Solidifying its standing as the top private research institution in the Pacific Northwest, Pacific University has been designated as a Research College & University by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
The designation recognizes colleges and universities with annual spending of at least $2.5 million in research and development. With $10.7 million in research and development expenditures during the 2023 fiscal year, Pacific leads four private institutions in the Pacific Northwest to receive the designation.
“Research continues to grow as an essential part of the Pacific educational experience,” said Pacific President Jenny Coyle ’90, OD ’93, MS ’00. “Research opportunities give undergraduate and graduate students the chance to meaningfully apply what they are learning in a hands-on environment, to prepare for their careers, and to make a tangible impact on their communities. Research allows students to pursue their purpose and uplift the health, education, and knowledge of all of our communities.”
Pacific is one of 216 institutions nationwide receiving the Research Colleges & Universities designation. The university was just short of receiving the Research 2 designation, recognizing research spending of at least $5 million per year and the award of an average of 20 doctoral degrees per year.
The new Research & Universities Designation identifies research happening at colleges and universities that historically have not been recognized for their research activity, including institutions that do not offer many or any doctoral degrees. Previously, the Carnegie Foundation grouped institutions by the number and type of doctoral degrees it awarded.
In the 2021 report, Pacific held the basic classification of Doctoral/Professional University, which included institutions that awarded at least 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees during the update year and also institutions with less than 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees and at least 30 professional practice doctorates in at least two programs.
Research is often a staple of large public universities, but over the past decade, it has become an increasingly prominent part of Pacific’s vision. For the second straight year, the National Science Foundation ranked Pacific as the top private research university in the Pacific Northwest based on investments in research reported through the annual Higher Education Research and Development Survey.
Pacific also ranked in the top-10 in research spending among private colleges on the West Coast, placing Pacific in a select group that includes Stanford University, the University of Southern California and the California Institute of Technology.
Pacific University realized over $22.2 million in awarded grants during the 2023 fiscal year in support of research, student support, training and curriculum development, including $16.5 million in federal grant funding.
Pacific’s research portfolio covers a wide variety of topics, including studies of resilience in science, technology, education and math (STEM) teachers, mental therapy techniques for autistic youth, therapeutic strategies against tropical diseases, enriching early childhood education, and outreach initiatives for Pacific’s optometry and dental hygiene programs.