Top Universities in the US 2027 - US College Rankings

Discover the best colleges in the US according to the Times Higher Education’s trusted World University Rankings 2027. This list highlights the which universities in the US excel in teaching, research, and global influence.
The Times Higher Education US college rankings 2027 are based on a trusted methodology that evaluates universities across key performance indicators, including academic reputation, teaching quality and international outlook.
This table provides valuable insights to help students, academics, and policymakers navigate the US university ranking landscape

Published on September 30 2026

Last updated September 29 2026

The top universities in the US 2027

US Rank 2027	World University Rank 2027	University	Overall	Teaching	Research Environment	Research Quality	Industry	International Outlook
1	2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	97.8	99.1	96.5	99.4	100	90.9
=2	=3	Princeton University	97	97.4	98.1	98.4	97.2	85.3
=2	=3	Stanford University	97	96.4	98.3	99.3	100	83.4
4	6	Harvard University	96.7	95.3	100	98.5	84	88.5
5	7	California Institute of Technology	96.5	96.9	98.2	95.9	100	88.8
=6	=9	University of California, Berkeley	94.3	87.4	99.4	98.3	99.2	83.2
=6	=9	Yale University	94.3	93.5	96.3	96.7	90	81.9
8	14	University of Pennsylvania	91.5	89.7	92.2	95.5	94.6	78.1
9	16	The University of Chicago	90.7	88.3	92.4	95.9	75.9	79.9
10	=17	Johns Hopkins University	90.3	84.7	92	95.1	100	81.4
11	19	Columbia University	90	88.2	90.5	94.9	76.5	83.4
12	20	University of California, Los Angeles	89.9	86.1	93.7	95	91.6	68.1
13	21	Cornell University	89.5	86.1	91.7	94.7	70.6	83.7
14	23	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	87.1	85.8	89	92.9	79.2	66.2
15	24	Carnegie Mellon University	85.9	73.9	84.1	99.1	90.4	84.7
16	26	University of Washington	84.6	79	83	96.1	78	69.8
=17	=29	New York University (NYU)	83.5	76.6	82.7	92.4	75.7	81.3
=17	=29	Northwestern University	83.5	74.3	79.5	96.5	98.8	74.5
19	32	Duke University	83.4	77.6	77.5	94.9	100	74.8
20	37	University of California, San Diego	80.3	67.5	76.7	96.3	100	70.3
21	48	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	77.1	67.9	81	85	83.8	63.2
22	49	Georgia Institute of Technology	77	62.6	77.5	87.6	93.9	80.2
=23	=53	University of Texas at Austin	76.1	68.2	78.6	87.8	85	46.5
=23	=53	University of Wisconsin-Madison	76.1	72.8	72.3	85.4	81.6	63.2
25	65	University of California, Davis	73.4	64.9	69.1	83.3	85.8	77
26	=66	Washington University in St Louis	72.9	63.1	58.1	96.8	71.9	74.3
=27	=71	University of California, Santa Barbara	71.3	51.3	64.9	92.6	92.2	77.7
=27	=71	University of Southern California	71.3	59.3	61.5	91.2	79.8	72.4
29	73	Brown University	71.2	68.1	61.3	84.4	69	69.8
30	84	Purdue University West Lafayette	69.8	62	70.1	73.9	86.3	74.5
31	85	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	69.7	62.5	61.5	88.9	75.8	49.5
32	86	Boston University	69.5	60.1	56.6	89.9	71.2	73.9
33	88	University of Minnesota	68	61.3	61.4	82.8	99.9	44.1
34	92	Vanderbilt University	67.3	54.2	50.9	94.4	88.2	62.8
35	93	Michigan State University	67.2	59.9	60	80.7	71.3	67.3
=36	=97	Ohio State University (Main campus)	66.6	60.1	54.5	84.4	81.6	59
=36	=97	University of California, Irvine	66.6	46.9	55.5	89.7	99.6	76.7
=38	=101	Penn State (Main campus)	66.5	55.9	64.8	79.8	73.1	57.9
=38	=101	Rice University	66.5	56.6	46.8	89.7	78.8	82.5
40	108	Emory University	66.2	52.9	49.2	92.9	84	67.9
41	123	University of Maryland, College Park	65.1	49.2	60.8	86.6	83.7	48
