Troy University has now achieved Doctoral Classification in the modernized 2025 Carnegie Institutional Classifications.
The Institutional Classification is a descriptive tool that organizes the landscape of American colleges and universities into groupings of similar types of institutions. To reflect changes in higher education over the past 50 years, the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching modernized the classification structure for the 2025 Carnegie Classifications.
In 2021, TROY was classified as a Master’s College and University. Now, TROY is designated a Mixed Undergraduate/Graduate-Doctorate University. Just 3 percent of colleges and universities across the nation received this classification.
“Achieving Doctoral recognition from Carnegie marks a defining moment in Troy University’s journey,” said TROY Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. “This recognition not only affirms the strong foundation we’ve built through decades of dedication to academic excellence, it also signals our bold trajectory into the future. As we step into this new era of distinction, one thing is clear: the best is yet to be.”
The classification is based on data institutions reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and is automatically given to every degree-granting institution based on the data reported for the 2020-23 academic years.
Institutions are classified based on multiple characteristics, including the types of degrees they award, the subjects in which they award degrees and the size of the institution.
In the 2023-2024 academic year, Troy University conferred 30 doctoral degrees, and conferred another 19 so far in the 2024-2025 academic year.
“This classification brings us meaningfully closer to our goal of reaching R2 classification—a distinction that requires a sustained commitment to awarding doctoral degrees and advancing research,” said Dr. Kerry Palmer, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. “At TROY, we select and shape our graduate programs with purpose, ensuring they meet the evolving workforce needs of Alabama. This progress would not be possible without the leadership of our academic Deans, whose commitment to excellence and alignment with our vision have been instrumental in expanding and supporting our doctoral offerings. Their work is helping to secure a stronger, more responsive future for Troy University and the state we serve.”
On Sept. 8, 2023, the Alabama Commission on Higher Education approved an instructional role change that allows the University to offer additional doctoral degrees, a move that paved the way for TROY’s continued maturation as a research institution.
Earlier this year, TROY was also designated as a Carnegie Research University, a new designation created to recognize research efforts at smaller institutions.
“These milestones reflect the dedication of our faculty, the ambition of our students and the strategic vision we’ve pursued over the past two decades,” Dr. Hawkins said. “They reflect the upward momentum of our academic programs and underscores TROY’s growing role as a globally engaged institution of higher learning.”
The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education first published the Basic Classification in 1973 to support its research program and subsequently updated it in 1976, 1987, 1994, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2018 and 2021. The 2025 update shifts to more multidimensional categories that better reflect the breadth and diversity of colleges and universities today.
About the Carnegie Classification®
The Carnegie Classification® is the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education. In 1970, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education began developing a classification of colleges and universities to support its program of research and policy analysis. The framework was first published in 1973 and is now updated every 3 years to reflect changes among colleges and universities.
