Best universities in the United States 2017

Find the best universities in the United States through Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings data

September 21 2016

Stanford University, Best universities in the United States 2016

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Thinking about studying in the US can be overwhelming, especially since there are so many options of where to study.

Our own bespoke US college ranking launches later this year. However, we thought you might like to know which are the top universities in the US based on the highly respected Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016-2017.

The best universities and colleges in the US number almost 150, and wherever you want to study in America, a top university will not be far away. Almost all the states are represented in the best US universities list. In total, 128 different cities appear in the ranking.

Resources: US university rankings

- Best universities in New York
- US universities with the most international students
- Universities in the United States promoting social mobility
- Explore the best universities in Canada
- Further afield: Best universities in Europe

California and New York are the two most represented states among the best American universities with 12 universities each in the ranking, followed by Texas and Massachusetts with nine universities each.

The universities at the very top of the ranking are concentrated in these popular destinations that are well known for their higher education opportunities; the top five are based in California, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

Resources: applying to the United States

- International student application guide
- American universities with late application deadlines
- Benefits of public universities v Ivy Leagues

Top 5 universities in the US

Scroll down to view the full table of the best American universities

1. California Institute of Technology

Relative to the tiny size of the student population, CalTech has an impressive number of successful graduates and affiliates, including 34 Nobel prizewinners, six Turing Award winners, five Fields Medalists and a number of national awards.

There are only 2,243 students at CalTech, and the primary campus in Pasadena, near Los Angeles, covers 124 acres. Almost all undergraduates live on campus.

Across the six faculties there is a focus on science and engineering; the university appears in the top 5 for engineering and technology (#2), physical sciences (#1), and life sciences (#5) rankings in 2016.

In addition to Nobel laureates and top researchers, the CalTech alumni community also includes a number of politicians and public advisers, particularly in positions that deal with science, technology and energy.

All first-year students belong to one of four houses as part of the university’s alternative model to fraternities. There are a number of house traditions and events associated with each house.

The university has the highest proportion of students who continue on to pursue a PhD, and the trope of the CalTech postgraduate has filtered into popular culture; all the main characters in the TV comedy The Big Bang Theory work or study at CalTech.

2. Stanford University

Based right next to Silicon Valley – or Palo Alto – Stanford has had a prominent role in encouraging the high-tech industry to develop in the area.

Many faculty members, students and alumni have founded successful technology companies and start-ups, including Google, Snapchat and Hewlett-Packard.

In total, companies founded by Stanford alumni make $2.7 trillion each year.

The university is often referred to as “the Farm”, as the campus was built on the site of the Stanford family’s Palo Alto Stock Farm. The campus covers 8,180 acres, but more than half the land is not yet developed.

With distinctive sand-coloured, red-roofed buildings, Stanford’s campus is thought to be one of the most beautiful in the world. It contains a number of sculpture gardens and art museums in addition to faculty buildings and a public meditation centre.

As might be expected from one of the best universities in the world, Stanford is highly competitive. The admission rate currently stands at just over 5 per cent.

Of the 15,596 students – most of whom live on campus – 22 per cent are international.

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A long-standing rival of CalTech, MIT also cultivates a strong entrepreneurial culture, which has seen many alumni found notable companies such as Intel and Dropbox.

Unusually, the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at MIT are not wholly separate; many courses can be taken at either level.

The undergraduate programme is one of the country’s most selective, admitting only 8 per cent of applicants. Engineering and computer science programmes are the most popular among undergraduates.

Thirty-three per cent of the 11,000 students are international, hailing from 154 different countries around the world.

Famous alumni include astronaut Buzz Aldrin, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and physicist Richard Feynman. Graduates are prevalent throughout science, politics, economics, business and media.

The university appears in the top 5 list in the Engineering and technology, physical sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities rankings published by Times Higher Education.

4. Harvard University

Harvard University is probably the best-known university in the world, coming top in the reputation rankings most years.

It was founded in 1636, and is the oldest higher education institution in the US.

There are currently 20,152 students enrolled, a quarter of whom are international. Although the cost of tuition is expensive, Harvard’s financial endowment allows for plenty of financial aid for students.

The Harvard Library system is made up of 79 different libraries and counts as the largest academic library in the world.

Among many famous alumni, Harvard can count eight US presidents, about 150 Nobel laureates, 13 Turing Award winners and 62 living billionaires.

Unlike some other universities at the top of the list, Harvard is at least equally as reputed for arts and humanities as it is for science and technology, if not more so. In the 2016 arts and humanities ranking, Harvard takes the second position, and secures top 10 positions for physical sciences, social sciences and engineering and technology.

5. Princeton University

Like Harvard, Princeton is a prestigious Ivy League university with a history stretching back more than 200 years.

Princeton’s distinctive social environment includes private “eating clubs” – which function as both social houses and dining halls. Many of the clubs are selective and competitive, but others simply require undergraduates to sign up.

There are fewer than 8,000 students enrolled at Princeton, and just over a quarter are international.

Princeton’s campuses, in New Jersey, are located about an hour away from both New York City and Philadelphia.

