University of Detroit Mercy earns new Carnegie classification

DETROIT, April 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) recently earned designation as an Opportunity College and University by the Carnegie Classifications. This designation highlights UDM as a model institution for fostering student success and advancing research on effective campus practices.

The Opportunity Colleges and Universities designation is part of a newly developed Student Access and Earnings Classification published in April by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education. This classification evaluates how effectively institutions foster student success by assessing whether they enroll students reflective of the communities they serve and how the earnings of their graduates compare to peers in the region.

In 2025, 479 institutions were designated as Opportunity Colleges and Universities, approximately 16% of all U.S. colleges and universities included in the Student Access and Earnings Classification.

"This new designation once again affirms Detroit Mercy's commitment to student success and our dedication to encourage faculty and student research opportunities each year," said Donald B. Taylor, president of Detroit Mercy. 

The methodology for the new Student Access and Earnings Classification uses multidimensional groupings of the 2025 Institutional Classification to evaluate student access and earnings between similar colleges and universities. 

Updates to the Carnegie Classifications also include a redesigned Institutional Classification, formerly called the Basic Classification. Previously, this system grouped U.S. colleges and universities primarily by the highest degree awarded. The new Institutional Classification now organizes institutions using a broader set of criteria, including the range of degrees awarded, the fields of study offered and overall size of the institution.  

Under this redesigned Institutional Classification, UDM has been designated as an institution with an award-level focus of Undergraduate/Graduate-Doctorate, recognizing its strong presence at the undergraduate and graduate levels with a sufficient focus on doctoral programs. The University's academic program mix is Professions-focused. This means that most degrees are awarded in fields that are classified as pre-professional or career-aligned fields. Detroit Mercy is also categorized as a medium-sized institution, enrolling between 4,000 and 20,000 students. In addition, UDM earned the Research Colleges and Universities (RCU) designation, an additional recognition separate from the Institutional Classifications that identifies institutions with significant research activity, including those with at least $2.5 million in research and development expenditures (as reported through the NSF HERD).

This reclassification has significantly shifted the perception of Detroit Mercy, elevating it from regional recognition to inclusion in national rankings alongside other prestigious institutions.

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SOURCE University of Detroit Mercy