Higher education institutions can be classified according to the functions they perform, the number of students they accept and the type of education programmes they offer. Other conceivable characteristics according to which they can be grouped include the market position as well as the perceived quality and prestige they enjoy. In the presentation at hand, Alexander McCormick presents one such classification scheme that has become quite influential: »The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education«. After tracing the origins of the first classification of 1973 and its unexpected rise to a national classifier he introduces the main design principles. Moreover, he presents the new version of the scheme that was put forward in 2005/06 after unintended policies had been designed on the basis of the earlier version.