Degree courses have strictly specified requirements. All students are required to do independent research as part of their degrees, and some must take a foreign language course.

The application process is highly selective. Unlike most US universities, Princeton does not now offer an early decision application route.

Renowned Princeton alumni include US presidents, astronauts, businessmen, Olympians and numerous award-winners. Physicist Richard Feynman attended as a graduate student, as did mathematicians John Nash and Alan Turing.

Compare US universities with other regions:

- Best universities in Europe 2016
- Compare top Canadian universities
- Where do graduates face the most debt?
- Where are international postgraduates most satisfied?
- European universities competing with US in humanities
- Top universities in South America

Top universities in the United States 2017

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2016-2017 results

USA Rank 2017	World University Rank 2017	University	State	City
1	2	California Institute of Technology	California	Pasadena
2	3	Stanford University	California	Stanford
3	5	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts	Cambridge
4	6	Harvard University	Massachusetts	Cambridge
5	7	Princeton University	New Jersey	Princeton
=6	=10	University of California, Berkeley	California	Berkeley
=6	=10	University of Chicago	Illinois	Chicago
8	12	Yale University	Connecticut	New Haven
9	13	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia
10	14	University of California, Los Angeles	California	Los Angeles
11	16	Columbia University	New York State	New York City
12	17	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	Baltimore
13	18	Duke University	North Carolina	Durham
14	19	Cornell University	New York State	Ithaca
15	20	Northwestern University	Illinois	Evanston
16	21	University of Michigan	Michigan	Ann Arbor
17	23	Carnegie Mellon University	Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh
18	=25	University of Washington	Washington	Seattle
19	32	New York University	New York State	New York City
20	=33	Georgia Institute of Technology	Georgia	Atlanta
21	=36	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Illinois	Champaign
22	41	University of California, San Diego	California	San Diego
23	45	[!University of Wisconsin!]-Madison	Wisconsin	Madison
24	48	University of California, Santa Barbara	California	Santa Barbara
25	50	University of Texas at Austin	Texas	Austin
=26	=51	Brown University	Rhode Island	Providence
=26	=51	University of California, Davis	California	Davis
28	53	University of Minnesota	Minnesota	Minneapolis
29	56	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina	Chapel Hill
30	=57	Washington University in St Louis	Missouri	St. Louis
31	=60	University of Southern California	California	Los Angeles
32	64	Boston University	Massachusetts	Boston
33	67	[!University of Mary!]land, College Park	Maryland	College Park
34	68	Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania	State College
35	70	Purdue University	Indiana	West Lafayette
36	=72	Ohio State University	Ohio	Columbus
37	=80	University of Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh
=38	=82	Dartmouth College	New Hampshire	Hanover
=38	=82	Emory University	Georgia	Atlanta
40	87	Rice University	Texas	Houston
41	=98	University of California, Irvine	California	Irvine
42	101	Michigan State University	Michigan	East Lansing
43	=104	Georgetown University	-	Washington D.C.
44	108	Vanderbilt University	Tennesee	Nashville
45	=116	University of Colorado Boulder	Colorado	Boulder
46	=121	University of Virginia	Virginia	Charlottesville
47	=126	Case Western Reserve University	Ohio	Cleveland
48	131	Arizona State University	Arizona	Tempe
49	134	University of Florida	Florida	Gainesville
50	=135	Tufts University	Massachusetts	Medford
51	141	Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey	New Jersey	New Brunswick
52	143	University of Notre Dame	Indiana	Notre Dame
53	146	University of California, Santa Cruz	California	Santa Cruz
54	150	Indiana University	Indiana	Bloomington
55	=151	University of Rochester	New York State	Rochester (NY)
56	=156	University of Arizona	Arizona	Tuscon
=57	=165	University of California, Riverside	California	Riverside
=57	=165	University of Massachusetts	Massachusetts	Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, Worcester
59	169	Texas A&M University	Texas	College Station
=60	=182	Northeastern University	Massachusetts	Boston
=60	=182	University of Miami	Florida	Coral Gables
62	=198	Brandeis University	Massachusetts	Waltham
63	200	University of Illinois at Chicago	Illinois	Chicago
=64	201-250	Boston College	Massachusetts	Newton
=64	201-250	Florida State University	Florida	Tallahassee
=64	201-250	George Washington University	-	Washington D.C.
=64	201-250	North Carolina State University	North Carolina	Raleigh
=64	201-250	Stony Brook University	New York State	Stony Brook
=64	201-250	University of Cincinnati	Ohio	Cincinnati
=64	201-250	University of Delaware	Delaware	Newark (DE)
=64	201-250	University of Hawai’i at Mānoa	Hawaii	Honolulu
=64	201-250	University of Iowa	Iowa	Iowa City
=64	201-250	University of South Florida	Florida	Tampa
