Top 10 universities in the US
Scroll down for the full list of best universities in the United States
US Rank 2023 | World University Rank 2023 | University | City | State |
1 | 2 | Harvard University | Cambridge | Massachusetts |
2 | =3 | Stanford University | Stanford | California |
3 | 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge | Massachusetts |
4 | 6 | California Institute of Technology | Pasadena | California |
5 | 7 | Princeton University | Princeton | New Jersey |
6 | 8 | University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley | California |
7 | 9 | Yale University | New Haven | Connecticut |
8 | =11 | Columbia University | New York City | New York |
9 | 13 | The University of Chicago | Chicago | Illinois |
10 | 14 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
Thinking about studying in the US can be overwhelming because there are so many options. Which US university is the best? Where are the top universities in the United States?
We thought you might like to know the top universities in the US based on the highly respected Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023.
There are 177 US universities and colleges among the world’s best, so wherever you want to study in the US, a top university will not be far away. Almost all states and about 130 cities are represented in the best US universities list.
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California is the most represented state among the best US universities for 2023, with 14 institutions, followed by 13 universities in New York, 12 universities in Texas and 10 universities in Massachusetts.
The universities ranking at the very top of the table are concentrated in these popular destinations, which are well known for their higher education opportunities; the top four are based in California and in Massachusetts.
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Top 5 universities in the US 2023
5. Princeton University
Princeton University is one of the oldest universities in the US. It is part of the prestigious group of Ivy League universities.
As well as high-quality teaching and research output, the university is known for its beautiful campus, with some buildings designed by some of America’s most well-known architects.
Notable alumni who have won a Nobel prize include the physicists Richard Feynman and Robert Hofstadter and the chemists Richard Smalley and Edwin McMillan.
Princeton has also educated two US presidents, James Madison and Woodrow Wilson. Other distinguished graduates include Michelle Obama, actors Jimmy Stewart and Brooke Shields, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Apollo astronaut Pete Conrad.
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4. California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
Across the six faculties at CalTech, there is a focus on science and engineering.
CalTech has an impressive number of successful graduates and affiliates, including 39 Nobel laureates, six Turing Award winners and four Fields Medallists.
There are about 2,200 students at CalTech, and the primary campus in Pasadena, near Los Angeles, covers 124 acres (about 50 hectares). Almost all undergraduates live on campus.
In addition to Nobel laureates and top researchers, the CalTech graduate community includes a number of politicians and public advisers, particularly in the areas of science, technology and energy.
All first-year students belong to one of four houses as part of the university’s alternative model to fraternities and sororities. A number of house traditions and events are associated with each house.
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3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Thirty-three per cent of the 11,000 students are international, hailing from 154 countries.
Famous alumni include astronaut Buzz Aldrin, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan and physicist Richard Feynman.
MIT 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.
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2. Stanford University
Many faculty members, students and alumni have founded successful technology companies and start-ups, including Google, Snapchat and Hewlett-Packard.
Of the 16,000 students, most of whom live on campus, 22 per cent are international.
Based in Palo Alto, right beside Silicon Valley, Stanford University has had a prominent role in encouraging the region’s tech industry to develop.
In total, companies founded by Stanford alumni make $2.7 trillion (£2.2 trillion) each year.
The university is often referred to as “the Farm” because the campus was built on the site of the Stanford family’s Palo Alto stock farm. The campus covers 8,180 acres (3,300 hectares), but more than half of the land is not yet developed.
With its 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, as well as a public meditation centre.
As might be expected from one of the best universities in the world, Stanford is highly competitive. The admission rate stands at just over 5 per cent.
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1. Harvard University
Founded in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest higher education institution in the US.
About 21,000 students are enrolled, a quarter of whom are international.
Harvard University is probably the best known university in the world, topping the Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings most years.
Although tuition is expensive, Harvard’s financial endowment allows for plenty of financial aid for students.
The Harvard Library system is made up of 79 libraries and counts as the largest academic library in the world.
