Under the new system announced in August, "doctoral/research extensive" universities award at least 50 doctorates a year in at least 15 disciplines.

From 1997 through 1999, Mississippi State awarded an average of 104 doctoral degrees a year in an average of 19 different disciplines. As a result, it now ranks among fewer than 4 percent of American colleges and universities classified as doctoral/research extensive.

The previous Carnegie classification grouped doctorate-granting universities into four categories based mainly on levels of federal research funding. Mississippi State previously was a Research II institution, but had met the criteria to move up to the top Research I category since the classification was last updated under the former system in 1994.