Best universities in the United States 2023

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.

The 10 most beautiful universities in the US

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.

Caltech: ‘uniquely difficult but a wonderful place to study’

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.

Women in STEM: stories from MIT students

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.

Video: how I got into Stanford University as a low-income international student

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.

Vlogging a day at Harvard University

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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