SJSU Receives R2 Research Designation
SJSU’s recent R2 designation elevates the university’s profile as a nationally and globally recognized research institution. Photo by Robert C. Bain.
For the first time in its 168-year history, San José State has received a 2025 R2 research activity designation from the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation, elevating the university’s profile as a nationally and globally recognized research institution. SJSU becomes the eighth campus in the CSU system to earn the R2 designation. The R2 designation indicates that SJSU is a high-spending and doctorate production university. The data that determined SJSU’s status was twofold: research expenditures of more than $83 million in fiscal year 2023, and 20 research doctorates awarded in 2022-23.
“Achieving R2 status is a transformative milestone for San José State University—one that recognizes our deep commitment to research, innovation and discovery. This designation results from a strategic decision to expand graduate education at SJSU, including doctoral education, and to elevate our overall research enterprise,” said SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson. “The realization of this vision is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our faculty, staff and student researchers, and the community of research support staff, whose relentless pursuit of excellence made this possible. As a national research university, SJSU is now even better positioned to expand opportunities for students, attract top-tier funding and partnerships and drive an impact that extends from Silicon Valley to the world. Our trajectory as a research institution is only accelerating, and I am excited about the possibilities ahead for our university community.”
Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation, stated, “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. 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.”
