=Designing the New American University|date=2015|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|isbn=9781421417233|pages=17–18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xAu5BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA17|access-date=28 May 2017}} The quoted sentence is Crow and Dabars' paraphrasing of Geiger's analysis.</ref><ref name="Geiger_Page_3">{{cite book |last1=Geiger |first1=Roger L. |title=To Advance Knowledge: The Growth of American Research Universities, 1900–1940 |date=1986 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |isbn=9781412840088 |page=3 |edition=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2SbOAWadz4C&pg=PA3 |access-date=28 May 2021 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013100/https://www.google.com/books/edition/To_Advance_Knowledge/y2SbOAWadz4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref> The American research university first emerged in the late 19th century, when these fifteen institutions began to graft graduate programs derived from the German model onto undergraduate programs derived from the British model.<ref name="Crow" /> At Johns Hopkins, president Daniel Coit Gilman led the development of the American research university<ref name="Geiger_Page_8" /> by setting high standards for recruiting faculty and admitting students, and insisting that faculty members had to commit to both teaching and research.<ref name="Benson_Page_x">{{cite book |last1=Benson |first1=Michael T. |author1-link=Michael T. Benson |title=Daniel Coit Gilman and the Birth of the American Research University |date=2022 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=9781421444161 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d6CCEAAAQBAJ&pg=PR10 |page=x}}</ref>
===20th century=== [[File:Aston Webb Hall, Birmingham University.jpg|thumb|The University of Birmingham, UK, made vital research contributions during World War Two, including the Cavity magnetron that made airborne radar possible and the Frisch–Peierls memorandum that first demonstrated that an atomic bomb was technically feasible.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/location/britain/|title=Britain|at=University of Birmingham|website=National Museum of Nuclear Science and History|publisher=Atomic Heritage Foundation|access-date=13 May 2026}}</ref>]]
In the early 20th century, the tension between research-led teaching after Humboldt's model in the English civic university colleges and the centrally set examinations of the Victoria University and the University of London was one of the factors that contributed to the university colleges becoming universities in their own right.<ref>{{cite book|jstor=j.ctvk8w1hk.11|title=Thomas Frederick Tout (1855–1929): Refashioning history for the twentieth century|editor1=Caroline M. Barron|editor2=Joel T. Rosenthal|series= IHR Conference Series|date=2019|publisher= University of London Press|chapter=5. T. F. Tout and the idea of the university|pages=71-86|author=H. S. Jones}}</ref>
Research universities were essential to the establishment of American hegemony by the end of the 20th century.<ref name="Marginson_Page_67">{{cite book |last1=Marginson |first1=Simon |author1-link=Simon Marginson |last2=Ordorika |first2=Imanol |author2-link=Imanol Ordorika Sacristán |editor1-last=Calhoun |editor1-first=Craig J. |editor2-last=Rhoten |editor2-first=Diana |editor1-link=Craig Calhoun |title=Knowledge Matters: The Public Mission of the Research University |date=2011 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780231151146 |pages=67–129 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KVysAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 |chapter='El central volumen de la fuerza': Global Hegemony in Higher Education and Research |access-date=9 February 2021 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013104/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Knowledge_Matters/KVysAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA67&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref> Columbia and Harvard were instrumental in the early development of the American film industry in Hollywood in the first half of the 20th century.<ref name="Decherney">{{cite book |last1=Decherney |first1=Peter |title=Hollywood and the Culture Elite: How the Movies Became American |date=2017 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780231133760 |pages=6–11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbC9zbrGKMcC&pg=PA6 |access-date=11 August 2019 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013113/https://books.google.com/books?id=FbC9zbrGKMcC&pg=PA6 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The first Congress of Universities of the (British) Empire in 1912 was urged by the Foreign Office to adopt the PhD in order to prevent students going to study in Germany and America. However, this was opposed at that time as diluting the standard of English doctorates. In 1917, a conference of the universities of Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield decided to introduce the PhD, and this was followed by all British universities except Cambridge, which maintained its BA by research into the 1920s.<ref name=Howarth/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://iiif.durham.ac.uk/index.html?manifest=t2m8049g547c&canvas=t2tw9505f04j|page=227|last=Whiting|first= C.E.|date=1932|title=The University of Durham 1832–1932|publisher=Sheldon Press|location=London}}</ref>