42	=136	University of Rochester	63.2	50.7	46.6	84.9	85.9	78.1
43	138	University of Florida	63.1	54.5	58.3	76.3	88.2	48.9
44	=139	University of Arizona	63	49.5	54.8	84.4	80.8	53.5
45	=143	University of Massachusetts	62.7	50.9	44.4	85	89.2	76.3
46	=147	Case Western Reserve University	62.4	51.6	44.6	88.1	73.9	64.1
47	153	Texas A&M University	62.2	52.3	59.3	73.6	71.4	62.3
48	166	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus	61.6	48.5	45	91.7	76.7	49.1
49	167	Dartmouth College	61.5	59.1	41.7	80.4	73.6	66
50	179	University of Virginia (Main campus)	60.4	49.2	43.8	85.2	81	58
51	=191	University of Notre Dame	59.8	52.6	46.8	75.2	72.1	70.6
52	=196	Georgetown University	59.4	53.4	39.4	81.7	93.8	53.1
53	200	Arizona State University (Tempe)	59.3	41	48.3	83.4	70	71.5
54	=201	University of California, Santa Cruz	59.2	36.9	43.1	92.2	69.8	71.6
55	=209	Tufts University	59	51.2	35.9	85.9	72.3	64.7
56	=212	Indiana University	58.9	46.2	39.5	86	82.6	63.1
57	=224	University of Miami	58.1	49.1	37	83.7	78.2	61.4
58	=242	University of Utah	57.3	42.7	41.2	85.8	94.6	42.4
=59	=254	George Washington University	57	47.4	35.5	82.9	68	68.1
=59	=254	Northeastern University, US	57	38.8	34	89.7	70.1	79.2
61	272	University of Illinois Chicago	56.2	50.4	36.6	78.7	74.6	55.6
62	=277	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	55.9	42.9	44.9	74.7	75.8	64.4
63	=284	Boston College	55.6	49.5	37.1	78.4	59.7	58.5
=64	=299	Rutgers University–New Brunswick	55	46.2	35.5	79.8	69.6	57.8
=64	=299	University of Hawai’i at Mānoa	55	42.5	43.8	72.5	65.4	71.9
=66	301–325	Illinois Institute of Technology	53.4–54.8	38.7	31.7	80.1	89.5	71.4
=66	301–325	North Carolina State University	53.4–54.8	45.6	44.2	67.7	84.5	61.7
=66	301–325	University of Connecticut	53.4–54.8	40	38.3	75.2	70.8	68.2
=69	326–350	Florida State University	52.3–53.3	40.1	41.2	71.5	66.4	59.3
=69	326–350	Stony Brook University	52.3–53.3	42.5	32.2	75.6	68.6	70.2
=69	326–350	University at Buffalo	52.3–53.3	41.1	36.6	73.6	75.2	71
=69	326–350	University of California, Riverside	52.3–53.3	37.6	35	77.9	65.7	74.8
=69	326–350	University of Iowa	52.3–53.3	46.5	34.7	72.2	92.4	52.9
=74	376–400	Drexel University	50.5–51.5	42.5	28.9	73.3	76.4	62.5
=74	376–400	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	50.5–51.5	33.5	27	92.2	79.1	36.6
=74	376–400	University of Georgia (USA)	50.5–51.5	41.3	41	67.7	67.7	52.2
=74	376–400	University of Kansas	50.5–51.5	44.9	32	70.2	81.9	55.5
=74	376–400	University of Oregon	50.5–51.5	36.6	41.2	73.2	75.2	51.4
=79	401–450	George Mason University	48.9–50.4	32.5	32.6	77.7	63.9	62.4
=79	401–450	Iowa State University	48.9–50.4	40.7	39.4	64.6	89.1	44.6
=79	401–450	Temple University	48.9–50.4	44.4	25.1	78.4	67.1	40.3
=79	401–450	Tulane University	48.9–50.4	43.9	25.4	77.4	62	50.8
=79	401–450	University of California, Merced	48.9–50.4	32.5	27.6	84.2	67	50.7
=79	401–450	University of Houston	48.9–50.4	33	30.5	73.8	69.2	75.3
=79	401–450	University of South Florida	48.9–50.4	32.9	37.8	68.7	99.3	64.9
=86	451–500	Colorado School of Mines	47.4–48.7	37.4	36.1	64.6	87.2	40.2
=86	451–500	Rush University	47.4–48.7	45.8	19.4	80	65.2	29.3
=86	451–500	Syracuse University	47.4–48.7	34.7	29.6	72.5	61.8	68.4
=86	451–500	The University of Texas at San Antonio	47.4–48.7	21.7	32.1	89.4	70.1	39.8
=86	451–500	University of Delaware	47.4–48.7	36	35	66.6	83.7	59.7
=86	451–500	University of Kentucky	47.4–48.7	42.8	31.6	66	70	43.8
=86	451–500	University of South Carolina-Columbia	47.4–48.7	36.3	27.8	73.3	64.1	54.7
