In 2015, Tennessee Tech celebrated its 100th year anniversary, but 2016 has already brought just as much celebration with another university milestone. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education now classifies Tech as a doctoral institution.
“This new classification adds to the momentum we are experiencing toward adding tremendous value to the education students receive at Tech,” said President Phil Oldham. “We strive to create and share knowledge, and this is another step toward showing how we are maturing and contributing as a university.”
What does this mean for undergraduate and graduate degree students? More financial support, resources and several opportunities to excel.
Karen Lykins, the associate vice president for Communications and Marketing, said, “We have reached the point where we have been able to produce enough doctoral degrees to move up to the next level.”
Tech has worked hard to get to this point. Tech started as a small Master’s program awarding up to 99 master’s-level degrees, grew into a large Master’s program awarding at least 200 master’s-level degrees, and is now awarding at least 20 doctoral degrees per year.
Tech is in the big leagues now and has risen to compare with other universities like the University of Tennessee Knoxville and the University of Memphis.
Although at this point, it is unclear which departments will begin offering doctoral degrees, Tennessee Tech will not remain stagnant by only granting 20 doctoral degrees per year. Lykins said we will see a significant increase from that number.
As a doctoral institution, Tech will solve problems in research, develop workforce and improve the economy of the city, state and region.
According to Kory Riemensperger’s Department of Communications and Marketing news release, “The Carnegie Classification has been the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for the past four and a half decades. Derived from empirical data on colleges and universities, the Carnegie Classification was originally published in 1973 and is reviewed and updated every five years.”