The development of nuclear weapons in the 1940s, culminating in the Manhattan Project, involved researchers from universities in the US (Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, and Princeton) and the UK (Birmingham and Cambridge).<ref name="Reed_Page_122">{{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=Bruce Cameron |title=Manhattan Project: The Story of the Century |date=2020 |publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland |location=Cham |isbn=978-3-030-45733-4 |page=122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9v_oDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013110/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Manhattan_Project/9v_oDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA122&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/voices/location/britain/|title=Britain|website=Voices of the Manhattan Project|publisher=Atomic Heritage Foundation|access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref>
MIT and Stanford were leaders in building the American military–industrial complex in the aftermath of World War II.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leslie |first1=Stuart W. |title=The Cold War and American Science: The Military-Industrial-Academic Complex at MIT and Stanford |date=1993 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780231079587 |pages=11–12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6IchaV00dBkC&pg=PA11 |access-date=11 August 2019 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013115/https://books.google.com/books?id=6IchaV00dBkC&pg=PA11 |url-status=live }}</ref> and developing artificial intelligence,<ref name="Boden_Page_734">{{cite book |last1=Boden |first1=Margaret A. |authorlink1=Margaret A. Boden |title=Mind as Machine: A History of Cognitive Science, Volume 2 |date=2006 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199292387 |pages=734–736 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQMPIGd4baQC&pg=PA734 |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013043/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mind_as_Machine/nQMPIGd4baQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA734&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref>
The first electronic stored-program computer, the Manchester Baby, was developed at Manchester in the 1940s,<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1109/MAHC.2010.1|title=The Manchester Computer: A Revised History Part 1: The Memory|last= Copeland|first= B. Jack|journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing|volume= 33|issue =1|pages= 4-21|date=2011}}</ref> while in the US Berkeley and Stanford played a central role in the development of Silicon Valley.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=W. Richard |last2=Lara |first2=Bernardo |last3=Biag |first3=Manuelito |last4=Ris |first4=Ethan |last5=Liang |first5=Judy |editor1-last=Scott |editor1-first=W. Richard |editor2-last=Kirst |editor2-first=Michael W. |title=Higher Education and Silicon Valley: Connected But Conflicted |date=2017 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=9781421423081 |page=65 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QtoxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 |access-date=11 August 2019 |chapter=The Regional Economy of the San Francisco Bay Area |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013043/https://books.google.com/books?id=QtoxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 |url-status=live }}</ref> The "most prestigious group of research universities" in the United States is the Association of American Universities.<ref name="Smith_Page_78">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Dean O. |title=Managing the Research University |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199793259 |page=78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=neZkJ6kKhlUC&pg=PA78 |access-date=3 December 2023}}</ref>
In the second half of the 20th century, American research universities became the model for research universities around the world.<ref name="Altbach" /><ref name="Graham">{{cite book |last1=Graham |first1=Hugh Davis |author1-link=Hugh Davis Graham |last2=Diamond |first2=Nancy |title=The Rise of American Research Universities: Elites and Challengers in the Postwar Era |date=1997 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=9780801880636 |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eii-MTm3TYwC&pg=PA9 |access-date=7 April 2020 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013043/https://books.google.com/books?id=Eii-MTm3TYwC&pg=PA9 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Vest_Page_7">{{cite book |last1=Vest |first1=Charles M. |author1-link=Charles M. Vest |title=The American Research University from World War II to World Wide Web: Governments, the Private Sector, and the Emerging Meta-University |date=2007 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=9780520934047 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kHAKdNFBpUC&pg=PA7 |access-date=25 January 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013043/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_American_Research_University_from_Wo/-kHAKdNFBpUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA7&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref> Having one or more universities based on the American model (including the use of English as a lingua franca) thus became a marker of "social progress and modernity" for countries.<ref name="Stevens_Page_129">{{cite book |last1=Stevens |first1=Mitchell L. |last2=Giebel |first2=Sonia |editor1-last=Hyvönen |editor1-first=Mats |editor2-last=Peters |editor2-first=Michael A. |editor3-last=Rider |editor3-first=Sharon |editor4-last=Besley |editor4-first=Tina |title=World Class Universities: A Contested Concept |date=2020 |publisher=Springer Nature Singapore |location=Singapore |isbn=9789811575983 |pages=123–137 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=no8REAAAQBAJ&pg=PA129 |access-date=27 February 2023 |chapter=The Paradox of the Global University |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013043/https://www.google.com/books/edition/World_Class_Universities/no8REAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA129&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref>
