The University of North Carolina at Charlotte's highly anticipated move to R1 status in 2025 was highlighted in a lead article released by the Charlotte Business Journal on April 13th. An R1 university is one that has $50 million or more in research expenditures, and grants 70 or more research doctorates annually - offering an extensive range of research programs, grants, and opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students. UNC Charlotte had $55.2 million in research and development spending in fiscal 2023 with 156 research doctorates awarded. The official 2025 classifications will be released early next year, with new metrics indicating UNC Charlotte will qualify, according to the American Council on Education. Chancellor Sharon Gaber says UNC Charlotte's current strategic plan prioritizes R1 status, with the university anticipating research expenditures of $125 million by 2035. An R1 designation will help attract future tech and research companies to the Charlotte region.

"Having an R1 designation simply makes it all a little bit more credible," says John Daniels, vice chancellor for research. "Our challenge is updating that muscle memory to say 'Hey look, we also have this critical mass of expertise and ability to be relevant in terms of startup companies, corporate partnerships and federal investment. When you have that ecosystem, where you've got great faculty, willing partners, and unique resources, it just enables your impact to be so much greater, and that is going to manifest in terms of an economic impact."

The article highlights six future initiatives the university has identified as potentially providing the research dollars required to achieve R1 status, including a possible National Science Foundation Innovation Engines Type II award of $160M to offshore wind-focused CLEANcarolinas.