=86	451–500	University of Texas at Dallas	47.4–48.7	29.9	28.9	79.3	73	62
=86	451–500	Virginia Commonwealth University	47.4–48.7	38.9	24.9	80.8	76	34.3
=86	451–500	Wake Forest University	47.4–48.7	38	23	79.1	87.3	36.8
=86	451–500	Washington State University	47.4–48.7	37.4	34.8	67	84.1	54.9
=97	501–550	Brandeis University	46.0–47.3	36.8	27.4	65.4	63.4	79.7
=97	501–550	Colorado State University, Fort Collins	46.0–47.3	36.7	33.3	67.2	68.9	45.8
=97	501–550	Florida International University	46.0–47.3	32.6	33.2	69.8	65.8	48.3
=97	501–550	Stevens Institute of Technology	46.0–47.3	28.4	28.1	74.2	62.7	78.9
=97	501–550	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	46.0–47.3	33.4	32.3	68.3	70.5	51.8
=97	501–550	University of Nebraska Medical Center	46.0–47.3	38.2	19.3	78.2	67.2	41.4
=103	551–600	Mizzou – University of Missouri	44.5–45.9	39.4	28.6	63.8	71.3	52.3
=103	551–600	University of Central Florida	44.5–45.9	26.9	32	74.9	73.7	36.1
=105	601–650	Auburn University	43.4–44.4	36	30.4	58.9	70	54.3
=105	601–650	Georgia State University	43.4–44.4	31.4	31.2	62.1	60.4	55.4
=105	601–650	Lehigh University	43.4–44.4	33.8	24.6	64	65.9	70.8
=105	601–650	Missouri University of Science and Technology	43.4–44.4	25.6	30.6	62.6	89.9	75.6
=105	601–650	New Jersey Institute of Technology	43.4–44.4	25.4	27.2	62.4	66.6	89.1
=105	601–650	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	43.4–44.4	35.3	28.9	56.3	80.3	70.5
=105	601–650	Saint Louis University	43.4–44.4	39.8	18.4	66.7	65.6	58
=105	601–650	The University of Tulsa	43.4–44.4	35.9	20.9	66.4	60.8	60.4
=105	601–650	University of Missouri-Kansas City	43.4–44.4	30.3	26.9	70.1	62.3	43.3
=105	601–650	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	43.4–44.4	31.1	33.7	60.6	68.1	59.5
=105	601–650	University of Nevada, Las Vegas	43.4–44.4	31.2	25.6	72.5	52.2	39.6
=105	601–650	Wayne State University	43.4–44.4	37.7	24.1	66.5	79.2	41
=117	651–700	Oklahoma State University	42.4–43.3	36.9	25.9	59.4	61.6	53.9
=117	651–700	University of Arkansas	42.4–43.3	26.6	33.3	67.5	66.8	35.4
=117	651–700	University of Denver	42.4–43.3	42.4	28.4	56.5	56.7	35.2
=117	651–700	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	42.4–43.3	24.4	26.5	75.3	60.7	41.5
=121	701–800	American University	40.2–42.3	37.5	20.7	62.4	52.1	42.5
=121	701–800	Clemson University	40.2–42.3	31.2	28.2	61.1	67	52.4
=121	701–800	Kansas State University	40.2–42.3	34.1	23.3	55.8	67.8	53.7
=121	701–800	Louisiana State University	40.2–42.3	33.8	23.5	58.4	64	46.6
=121	701–800	Mississippi State University	40.2–42.3	29.4	22.3	64.3	61	52.5
=121	701–800	New Mexico State University (Main campus)	40.2–42.3	26.7	26.6	69.5	54.1	43.7
=121	701–800	Rochester Institute of Technology	40.2–42.3	23.9	25.6	69.7	63	49
=121	701–800	SUNY University at Albany	40.2–42.3	29	22.1	61.9	62.5	56.6
=121	701–800	Texas Tech University	40.2–42.3	31.6	24	58	62.7	60.8
=121	701–800	University of Alaska Fairbanks	40.2–42.3	33	33.3	50.2	61.7	65.3
=121	701–800	University of Maryland, Baltimore County	40.2–42.3	28.5	30.4	60.2	69.1	54.1
=121	701–800	University of Toledo	40.2–42.3	38.1	21.7	53.3	71.1	58.6
=121	701–800	University of Wyoming	40.2–42.3	34.9	25.6	60	57.5	40.5
=121	701–800	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	40.2–42.3	29.5	24.2	60	66.3	58.4
=135	801–1000	Baylor University	36.4–40.1	42.5	23	54.2	42.5	36
=135	801–1000	Florida Atlantic University	36.4–40.1	20.6	26.2	55.3	61.9	55.3
=135	801–1000	Ohio University (Main campus)	36.4–40.1	31.5	20.9	62.8	58.6	39.4
