The University of Southern Maine (USM) has reached a new benchmark of national recognition for its commitment to wide-ranging research.
On February 13, the 2025 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education named USM as one of 216 institutions to meet its standards for Research Colleges and Universities (RCU). The designation is new this year. Its addition is one of several updates that Carnegie has implemented to better reflect the amount and variety of research being conducted nationwide. Carnegie bases its classifications, in part, on each institution’s annual amount of research spending, which is largely funded by public and private grants and contracts.
RCU status helps USM attract top faculty and students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Their research extends into such fields as public policy, composites engineering, biological sciences, and more. The innovations and efficiencies detailed by USM researchers have led to economic benefits locally and across the country.
“The University of Southern Maine has a long history of contributing to applied research through the Catherine Cutler Institute and the many research projects our faculty and staff engage,” said USM President Jacqueline Edmondson. “This is one of the many ways we contribute to new knowledge and provide benefit as a public regional comprehensive university. I am proud we have achieved this Carnegie recognition. It is hard-earned and well-deserved.”
The Carnegie classifications were first introduced in 1970 as a tool to distinguish the missions, degree offerings, and extent of research activity among U.S. higher education institutions. Updated periodically, the classification process is jointly supported by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.