Howard University Achieves Top US Research Status

After years of being shut out of the nation's top research club, Howard University in Washington DC just reclaimed its spot as an R1 institution—the highest research designation in America.

Howard is now the only historically Black college or university holding this coveted title. The achievement requires spending at least $50 million annually on research and awarding at least 70 research doctoral degrees each year.

The timing couldn't be better. Interim President Wayne Frederick says the R1 status is already making Howard more attractive to funders, faculty, and students who previously might have overlooked the institution.

The designation matters because it represents more than prestige. "R1 represents when opportunities start to flow towards the university, almost like a gravity well," explains James Martin, chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University, another historically Black school chasing the title.

That gravity has been pulling resources away from Black colleges for generations. Despite producing a huge percentage of America's Black graduates in science and engineering, HBCUs receive just one penny for every dollar spent on research nationwide.

North Carolina A&T is tantalizingly close to joining Howard. With $82 million in annual research spending, the university missed R1 status by just three doctoral degrees last year. It's now added several PhD programs and expects to hit the mark when rankings update in 2028.

Morgan State University in Baltimore more than doubled its research spending to $56 million between 2021 and 2024. Vice President Willie May and his team built an internal dashboard to track their progress, offering incentives for faculty to apply for grants and boosting support for PhD students to finish their programs.

The path got slightly easier last year when the Carnegie Foundation updated its criteria, removing the cap on how many R1 institutions can exist. The change is letting more diverse schools compete on merit rather than scarcity.

The Ripple Effect

Howard held R1 status before, from 1987 to 2005, until classification changes stripped it away. Now back in the top tier, the university is applying for major multi-year government contracts it previously couldn't compete for.

North Carolina A&T already graduates more Black engineers with PhDs than any university in America. Imagine what it could do with R1 resources flowing in. Morgan State is watching the same doors begin to open.

These aren't just institutional wins. Every Black college that reaches R1 status creates more opportunities for students who have been systematically excluded from elite research for 150 years.

The schools that were created to educate people freed from enslavement are now preparing to stand among America's research giants.