=135	801–1000	Old Dominion University	36.4–40.1	28.2	22.4	58.4	55.1	36
=135	801–1000	Portland State University	36.4–40.1	23.8	30	55.4	54.4	38.1
=135	801–1000	SUNY Binghamton University	36.4–40.1	29.9	24.4	50	64.1	45.3
=135	801–1000	The Catholic University of America	36.4–40.1	44.5	25.7	39.5	70.1	49.6
=135	801–1000	The University of Alabama	36.4–40.1	28.4	26.3	62.3	56.3	38.3
=135	801–1000	University of Rhode Island	36.4–40.1	29.2	25.6	54.2	52.2	51.3
=135	801–1000	University of Texas at Arlington	36.4–40.1	23.7	24.4	59.5	64.1	54.1
=135	801–1000	William & Mary	36.4–40.1	37.8	23.7	53.4	46	36.1
=146	1001–1200	Clark University	33.3–36.3	25.7	20.8	51.9	44.9	67.8
=146	1001–1200	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	33.3–36.3	32.3	20.9	44.1	48.1	50.3
=146	1001–1200	Howard University	33.3–36.3	41.7	20.4	42.2	44.1	39.3
=146	1001–1200	Kent State University	33.3–36.3	24.2	19.2	54.1	55.5	51.3
=146	1001–1200	Montana State University	33.3–36.3	25.5	23.9	46	63.3	37.1
=146	1001–1200	Northern Illinois University	33.3–36.3	29.7	21	49	54.6	56.4
=146	1001–1200	Nova Southeastern University	33.3–36.3	39.3	13.5	45	45.1	36.1
=146	1001–1200	San Diego State University	33.3–36.3	23.6	25.8	54.4	56.2	34.2
=146	1001–1200	University of Memphis	33.3–36.3	31.1	22.3	48.9	60	46.4
=146	1001–1200	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	33.3–36.3	25.9	18.1	53.4	59.3	57.9
=156	1201–1400	Bentley University	30.5–33.2	22.1	12.7	48.7	42.6	67.4
=156	1201–1400	Central Michigan University	30.5–33.2	28.9	18.4	46.2	47.8	44.4
=156	1201–1400	Florida Institute of Technology	30.5–33.2	26.6	17.4	42.1	56.3	58.3
=156	1201–1400	Oakland University	30.5–33.2	27.9	19.1	44.1	47.5	54.5
=156	1201–1400	Rowan University	30.5–33.2	30.3	15.7	45.3	41.4	41.8
=156	1201–1400	South Dakota Mines	30.5–33.2	24.7	21.1	42.1	73.5	53.5
=156	1201–1400	Texas State University	30.5–33.2	20	22.2	51.4	41.3	46.7
=156	1201–1400	The New School	30.5–33.2	30.1	16.9	45.2	23.5	63.4
=156	1201–1400	University of South Dakota	30.5–33.2	35.8	18.6	40.1	40.2	35.8
=165	1601–1800	Georgia Southern University	24.2–27.1	18.1	15	36.8	35.1	32
=165	1601–1800	James Madison University	24.2–27.1	19	14.2	37.4	42.9	25.6
=165	1601–1800	University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	24.2–27.1	18	15.2	43.8	24.9	42
168	1801–2000	Adelphi University	20.4–24.1	25	12.7	29.9	18.5	35

Key insights from the 2027 Times Higher Education US University Rankings

There are 168 US universities and colleges included in the 2027 THE World University Rankings.
Almost all states and about 130 cities are represented in the best US universities list.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) secures the top spot as the best university in the United States.
Stanford University and Princeton University complete the top three.
Public US universities show strong representation, with University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) all ranking in the top 20.

The table for the best universities in the US was derived from data collected from the THE World University Rankings. The results are calculated using 17 performance indicators underlying five metrics: research environment, teaching (the learning environment), research quality, industry and international outlook. For more insights and a detailed breakdown of our ranking methodology, visit our methodology page. Use the US university ranking table above to explore the right institution for you.

More information on studying in the US here.