Among many famous alumni, Harvard can count eight US presidents, 158 Nobel laureates, 14 Turing Award winners and 62 living billionaires.
Unlike some other universities at the top of the list, Harvard is at least equally reputed for arts and humanities as it is for science and technology, if not more so.
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Top universities in the United States 2023
Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2023 profile
US rank 2023 | World University Rank 2023 | University | City | State |
1 | 2 | Harvard University | Cambridge | Massachusetts |
2 | =3 | Stanford University | Stanford | California |
3 | 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge | Massachusetts |
4 | 6 | California Institute of Technology | Pasadena | California |
5 | 7 | Princeton University | Princeton | New Jersey |
6 | 8 | University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley | California |
7 | 9 | Yale University | New Haven | Connecticut |
8 | =11 | Columbia University | New York City | New York |
9 | 13 | The University of Chicago | Chicago | Illinois |
10 | 14 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
11 | 15 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore | Maryland |
12 | 20 | Cornell University | Ithaca | New York |
13 | 21 | University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles | California |
14 | 23 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor | Michigan |
15 | 24 | New York University | New York City | New York |
16 | 25 | Duke University | Durham | North Carolina |
=17 | =26 | Northwestern University | Evanston | Illinois |
=17 | =26 | University of Washington | Seattle | Washington |
19 | 28 | Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
20 | 32 | University of California, San Diego | San Diego | California |
21 | 38 | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta | Georgia |
22 | 48 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Champaign | Illinois |
23 | 50 | University of Texas at Austin | Austin | Texas |
24 | 57 | Washington University in St Louis | St Louis | Missouri |
25 | 61 | Brown University | Providence | Rhode Island |
26 | 63 | University of California, Davis | Davis | California |
27 | 64 | University of California, Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | California |
28 | 65 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles | California |
29 | 69 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | North Carolina |
30 | =71 | Boston University | Boston | Massachusetts |
31 | 81 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison | Wisconsin |
32 | =82 | Emory University | Atlanta | Georgia |
33 | =95 | University of California, Irvine | Irvine | California |
34 | 98 | Vanderbilt University | Nashville | Tennessee |
35 | =101 | University of Minnesota | Minneapolis | Minnesota |
36 | =104 | University of Maryland, College Park | College Park | Maryland |
37 | 106 | Michigan State University | East Lansing | Michigan |
38 | 112 | Ohio State University (Main campus) | Columbus | Ohio |
39 | 123 | Dartmouth College | Hanover | New Hampshire |
40 | 127 | Purdue University West Lafayette | West Lafayette | Indiana |
41 | 134 | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland | Ohio |
42 | 136 | Georgetown University | Washington DC | |
43 | 144 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
44 | 147 | Rice University | Houston | Texas |
45 | =148 | University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder | Colorado |
=46 | =151 | University of Florida | Gainesville | Florida |
=46 | =151 | Penn State (Main campus) | State College | Pennsylvania |
=46 | =151 | Tufts University | Medford | Massachusetts |
49 | 154 | University of Rochester | Rochester | New York |
=50 | =156 | Arizona State University (Tempe) | Tempe | Arizona |
=50 | =156 | University of Virginia (Main campus) | Charlottesville | Virginia |
52 | =168 | Northeastern University | Boston | Massachusetts |
53 | =170 | Indiana University | Bloomington | Indiana |
54 | 180 | University of Arizona | Tucson | Arizona |
55 | 181 | Texas A&M University | College Station | Texas |
56 | 191 | University of Massachusetts | Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, Worcester | Massachusetts |
57 | =192 | University of California, Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz | California |
58 | =194 | University of Miami | Coral Gables | Florida |
