Marymount University has received dual national recognitions in the recently released 2025 Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, earning both the Research Colleges and Universities (RCU) and Opportunity Colleges and Universities (OCU) designations. Marymount joins an elite group of only 33 institutions nationwide honored for both research excellence and expanding student access and success, reflecting its mission to foster innovation while supporting diverse learners.
The Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education (ACE) released the updated 2025 Classifications in two separate phases this year. In February, Marymount was named an RCU based on its annual research spending, which exceeded $2.6 million, and its awarding of over 60 doctoral degrees. Top research areas included investments in life sciences, computer sciences and social sciences.
In April, the Carnegie Foundation and ACE introduced the inaugural Student Access and Earnings Classification, designating 16 percent of U.S. institutions as OCUs—highlighting campuses that serve as national models for increasing higher education access and fostering strong financial outcomes. This new classification identified Marymount as an Opportunity College and University – Higher Access, Higher Earnings based on its high enrollment of underrepresented students and strong post-graduation alumni incomes.
According to Carnegie data, 55 percent of Marymount undergraduates identify as minorities from underrepresented backgrounds in higher education—including 30 percent Hispanic, 19 percent Black and nine percent Asian students. Additionally, 29 percent of Marymount students receive Pell Grants.
Median earnings for Marymount alumni, meanwhile, reach $63,019 eight years following enrollment—a total that is 56 percent higher than the national average.
“These recognitions affirm what we’ve long known to be true—Marymount is a university where students from all backgrounds can access a high-quality education, pursue meaningful research and graduate with the skills and credentials needed for high-earning careers,” said Marymount University President Irma Becerra. “Being among just 33 institutions in the nation to earn both distinctions is a testament to our faculty’s innovation, our students’ drive and our University’s unwavering commitment to excellence and equity.”
“Marymount University is rare in so clearly advancing both opportunity and innovation,” the Carnegie Foundation wrote in its congratulatory message to the university. “Thank you for all you do for your students and our country as a whole.”
Marymount’s overall classification as a Professions-focused Undergraduate/Graduate-Doctorate Medium institution further demonstrates its wide variety of professionally focused academic programs. Its most popular areas of study at the undergraduate and graduate levels include the health professions, business and computer sciences, reinforcing the University’s career-aligned mission.
“The majority of students apply to college with the hope it is a path to opportunity and the job they’ve dreamt about,” said Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation. “This work is about ensuring that institutions are recognized when they empower students to reach their goals and succeed.”
“Hundreds of institutions nationwide are providing students an excellent opportunity to use higher education as a springboard to a better life,” added ACE president Ted Mitchell. “The Student Access and Earnings Classification highlights the depth and breadth of schools where student success is front and center.”
Explore Marymount’s full Carnegie profile and comparative performance on student access and earnings.