=64	201-250	University of Texas at Dallas	Texas	Richardson
=64	201-250	University of Utah	Utah	Salt Lake City
=64	201-250	Wake Forest University	North Carolina	Winston-Salem
=77	251-300	Colorado School of Mines	Colorado	Golden
=77	251-300	Oregon Health and Science University	Oregon	Portland
=77	251-300	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	New York State	Troy
=77	251-300	Rush University	Illinois	Chicago
=77	251-300	Syracuse University	New York State	Syracuse
=77	251-300	University at Buffalo	New York State	Buffalo
=77	251-300	University of Tennessee, Knoxville	Tennesee	Knoxville
=77	251-300	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Virginia	Blacksburg
=77	251-300	William & Mary	Virginia	Williamsburg
=86	301-350	Clark University	Massachusetts	Worcester
=86	301-350	Colorado State University	Colorado	Fort Collins
=86	301-350	George Mason University	Virginia	Fairfax
=86	301-350	Oregon State University	Oregon	Corvallis
=86	301-350	Saint Louis University	Missouri	St. Louis
=86	301-350	Temple University	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia
=86	301-350	University of Alaska Fairbanks	Alaska	Fairbanks
=86	301-350	University of Connecticut	Connecticut	Mansfield
=86	301-350	University of Denver	Colorado	Denver
=86	301-350	University of Georgia	Georgia	Athens
=86	301-350	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Nebraska	Lincoln
=86	301-350	University of Oregon	Oregon	Eugene
=98	351-400	Binghamton University, State University of New York	New York State	Binghamton
=98	351-400	Drexel University	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia
=98	351-400	Iowa State University	Iowa	Ames
=98	351-400	Tulane University	Louisiana	New Orleans
=98	351-400	University of Houston	Texas	Houston
=98	351-400	University of Kansas	Kansas	Lawrence
=98	351-400	University of Kentucky	Kentucky	Lexington
=98	351-400	University of Missouri	Missouri	Columbia (MO)
=98	351-400	University of Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Norman
=98	351-400	University of Texas at San Antonio	Texas	San Antonio
=98	351-400	Washington State University	Washington	Pullman
=98	351-400	Wayne State University	Michigan	Detroit
=110	401-500	American University	-	Washington D.C.
=110	401-500	Florida International University	Florida	Miami
=110	401-500	Georgia State University	Georgia	Atlanta
=110	401-500	Kent State University	Ohio	Kent
=110	401-500	Lehigh University	Pennsylvania	Bethlehem
=110	401-500	New Mexico State University	New Mexico	Las Cruces
=110	401-500	Northern Arizona University	Arizona	Flagstaff
=110	401-500	San Diego State University	California	San Diego
=110	401-500	Stevens Institute of Technology	New Jersey	Hoboken
=110	401-500	University of Maryland, Baltimore County	Maryland	Baltimore
=110	401-500	University of Montana	Montana	Missoula
=121	501-600	Creighton University	Nebraska	Omaha
=121	501-600	Kansas State University	Kansas	Manhattan
=121	501-600	Louisiana State University	Louisiana	Baton Rouge
=121	501-600	Missouri University of Science and Technology	Missouri	Rolla
=121	501-600	Montana State University	Montana	Bozeman
=121	501-600	New Jersey Institute of Technology	New Jersey	Newark (NJ)
=121	501-600	Oklahoma State University	Oklahoma	Stillwater
=121	501-600	Old Dominion University	Virginia	Norfolk
=121	501-600	State University of New York Albany	New York State	Albany
=121	501-600	University of Arkansas	Arkansas	Fayetteville
=121	501-600	University of Nebraska Medical Center	Nebraska	Omaha
=121	501-600	University of Texas at Arlington	Texas	Arlington
=121	501-600	University of Toledo	Ohio	Toledo
=121	501-600	University of Tulsa	Oklahoma	Tulsa
=121	501-600	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	Wisconsin	Milwaukee
=136	601-800	Auburn University	Alabama	Auburn
=136	601-800	Clemson University	South Carolina	Clemson
=136	601-800	Florida Institute of Technology	Florida	Melbourne
=136	601-800	Hofstra University	New York State	Hempstead
=136	601-800	Miami University	Ohio	Oxford
=136	601-800	Oakland University	Michigan	Rochester (MI)
=136	601-800	Ohio University	Ohio	Athens
=136	601-800	Rochester Institute of Technology	New York State	Rochester (NY)
=136	601-800	Texas Tech University	Texas	Lubbock
=136	601-800	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	North Carolina	Greensboro
=136	601-800	University of Texas at El Paso	Texas	El Paso
=147	801+	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	Florida	Daytona Beach
=147	801+	University of Southern Mississippi	Mississippi	Hattiesburg

Resources: explore the rankings by subject

- Best universities for arts and humanities
- Best universities for life sciences

Reader's comments (1)

#1 Submitted by MonicaShelly on June 6, 2016 - 12:05pm

California Institute of Technology has filed a lawsuit against Apple. Like this way, many universities generate more revenue. Microsoft once gave $521 M, Apple last year gave $256 M and so on. No doubt, they are pioneer universities of the world and found a new way to make money. I found an article which I want to share with you about universities specially Technical one. http://www.greyb.com/how-universities-can-generate-revenue/ Here is the link, must read it.