UTSA Achieves Carnegie R1 Classification

We did it, Roadrunners!

By Mariana Suarez-Martinez

As of February 2021, UTSA is officially an R1 university. Awarded by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the R1 Classification (“very high research activity”) is sometimes referred to as Tier One or Top Tier. The prestigious designation recognizes UTSA as a top research institution in the United States, a privilege awarded to only 145 other universities.

UTSA worked tremendously hard to become the research powerhouse it is today. “In about 50 years, we have grown from 600 acres and dirt roads to what you see here,” explained Audrey Lamb, chair of the Department of Chemistry. “We are able to compete with the best universities on the planet in research. We have the momentum to continue growing.”

Diversifying the sciences is an important step to creating new technology and solutions for the world’s most pressing problems. UTSA is one of the few universities that is both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and also recognized as an R1 institution. “I think the main [drive] of UTSA has always been to provide access to education and serve a population that has been underserved and underrepresented,” said Jose Lopez-Ribot, associate dean of Research in the College of Sciences. “When you put those two things together, I can only think of how we’ll be able to provide more opportunities to help our students succeed through education and training in research.” The Carnegie Classification system was developed in 1970 by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education to recognize the diversity of U.S. colleges and universities through a systematic evaluation. Based on several criteria, including an institution’s annual research expenditures, the density of its research staff and the number of doctoral degrees it confers each year, the designation is synonymous with academic excellence and research innovation and impact. As the university moves forward, it is important to keep in mind UTSA’s founding values.

“We go from being the big fish in a smaller pond to a small fish in a bigger pond,” Lamb said. “It is not a moment to rest on our laurels. It is a moment to make sure we are continuing to strive to be always greater.”

As a Tier One research university, UTSA now has an even greater ability to attract worldclass faculty and the students who want to learn from them.

Ready to put on a lab coat?

Here’s how to land a spot in a College of Sciences lab.

Do Your Homework

If you want to join a lab, don’t resort to the easiest—and most impersonal—method of cold emailing multiple professors to inquire about open spots. “We frequently get emails that ask for a position in a lab,” Lamb said. “That is not a way to get a position in a lab. Instead, you need to at least say, ‘I looked at your website, and your research on enzymes is cool.’ Even better is if you read a paper or at least an introduction to a paper or two to see what they’re doing in the lab. Doing your homework shows your dedication and effort to be a contributor in the lab.”

Be Flexible

Adapting to different teaching methods, research techniques and technology is key to becoming a capable scientist. “Be open minded, dependable, and be willing to do anything,” said Jenny Hsieh, chair of the Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology and director of UTSA’s Brain Health Consortium. “A lot of undergraduates have the notion of them coming in and going to work on this really cool project. Think of research like a pyramid. At the bottom, the widest part of the pyramid, there are all of these basic techniques that you must learn and be able to do repetitively. These techniques can be different from those you would learn in a lab class. For example, performing genotype analysis of transgenic mice or learning an advanced imaging technique. If you can spend a semester or two semesters working at the bottom of the pyramid and do that well, then you can spend the second year putting those pieces together and working toward the top of the pyramid or an interesting project.”