===21st century=== thumb|upright=1.6|Research spending as a share of GDP by country By the early 21st century it had become difficult for European universities to maintain research standards and resources at the level of the top US institutions.<ref name="Wittrock">{{cite book |last1=Wittrock |first1=Björn |editor1-last=Blückert |editor1-first=Kjell |editor2-last=Neave |editor2-first=Guy |editor3-last=Nybom |editor3-first=Thorsten |title=The European Research University: A Historical Parenthesis? |date=2006 |isbn=9781403970145 |pages=109–125 |location=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ne5FDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 |access-date=15 August 2022 |chapter=The Legacy of Wilhelm von Humboldt and the Future of the European University |edition=2018 softcover reprint |doi=10.1007/978-1-137-10079-5_9 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013043/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_European_Research_University/ne5FDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA108&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref>
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) funded research universities to establish international branch campuses in those countries, and they and other Gulf states also started to build up their own research universities, such as Khalifa University (UAE), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar) and KAUST (Saudi Arabia), by recruiting Western-trained faculty and staff. By 2023, Qatar and the UAE had passed the US in number of papers published per 1000 population, although still behind Britain, Sweden and Singapore.<ref name="Economist">{{cite news |title=How the Gulf's rulers want to harness the power of science |url=https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/01/07/how-the-gulfs-rulers-want-to-harness-the-power-of-science |access-date=17 January 2025 |newspaper=The Economist |date=7 January 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> As of April 2026, the UAE hosted 39 branch campuses, behind only China, with twelve institutions from the UK, seven from India, and three each from Australia, France, Russia and the US, while Qatar hosted twelve branch campuses, the majority from US institutions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbert.org/intl-campus|website=Cross-Border Education Research Team|date=April 2026|access-date=29 May 2026 |title=C-BERT International Campus Listing}}</ref> The amount of funding given to US universities by Qatar led to concerns about Qatari involvement in US higher education.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/d0a16f75-8b05-4ff9-b5f1-d473d7f5a704?syn-25a6b1a6=1|title=Qatar’s ties to US universities scrutinised amid rise in antisemitism|work= Financial Times|date=16 March 2024|author=Joshua Chaffin}}</ref>
Academic freedom – identified by Altbach as one of the key characteristics of successful research universities<ref name=Altbach2013/> – declined globally from 2012, as measured by the ''Academic Freedom Index''. The trend started in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and North Africa, but spread to established liberal democracies. The US, in particular, saw a decline from 2020. Jeremy Berg noted that the dependence of research universities in the US on federal research funding gave the government leverage to override international autonomy, and that while some universities, such as Harvard, had pushed back and won in court, many had not.<ref>{{cite news|work=Chemistry World|publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry|title=Academic freedom slides globally, as it takes a nosedive in the US|author=Anthony King |date=24 April 2026|url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/academic-freedom-slides-globally-as-it-takes-a-nosedive-in-the-us/4023335.article}}</ref>
==Characteristics== John Taylor, Professor of Higher Education Management at the University of Liverpool, defines the key characteristics of successful research universities as:<ref name= Taylor /> * "Presence of pure and applied research" * "Delivery of research-led teaching" * "Breadth of academic disciplines" * "High proportion of postgraduate research programmes" * "High levels of external income" * "An international perspective"
Philip Altbach defines a different, although similar, set of key characteristics for what research universities need to become successful:<ref name=Altbach2013>{{cite journal|author=Philip G. Altbach|title=Advancing the national and global knowledge economy|year=2013|journal=Studies in Higher Education |volume=38|issue=3|pages=316–330 |doi=10.1080/03075079.2013.773222 |hdl=2345/bc-ir:103804|s2cid=144178229}}</ref> * At the top of the academic hierarchy in a differentiated higher education system and receiving appropriate support * Overwhelmingly public institutions * Little competition from non-university research institutions, unless these have strong connections to the universities * More funding than other universities to attract the best staff and students and support research infrastructure * Adequate and sustained budgets * Potential for income generation from student fees and intellectual property * Suitable facilities * Autonomy * Academic freedom