=59 | 201–250 | George Washington University | Washington DC | |
=59 | 201–250 | University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Indiana |
=59 | 201–250 | Rutgers University – New Brunswick | New Brunswick | New Jersey |
=59 | 201–250 | University of South Florida | Tampa | Florida |
=63 | 251–300 | Boston College | Boston | Massachusetts |
=63 | 251–300 | University of California, Riverside | Riverside | California |
=63 | 251–300 | University of Hawai’i at Mānoa | Honolulu | Hawai’i |
=63 | 251–300 | University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago | Illinois |
=63 | 251–300 | Oregon Health and Science University | Portland | Oregon |
=63 | 251–300 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City | Utah |
=63 | 251–300 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg | Virginia |
=70 | 301–350 | Brandeis University | Waltham | Massachusetts |
=70 | 301–350 | University at Buffalo | Buffalo | New York |
=70 | 301–350 | University of California, Merced | Merced | California |
=70 | 301–350 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | Denver | Colorado |
=70 | 301–350 | Drexel University | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
=70 | 301–350 | Florida State University | Tallahassee | Florida |
=70 | 301–350 | George Mason University | Fairfax | Virginia |
=70 | 301–350 | University of Iowa | Iowa City | Iowa |
=70 | 301–350 | Saint Louis University | Saint Louis | Missouri |
=70 | 301–350 | Stony Brook University | Stony Brook | New York |
=70 | 301–350 | Temple University | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
=70 | 301–350 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | Knoxville | Tennessee |
=82 | 351–400 | University of Delaware | Newark | Delaware |
=82 | 351–400 | Howard University | Washington DC | |
=82 | 351–400 | University of New Mexico (Main campus) | Albuquerque | New Mexico |
=82 | 351–400 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh | North Carolina |
=82 | 351–400 | Rush University | Chicago | Illinois |
=82 | 351–400 | University of Texas at Dallas | Richardson | Texas |
=82 | 351–400 | Tulane University | New Orleans | Louisiana |
=82 | 351–400 | Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem | North Carolina |
=82 | 351–400 | Washington State University | Pullman | Washington |
=91 | 401–500 | University of Alaska Fairbanks | Fairbanks | Alaska |
=91 | 401–500 | Colorado School of Mines | Golden | Colorado |
=91 | 401–500 | Colorado State University, Fort Collins | Fort Collins | Colorado |
=91 | 401–500 | University of Connecticut | Mansfield | Connecticut |
=91 | 401–500 | University of Denver | Denver | Colorado |
=91 | 401–500 | Georgia State University | Atlanta | Georgia |
=91 | 401–500 | Illinois Institute of Technology | Chicago | Illinois |
=91 | 401–500 | Iowa State University | Ames | Illinois |
=91 | 401–500 | University of Kansas | Lawrence | Kansas |
=91 | 401–500 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Lincoln | Nebraska |
=91 | 401–500 | University of Nebraska Medical Center | Omaha | Nebraska |
=91 | 401–500 | Nova Southeastern University | Fort Lauderdale | Florida |
=91 | 401–500 | Syracuse University | Syracuse | New York |
=91 | 401–500 | The University of Tulsa | Tulsa | Oklahoma |
=91 | 401–500 | William & Mary | Williamsburg | Virginia |
=106 | 501–600 | Florida International University | Miami | Florida |
=106 | 501–600 | University of Kentucky | Lexington | Kentucky |
=106 | 501–600 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | Rolla | Missouri |
=106 | 501–600 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | Columbia | Colorado |
=106 | 501–600 | Stevens Institute of Technology | Hoboken | New Jersey |
=106 | 501–600 | SUNY University at Albany | Albany | New York |
=106 | 501–600 | Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond | Virginia |
=106 | 501–600 | Wayne State University | Detroit | Michigan |
=114 | 601–800 | American University | Washington DC | |
=114 | 601–800 | University of Arkansas | Fayetteville | Arkansas |
=114 | 601–800 | Auburn University | Auburn | Alabama |
=114 | 601–800 | Baylor University | Waco | Texas |
=114 | 601–800 | University of Central Florida | Orlando | Florida |
=114 | 601–800 | Clark University | Worcester | Massachusetts |
=114 | 601–800 | University of Georgia | Athens | Georgia |
=114 | 601–800 | University of Houston | Houston | Texas |
