Michigan Technological University's faculty has engaged in cutting-edge research in fresh water, national defense, autonomous vehicles and technologies to make science fiction cities on the moon and Mars a reality, despite being one of the smallest and remote universities in the state.
Located in the northwest corner of the state's Upper Peninsula, Michigan Tech's focus on science, technology and engineering led some to believe that its chances were slim in getting nationally recognized as a very high research university. The distinction, experts said, brings prestige and attracts high-caliber faculty, students and research dollars.
But that changed earlier this month when the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education awarded Michigan Tech an R1 research designation, putting it among the top research universities in the nation.
R1 is just a ranking, said Andrew Barnard, Michigan Tech vice president of research.
"But ranking matters when it comes to recruiting students as well as recruiting and maintaining world-class faculty," Barnard said. "The R1 ranking puts us in the top 4.75% of the research universities in the country. That's a huge step for us."
The new designation, the highest awarded by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, puts Michigan Tech among the 187 universities classified as R1 in 2025 out of more than 4,000 degree-granting institutions nationwide.
It also makes Michigan Tech the fourth public university in Michigan with the distinction of a very high research university. The designation came after Carnegie made updates to its research classifications, which also bolstered the rankings of nine other Michigan colleges. It included a recognition for the first time to four private colleges and four public schools considered regional universities.
Michigan Tech's new research classification makes it the first university in the state to get an R1 designation in 31 years. The fourth-smallest public university in Michigan, which enrolled 7,430 students in fall 2024, joins the state's three largest public universities with an R1 designation: the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, which Carnegie classified as R1s in 1973, and Wayne State University, which got the R1 mark in 1994.
The Michigan Tech designation broadens the research supported in the state, said Michigan Tech President Rick Koubek. That includes UM's $2.04 billion research enterprise, which the National Science Foundation ranks among the top three public research universities in the nation; MSU's $932 million as a land grant university, WSU's $250 million as an urban research institution and now Michigan Tech with $103.8 million in research funding.
"It's a statement that the innovation ecosystem is supported by the state of Michigan," Koubek said. "By having a fourth public R1 university in our state, it is representative of the innovation ecosystem in our state given that only eight states have four or more R1s. It shows our (state's) positioning."
It also shows the position of Michigan Tech, located in Houghton with a population of 8,500 people: There are only 18 public universities designated as R1s with enrollment below 10,000 students and Michigan Tech is one of them, Koubek said. Of those 18 institutions, the MTU president continued, only three are remote like MTU, Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri, and Dartmouth College in Hanover, Massachusetts.
Other MTU distinctions
Michigan Tech has the highest tuition among the state's 15 public universities, according to the 2024-25 report from the Michigan Association of State Universities. It costs $19,123 annually for tuition and fees for an undergraduate student from Michigan to attend, which is $1,387 more a year than UM in Ann Arbor, the public university with the next highest cost. But Michigan Tech graduates have the highest return on their college investment compared with graduates from other Michigan public universities, according to a recent report from Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
Michigan Tech also has the most stable student enrollment among public universities. Its enrollment averaged 7,215 between 2015-19, and dipped 3% to 6,875 in fall 2020, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. The university's enrollment has since been increased every year, reaching 7,340 this past fall. Some Michigan universities are still working to rebound from their enrollment decreases following the COVID pandemic and as the state grapples with one of the nation's worst declines in the number of high school graduates.
Michigan Tech attracts students from Michigan and across the country, and is known for its engineering programs, officials said. The top Ph.D.s awarded by the university are to students who studied mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering, along with chemistry and forest science.
Many are familiar with the university's Wolf Moose project on Isle Royale, the longest predator-prey study in the world. But Michigan Tech also conducts research with global and potentially lunar reach. For instance, some of Michigan Tech's research for the Department of Defense involves testing military vehicles' performance and spotting explosive devices on the university's 900-acre test course in soils from around the globe.
At the Michigan Tech Research Institute in Ann Arbor, research is underway in remote sensing to understand issues such as satellite data and drones for national security and more. One of the university's largest contracts is with the Ground Vehicles Service Center in Warren, the U.S. Department of Defense's technology laboratory and engineering center for ground vehicle advancement and development.
Michigan Tech is also doing work at its Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab for possible future use on the moon or Mars. This research involves infrastructure for the lunar surface such as landing pads, foundations and roads, and supply chain from Earth such as ways to refuel on the moon, said Paul van Susante, the lab's director and founder. This work could benefit programs such as The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Artemis, which is working to get man back on the moon's surface and have a sustained, long-term presence.
