Students in Tennessee Tech’s Department of Chemistry perform a hands-on learning activity as Associate Department Chair Chad Rezsnyak (second from right) looks on.
Classification follows Tech’s announcement last summer that it set an all-time record for externally funded research
Tennessee Tech University has been named a “higher earnings” institution according to new 2025 categorizations from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
The Carnegie Classification is the nation’s leading framework for categorizing U.S. colleges and universities. This year’s classifications included a new “student access and earnings” metric that evaluated institutions’ efforts to provide access to broad student populations, including underrepresented groups and students receiving Pell Grants, as well as measuring graduates’ average salaries compared to peers in their profession.
Tech was identified as an “opportunity” university for its dual qualities of higher access and higher earnings – one of only two four-year public universities to achieve the designation. Tech’s standing highlights the university’s commitment to serving students across a range of demographics and socioeconomic levels while also delivering superior career salaries for its graduates.
The university was also once again named an “R2” research institution, an elite classification denoting “high research spending and doctorate production.” The classification follows Tech’s announcement last summer that it set an all-time record for externally funded research for the fourth year in a row, topping $46 million in Fiscal Year 2024.
“This year’s classification demonstrates that Tennessee Tech continues to offer students the best of both worlds,” said Tech President Phil Oldham. “Golden Eagles enjoy a high level of accessibility that puts a college degree closer in reach for students from all walks of life, but they also benefit from world-class academic programs and cutting-edge research that deliver better career prospects and higher earnings than the competition. That’s a win-win for any student.”
John Liu, vice president for research at Tech, also applauded Tech’s strong standing in this year’s Carnegie Classification.
“Tennessee Tech is experiencing a research renaissance that is transforming the student experience and delivering meaningful benefits to communities across our state,” said Liu. “We are proud to once again be recognized as an R2 institution. This year’s classification is a testament to the innovation and dedication of our faculty members whose research activations made this possible.”
The 2025 Carnegie Classification categorizes Tech as a medium-sized institution with a “mixed” academic program focus – meaning that the university offers a wide array of degree options and fewer than half degrees are awarded in any one focus area. The classification comes as previous rankings from Payscale and SmartAsset showed that Tech offers the highest early career pay of all public universities in Tennessee.
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is developed by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
See Tech’s full 2025 classification HERE.
Photo courtesy of Tech.
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