UCO’s New Carnegie National Classifications Reflect Commitment to Workforce Development
May 6, 2025
The University of Central Oklahoma’s new classifications in the 2025 Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education reinforce UCO’s commitment to meeting students where they are and providing access to a relevant, high-quality college experience focused on preparing students for the workforce.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education collaborated to redesign the national classification system for 2025 in an effort to make it more useful, relevant and reflective of the nation’s higher education landscape.
UCO was one of only 129 colleges and universities nationwide to receive the Professions-focused Undergraduate/Graduate-Master's Large/Medium Institutional classification. This classification indicates that the majority of degrees awarded are in pre-professional or career-focused fields, underscoring UCO’s vital role in preparing students for the workforce.
The university also earned the Higher Access, Medium Earnings classification, which recognizes institutions that enroll students representative of their surrounding communities and whose graduates achieve competitive wages compared to others in the region. UCO is among the 43% of U.S. colleges and universities earning this classification.
Only 69 institutions across the country achieved both classifications. This rare combination underscores UCO’s ability to serve students and prepare them for success in the workforce.
“This latest Carnegie institutional classification places UCO among three percent of 3,927 colleges and universities nationwide,” said UCO President Todd G. Lamb.
“It further highlights UCO’s commitment to meeting students where they are and owning workforce development in Oklahoma. UCO is on the move, advancing our State by providing a high-quality, affordable education that transforms our students, preparing them to be leaders in the workforce.”
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is the nation's leading framework for categorizing diverse U.S. higher education institutions. The 2025 classifications include 3,927 institutions and revises the previous approach, using a new methodology to organize institutions with similar campuses into 31 categories. The classifications are based on data institutions report to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).
In February, UCO received Carnegie’s Research Colleges and Universities (RCU) designation. A part of the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, the RCU category is a new designation that includes non-Research 1 or 2 institutions that spend more than $2.5 million on research annually. UCO is among only 216 universities nationally and two in Oklahoma to receive the designation.
To learn more about the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, visit carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu.
Learn more about UCO at www.uco.edu.
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