STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tarleton State University continues to showcase its strength in doctoral education and research, meeting all four criteria for the Doctoral Universities classification in the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board\u2019s (THECB) fiscal year 2026 report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The classification recognizes institutions committed to graduate education, research and scholarship through doctoral programs, student research opportunities and sustained research expenditures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTarleton State\u2019s continued growth in doctoral education and research reflects our commitment to academic excellence and creating opportunities for students to pursue advanced degrees,\u201d said Tarleton State President Dr. James Hurley. \u201cOur faculty and students are conducting impactful research, advancing innovation and contributing solutions to challenges facing Texas and beyond. This recognition reinforces the momentum we are building as we continue to expand our research enterprise and strengthen our position as a leading doctoral university.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the report, Tarleton State saw doctoral enrollment increase nearly 15% to 177 students in fiscal year 2024, while offering six research and scholarship doctoral programs. The university also recorded more than $5.4 million in federal and private research expenditures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Institutions must meet at least three of four benchmarks to qualify for the Doctoral Universities category, including awarding at least 10 research doctoral degrees annually, offering five doctoral programs, enrolling 150 doctoral students and meeting an established threshold for annual federal and private research expenditures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The recognition complements the university\u2019s Carnegie Research 2 (R2) designation for High Research Spending and Doctorate Production and its Level VI classification from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tarleton State University continues to showcase its strength in doctoral education and research, meeting all four criteria for the Doctoral Universities classification in the Texas Higher Education …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595,"featured_media":55763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":382,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,423,421],"tags":[430,436,437,438,440,441,439,465,445,450,452,454,470,456,457,458,459],"class_list":["post-55762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-academics-research","category-featuredstories","tag-academic-affairs","tag-college-of-agriculture-natural-resources","tag-college-of-education","tag-college-of-graduate-studies","tag-college-of-liberal-fine-arts","tag-college-of-science-mathematics","tag-division-of-health-sciences","tag-division-of-research","tag-division-of-research-innovation-and-economic-development","tag-leadership-military","tag-mayfield-college-of-engineering","tag-rellis","tag-state-impact","tag-stephenville","tag-tarleton-state-fort-worth","tag-tarleton-state-online","tag-tarleton-state-waco"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"jpartin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/jpartin\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/10\/Tarleton-State-University-Ring-Statue-300x200.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Academics & Research<\/a>","Featured Stories<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Academics & Research<\/span>","Featured Stories<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Academic Affairs<\/a>","College of Agriculture & Natural Resources<\/a>","College of Education<\/a>","College of Graduate Studies<\/a>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/a>","College of Science & Mathematics<\/a>","Division of Health Sciences<\/a>","Division of Research<\/a>","Division of Research, Innovation and Economic Development<\/a>","Leadership and Military<\/a>","Mayfield College of Engineering<\/a>","RELLIS<\/a>","State Impact<\/a>","Stephenville<\/a>","Tarleton State Fort Worth<\/a>","Tarleton State Online<\/a>","Tarleton State Waco<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Academic Affairs<\/span>","College of Agriculture & Natural Resources<\/span>","College of Education<\/span>","College of Graduate Studies<\/span>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/span>","College of Science & Mathematics<\/span>","Division of Health Sciences<\/span>","Division of Research<\/span>","Division of Research, Innovation and Economic Development<\/span>","Leadership and Military<\/span>","Mayfield College of Engineering<\/span>","RELLIS<\/span>","State Impact<\/span>","Stephenville<\/span>","Tarleton State Fort Worth<\/span>","Tarleton State Online<\/span>","Tarleton State Waco<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 8 hours ago","modified":"Updated 9 hours ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 19, 2026","modified":"Updated on October 19, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 19, 2026 10:00 am","modified":"Updated on October 19, 2026 8:52 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55762"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55764,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55762\/revisions\/55764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}