A 2012 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report defined research universities, in the American context, as having values of intellectual freedom, initiative and creativity, excellence, and openness, with such additional characteristics as:<ref>{{cite book|title=Research Universities and the Future of America|chapter=3|page=40|url=https://www.nap.edu/read/13396/chapter/5#39|year=2012|publisher=National Academies Press|doi=10.17226/13396|isbn=978-0-309-25639-1|access-date=11 August 2018|archive-date=20 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220153453/https://www.nap.edu/read/13396/chapter/5#39|url-status=live}}</ref> * Being large and comprehensive – Clark Kerr's "multiversity" * Emphasizing the undergraduate residential experience (flagged specifically as distinguishing American research universities from those in continental Europe) * Integrating graduate education with research * Having faculty engaged in research and scholarship * Conducting research at high levels * Having enlightened and bold leadership
Global university rankings use metrics that primarily measure research to rank universities.<ref name="IHE 2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/11/11/altbach |title=The State of the Rankings |work=Inside Higher Ed |author=Philip G. Altbach |date=11 November 2010 |access-date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=16 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616050812/http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/11/11/altbach |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=HEPI>{{cite web|url=http://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Hepi_International-university-rankings-For-good-or-for-ill-REPORT-89-10_12_16_Screen.pdf|title=International university rankings: For good or ill?|author=Bahram Bekhradnia|publisher=Higher Education Policy Institute|date=15 December 2016|access-date=26 May 2017|archive-date=15 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215055236/http://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Hepi_International-university-rankings-For-good-or-for-ill-REPORT-89-10_12_16_Screen.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Agafonow |first1=Alejandro |chapter=No Organizations for Today's Einsteins: Organizational Impacts on Scientific Discoveries |year=2021 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-48352-8_69-2 |title=Handbook of Philosophy of Management |pages=1–23 |editor-last=Neesham |editor-first=Cristina |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-48352-8_69-2 |isbn=978-3-319-48352-8 |access-date=22 March 2022 |last2=Perez |first2=Marybel |series=Handbooks in Philosophy |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314013057/https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-48352-8_69-2 |url-status=live |chapter-url-access=subscription}}</ref> Some also have criteria for inclusion based on the concept of a research university such as teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and conducting work in multiple faculties (''QS World University Rankings''),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iu.qs.com/university-rankings/policies-conditions/|title=Inclusion in Rankings|website=QS Intelligence Unit|access-date=9 August 2018|archive-date=7 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807215456/http://www.iu.qs.com/university-rankings/policies-conditions/|url-status=dead}}</ref> or teaching undergraduates, having a research output of more than 1,000 research papers over 5 years, and no more than 80% of activity in a single subject area (''Times Higher Education World University Rankings)''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/why-we-publish-world-university-rankings|title=This is why we publish the World University Rankings|date=16 January 2018|author=Phil Baty|access-date=9 August 2018|work=Times Higher Education|archive-date=10 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810105112/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/why-we-publish-world-university-rankings|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in the United States designates institutions that spend on average at least $2.5 million on research and development annually as 'research universities and colleges', with further designations of 'research 2: high spending and doctorate production' and 'research 1: very high spending and doctorate production' for institutions spending over $5 million and awarding 20 or more doctorates per year and institutions spending over $50 million and awarding 70 or more doctorates per year respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/carnegie-classification/research-designations/|title=2025 Research Activity Designations|website=Carnegie Classifications|access-date=13 February 2025}}</ref> {{as of|2025|post=,}} there were 187 R1 universities, 139 R2 universities and 216 other research universities in the US out of 3,941 total institutions classified.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/institutions/|title=Institution Search|website=Carnegie Classifications|access-date=13 February 2025}}</ref>