"There is unlimited energy and material out in space," said van Susante, a Michigan Tech assistant professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering. "Our planet is very small compared to the rest of the universe. What we are trying to do is to expand the economy of the Earth beyond the Earth. We want to get access to resources, such as energy and other materials, outside the Earth. And that includes working and living in other places besides Darth to do that."
The new R1 designation for Michigan Tech helps everyone understand the innovation happening there, said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
"The world gets to learn what Michiganders have known for a long time -- Michigan Tech is one of the world's greatest research universities," Whitmer said in a statement when the designation was announced. "Michigan is a global hub for innovation, and we'll keep betting on our young, ambitious people to lead the world."
How research honors are done
The Carnegie Foundation, based in Stanford, California, began awarding research classifications to degree-granting institutions more than 50 years ago to organize the higher education research institution landscape. The classifications have been updated 11 times.
But how it bestowed R1s on colleges and universities was a mystery, Michigan Tech's Koubek said. As a science and engineering school, Michigan Tech analyzed the designations and concluded that R1 schools needed to produce doctoral students across a wide range of disciplines. Michigan Tech, which has awarded doctoral degrees in STEM fields, covering science, technology, engineering and mathematics, decided it was going to continue with its focus.
"While we did not change who we are or what we do in pursuit of an R1 designation, we are certainly proud to be recognized for the exemplary work our faculty and staff are doing in research and education, and we are excited for the opportunities that R1 status brings," Koubek said.
Carnegie updated its methodology with new classifications this year aimed at better reflecting the wide-ranging research landscape of U.S. higher education institutions, officials said.
"These updates to the Carnegie Classifications are the first step to bring a decades-old system into the 21st century. We are expanding our recognition of the range of ways colleges and universities engage in research and development," said Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation. "And we are taking the guesswork out of what it takes to be recognized as an R1 institution. Over time, this will be good for the sector, for scholarship, for policymakers and for students."
An R1 designation was not defined in the past, said Sara Gast, deputy executive director of the Carnegie Classifications, American Council on Education. But an R1 classification is now defined as meaning that an institution annually spends at least $50 million in research and development and awards at least 70 research doctorates.
An R2 designation means an institution spends at least $5 million in research and development and awards 20 research doctorates annually.
In Michigan, Carnegie gave R2 classifications to Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Oakland universities, which had those designations in the past. But new this year, a R2 classification was given to the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Gast said.
UM Dearborn's externally funded research spending has almost tripled since 2018, officials said, increasing from $4.8 million to a projected $13.2 million for this fiscal year.
"As a regional public university, the University of Michigan-Dearborn emphasizes practical research, often driven by collaboration with industry and community partners, to directly address pressing needs in our region, state and broader society," said Armen Zakarian, UM-Dearborn's vice provost for research. "This designation will bolster our efforts to continue to grow that enterprise, with direct benefits for the people of southeast Michigan and our state, as well as nationally and internationally."
UM-Dearborn Chancellor Domenico Grasso said he is proud of the designation, but "this is really just the start for us."
Carnegie also created a new designation called Research Colleges and Universities (RCU). That means research is happening at colleges and universities that historically have not been recognized and do not offer many or any doctoral degrees.
Carnegie gave RCU designations for the first time to several public and private universities in Michigan, including Calvin, Grand Valley State, Lake Superior State, Southfield-based Lawrence Technological, Saginaw Valley State universities, along with Hope College, the University of Detroit Mercy and Western Michigan's medical school.
"This new classification from Carnegie is another milestone on LTU's continuing transformation from primarily a teaching institution to an institution that is both a research powerhouse and a university that offers superior teaching as well," Lawrence Tech President Tarek M. Sobh said.
At Michigan Tech, the new R1 ranking will help the university recruit more and a different caliber of undergraduate and graduate students, Barnard said. It will also help retain MTU's best faculty and recruit more faculty, the vice president of research said, because an R1 designation often means more resources and prestige.
"That can be transformative for a university," Barnard said.
Research underway today shapes the future, Barnard said. The internet, cellphone technology and high-end computer programming that have reshaped the world evolved from research decades ago and are essential to the way we live now, he added.
"Research is important because it drives what is going to happen in science and technology over the next 50 years in this country and the world," Barnard said. "That is why spending dollars on research right now is really important because it is a forward, future-looking investment."
Michigan Tech's $103.8 million research expenditures have grown 300% since 2004, officials said. Of the total, 79%, comes from federal government awards. The largest, 35%, comes from the U.S. Department of Defense. But the money also supports aerospace, energy and the sciences.
"Having that R1 label puts inherent trust in the quality of the research we are doing here at Michigan Tech," Barnard said. "That helps in getting awards. We really see that as propelling Michigan Tech forward in the future."