Carnegie Foundation classifies CSUB as research university

CSUB among 12 CSUs now recognized for their research activity

By California State University, Bakersfield

February 28^th, 2025

California State University, Bakersfield has been recognized for its efforts to support and promote research on campus.

CSUB has been officially classified as a research university by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. CSUB was one of 12 CSUs to receive the new “Research Colleges and Universities” (RCU) classification.

This classification is for institutions that do not offer many or any doctoral degrees and spend at least $2.5 million on research a year. CSUB currently offers one doctoral program, which is in educational leadership.

“Receiving the Carnegie Classification for research is a benchmark of CSUB excellence that puts Kern County’s University in an entirely different league,” said President Vernon B. Harper Jr. “It is impossible to overstate how prestigious and important this recognition is because it will allow us to recruit top researchers into the ranks of our already exceptional faculty and provides another reason for our region’s students to study right here at home in pursuit of their university degree. It also brings distinction to Kern County, for it is due to the support of CSUB by this community that our groundbreaking research is possible.”

The goal of the new category is to recognize the efforts of institutions that wouldn’t normally be eligible to be categorized as a research university. Prior to the new classification, only colleges and universities that spend at least $5 million on research a year and offer at least 20 doctoral degrees could receive a research designation.

“The new methodology that the classification uses is very good news for CSUB that we are celebrated for our contributions to the nation’s research enterprise,” said Associate Vice President of Grants Research and Sponsored Programs Dr. Isabel Sumaya.

The other CSUs to receive the RCU classification are Channel Islands, Chico, Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Humboldt, Monterey Bay, Northridge, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, San Marcos and Sonoma State.

“Congratulations to all of the CSU institutions recognized by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education,” CSU Chancellor Mildred García said in a news release. “These classifications underscore the CSU’s commitment to engaging our undergraduate students in applied research that lifts communities and addresses our state’s most pressing challenges across fields of study — and they wonderfully reflect the CSU’s mission and core values.”

CSUB has several centers and institutes that offer research opportunities for students and faculty, including the California Energy Research Center, Public History Institute, Center for Environmental Studies and the Center for Economic Education and Research.