==Worldwide distribution== The ''QS World University Ranking'' for 2021 included 1,002 research universities. The region with the highest number was Europe, with 39.8%, followed by Asia/Pacific with 26.7%, the US and Canada with 15.6%, Latin America with 10.8%, and the Middle East and Africa with 7%. All regions except the Middle East and Africa were represented in the top 100. The largest number of new entrants to the rankings were from East Asia and Eastern Europe, followed by Southern Europe.<ref>{{cite web|title=QS World University Rankings 2021 Supplement|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/qs-guides/qs-world-university-rankings-2021-supplement|website=Top Universities|publisher=Quacquarelli Symonds|access-date=18 September 2020|archive-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922115255/https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/qs-guides/qs-world-university-rankings-2021-supplement|url-status=live}}</ref> By individual country, the US had the most institutions with 151, followed by the UK with 84, China with 51 and Germany with 45. The top 200 showed a similar pattern with the US having 45 universities, the UK 26 and Germany 12.<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 May 2020|title=QS World University Rankings 2021|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2021|access-date=18 September 2020|website=Top Universities|language=en|archive-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609201234/https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2021|url-status=live}}</ref> By comparison, the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education (2015) identified 115 US universities as "Doctoral Universities: Highest Research Activity" and a further 107 as "Doctoral Universities: Higher Research Activity", while Altbach estimated that there were around 220 research universities in the US in 2013.<ref name=Role/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/standard.php#standard_basic2005_list|website=Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education|publisher=University of Indiana|title=Standard Listings|access-date=11 August 2018|archive-date=30 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730131504/http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/standard.php#standard_basic2005_list|url-status=live}}</ref>
The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' for 2020 showed a similar distribution, with 185 of their 500 ranked institutions coming from Europe, 161 from the Americas, 149 from Asia/Oceania and five from Africa. All regions except Africa were represented in the top 100, although the Americas were represented solely by universities from the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics |url=http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU-Statistics-2020.html |access-date=18 September 2020 |website=Academic Ranking of World Universities 2020 |publisher=ShanghaiRanking Consultancy |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416181137/http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU-Statistics-2020.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2025, China had the most universities in the top 500, 113, followed by the US with 111, the UK with 37 and Germany with 35.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities 2025 Press Release |url=http://www.shanghairanking.com/news/arwu/2025 |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=www.shanghairanking.com}}</ref> However, the top 200 shows the different pattern: the US with 58 followed by China with 39 and the UK with 18.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities |url=http://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/arwu/2025 |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=www.shanghairanking.com}}</ref>
The 2026 ''Times Higher Education'' only gave a breakdown by country and only for its top 200; this again had the US at the top with 55, followed by the UK with 26, Germany with 18 and China with 13. The top 200 featured one university from Africa, the University of Cape Town in South Africa, but none from Latin America.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-09 |title=World University Rankings 2026 digital edition |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/digital-editions/world-university-rankings-2026-digital-edition |access-date=2025-10-22 |website=Times Higher Education (THE) |language=en}}</ref> The ''U.S. News & World Report'' Best Global Universities Ranking 2025 gave numbers by country for the 2250 universities ranked from more than 100 countries: China was the top, with 397, followed by the US with 280 and India with 118.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. News Releases 2025-2026 Best Global Universities Rankings {{!}} Clarivate |url=https://clarivate.com/news/u-s-news-releases-2025-2026-best-global-universities-rankings/ |access-date=2025-08-20 |language=en-US}}</ref> However, the U.S. had 115 schools in the top 500, followed by China with 70 schools and the UK with 37.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2025-2026 Best Global Universities Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/search |access-date=19 August 2025 |website=U.S. News}}</ref> The 2025 ''CWTS Leiden Ranking'' included 1,594 universities in the rankings from 77 countries/regions: China topped the list, with 356, followed by the US with 204 and the UK with 61.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Studies (CWTS) |first=Centre for Science and Technology |title=CWTS Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition |url=https://traditional.leidenranking.com/ |access-date=2025-11-04 |website=CWTS Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== * History of European universities * List of research universities in South Korea * List of research universities in Turkey * List of research universities in the United States
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{school types}} {{Authority control}} Category:Types of university or college Category:Research organizations