Belhaven University Earns Prestigious Carnegie Classification

Carnegie Classification 2022

February 22, 2022 (Jackson, Miss.) - Belhaven University is now in an elite group of institutions that have earned a “Doctoral/Professional University” status by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

This ranking includes 472 doctoral institutions that award at least 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees each year.

“The rapid growth of our doctoral programs far exceeded our expectations,” said Belhaven University President Dr. Roger Parrott. “Earning this prestigious Carnegie Classification status is wonderful recognition of our commitment to engage students at the highest academic level. I'm thankful for a gifted group of faculty and academic leaders who have created programs for doctoral students that are flexible, accessible, and high-quality.”

The Carnegie Classification has been the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for more than four decades. This framework has been widely used in the study of higher education, both to represent and account for institutional differences, as well as in the design of research studies to ensure adequate representation of sampled institutions, students or faculty.

The new classification recognizes Belhaven University's two doctoral programs, the Doctor of Business Administration and Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership.

“We are delighted that the Carnegie Classification for Belhaven University now recognizes that we are a doctoral granting institution,” said Vice President for Adult, Graduate, and Online Studies Dr. Audrey Kelleher. “This celebrates our growth, as an institution, to offer advanced degrees.”

The Carnegie Classification categorizes all accredited, degree-granting institutions in the U.S. and updates the classifications every three years. The newly released list is under a six-week public review period before becoming official by the end of January 2022.

Highly ranked Belhaven University offers 70 areas of study including academic majors and concentrations across a full spectrum of disciplines. The University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees at its Jackson, Mississippi residential campus, as well as an array of online, graduate, and adult degree programs.