=114 | 601–800 | Lehigh University | Bethlehem | Pennsylvania |
=114 | 601–800 | Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge | Louisiana |
=114 | 601–800 | University of Maryland, Baltimore County | Baltimore | Maryland |
=114 | 601–800 | Mizzou - University of Missouri | Columbia | Missouri |
=114 | 601–800 | University of Nevada, Las Vegas | Las Vegas | Nevada |
=114 | 601–800 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | Newark | New Jersey |
=114 | 601–800 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte | North Carolina |
=114 | 601–800 | Oklahoma State University | Stillwater | Oklahoma |
=114 | 601–800 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy | New York |
=114 | 601–800 | San Diego State University | San Diego | California |
=114 | 601–800 | SUNY Binghamton University | Binghamton | New York |
=114 | 601–800 | University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington | Texas |
=114 | 601–800 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio | Texas |
=114 | 601–800 | University of Toledo | Toledo | Ohio |
=136 | 801–1000 | The University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa | Alabama |
=136 | 801–1000 | Chapman University | Orange | California |
=136 | 801–1000 | Clemson University | Clemson | South Carolina |
=136 | 801–1000 | University of Dayton | Dayton | Ohio |
=136 | 801–1000 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | Tallahassee | Florida |
=136 | 801–1000 | Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton | Florida |
=136 | 801–1000 | Kansas State University | Lawrence | Kansas |
=136 | 801–1000 | Marquette University | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
=136 | 801–1000 | University of Memphis | Memphis | Tennessee |
=136 | 801–1000 | Mississippi State University | Starkville | Mississippi |
=136 | 801–1000 | University of Missouri-St Louis | St Louis | Missouri |
=136 | 801–1000 | Montana State University | Bozeman | Montana |
=136 | 801–1000 | The New School | New York City | New York |
=136 | 801–1000 | New Mexico State University (Main campus) | Albuquerque | New Mexico |
=136 | 801–1000 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro | North Carolina |
=136 | 801–1000 | Northern Illinois University | DeKalb | Illinois |
=136 | 801–1000 | Ohio University (Main campus) | Athens | Ohio |
=136 | 801–1000 | Old Dominion University | Norfolk | Virginia |
=136 | 801–1000 | University of Rhode Island | South Kingstown | Rhode Island |
=136 | 801–1000 | Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Carbondale | Illinois |
=136 | 801–1000 | University of Texas at El Paso | El Paso | Texas |
=136 | 801–1000 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock | Texas |
=136 | 801–1000 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
=136 | 801–1000 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester | Massachusetts |
=136 | 801–1000 | University of Wyoming | Laramie | Wyoming |
=161 | 1001–1200 | Bowling Green State University | Bowling Green | Ohio |
=161 | 1001–1200 | Clarkson University | Potsdam | New York |
=161 | 1001–1200 | Creighton University | Omaha | Nebraska |
=161 | 1001–1200 | Florida Institute of Technology | Melbourne | Florida |
=161 | 1001–1200 | Morgan State University | Baltimore | Maryland |
=161 | 1001–1200 | Oakland University | Rochester | Michigan |
=161 | 1001–1200 | Portland State University | Portland | Oregon |
=161 | 1001–1200 | Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester | New York |
=161 | 1001–1200 | Rowan University | Glassboro | New Jersey |
=161 | 1001–1200 | University of South Dakota | Vermillion | South Dakota |
=161 | 1001–1200 | University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Brownsville | Texas |
=172 | 1201–1500 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs | Colorado |
=172 | 1201–1500 | Georgia Southern University | Statesboro | Georgia |
=172 | 1201–1500 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale | Michigan |
=172 | 1201–1500 | University of North Carolina Wilmington | Wilmington | North Carolina |
=172 | 1201–1500 | Texas State University | San Marcos | Texas |
=172 | 1201–1500 | Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo | Michigan |
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Find the best universities in the United States 2023 through Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings data