what defines a major university? how is it distinguished from a minor university? the football team? the dental hygiene school? the pulchritude of the cheer squad? share this critical information with us of lesser educational attainment, oh enlightened one. Sycamore
Syc, you are asking a good question and in today's higher ed environment a factual answer may be fluid. For many years, to be considered a "major" university, the place had - in addition to strong colleges in several general fields - a very strong emphasis and reputation in research. Broad emphasis.
Then as the government greatly increased "research" grant funding to various colleges/universities the practice became spread and some "professors"actually were/are able to make jobs for themselves by writing grant applications and retaining grant funds for long periods of time (the school, of course, keeps a nice % for "overhead"). So, those in the know began to categorize the "research" schools as Class 1, Class 2, etc. and now - who knows what is major, but you can see the rankings in $$.
Now, it seems like a fuzzy photo - and many of the usual answer to your question may have to do with some of the criteria you listed.
