Top Universities in the US 2019

Click here to view the latest version of this article, based on the QS World University Rankings® 2020.

For yet another year, US universities dominate the QS World University Rankings, with 157 institutions ranked in the 2019 edition in total. Of these, 65 have improved upon their position since last year, while 47 have maintained their position.

Some of those 47 can be found at the very top of the table, with the top four universities both globally and in the US remaining unchanged since last year. Find out more about the best universities in the US below.

10. University of Pennsylvania

A non-mover at 19^th globally, the University of Pennsylvania has climbed into the top 10 in the US this year, due to Johns Hopkins University falling four places to 21^st. It performs particularly well for its ratio of students to faculty members, one of the six indicators used to compile the ranking, scoring 100 out of 100 and ranking 15^th in the world.

9. Columbia University

Up two places this year to 16^th in the world, Columbia University also achieves a perfect score of 100 for its student/faculty ratio. Columbia was established in 1754 and has produced many notable alumni, including three US presidents: Barack Obama, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt.

8. Yale University

Ranked 15th in the world this year, Yale University is known for its highly selective law school. Yale was established in 1701 and awarded the first PhD in the US in 1861. It’s ranked fifth in the world for its student/faculty ratio and ninth for its reputation among academics.

7. Cornell University

A non-mover at 14^th this year, Cornell University is based in Ithaca, New York. It was the first university in the US to award a veterinary medicine degree and is currently ranked second in the world for veterinary science in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018.

6. Princeton University

As with Cornell and the four universities above it, there’s no movement from Princeton University in this year’s ranking, as it continues to be the 13^th best university in the world. As well as being one of the country's best universities, it's also one of the oldest in the US, having been founded in 1746. Princeton is considered especially prestigious for the arts and humanities, a broad subject area for which its ranked seventh in the world in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018.

5. University of Chicago

The University of Chicago continues to hold down a place in the world's 10 best universities this year, achieving its highest score for its reputation among academics. Established in 1890, the university is known for its strong focus on research. For example, the university’s physics department is known for developing the world’s first man-made, self-sustaining nuclear reaction.

4. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Caltech is the first of four US universities which remain firmly lodged as the world’s top four academic institutions for another year. Known as a leading tech school, Caltech is located in the city of Pasadena, California and is the smallest university in the US top 10.

It’s ranked fifth in the world for the citations per faculty, a measure of research impact. This is actually a drop of one place since last year, making Caltech one of the 118 US universities to see their rank for this indicator drop, suggesting the US is losing its dominance in the worlds of research and academic writing.

3. Harvard University

Harvard University retains its position of third in the QS World University Rankings this year. The oldest university in the country, dating back to 1636, Harvard has a large, residential campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is well respected in a broad range of fields, including law, business and medicine. 

2. Stanford University

Continuing to rank second in both the QS World University Rankings and the US this year is Stanford University. Based in the center of Silicon Valley in California, Stanford is renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit and business courses. Its alumni include many successful entrepreneurs such as the founders or co-founders of Netflix, YouTube, WhatsApp and Google.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

It really couldn’t be anyone else, could it? For a record-breaking seventh consecutive year, MIT has been crowned the best university in the world, helped by the fact it scores a perfect 100 for four of the six indicators used to compile the ranking. No other institution manages this.

MIT also achieves a world-leading score for citations per faculty and performs impressively well for its international student ratio.

The remaining best 20 universities in the US this year are…

US Rank	Global Rank	University
11	20	University of Michigan
12	21	Johns Hopkins University
13	26	Duke University
14	27	University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
15	32	University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
16	34	Northwestern University
17	41	University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
18	43	New York University (NYU)
19	46	Carnegie Mellon University
20	53	University of Wisconsin-Madison

The next top US universities all achieved positions in the global top 500:

US Rank	Global Rank	University
21	56	Brown University
22	63	University of Texas at Austin
23	66	University of Washington
24	=69	Georgia Institute of Technology
25	71	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
26	=83	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
27	=87	Rice University
28	89	Ohio State University
29	=93	Boston University
30	95	Pennsylvania State University
=31	=100	Purdue University
=31	=100	University of California, Davis
=31	=100	Washington University in St. Louis
34	115	University of Southern California
35	=126	University of Maryland, College Park
36	=132	University of California, Santa Barbara
37	136	University of Pittsburgh
38	=141	Michigan State University
39	148	Emory University
40	=156	University of Minnesota
41	169	University of California, Irvine (UCI)
42	=180	University of Florida
43	183	Dartmouth College
44	=184	University of Rochester
45	=186	Case Western Reserve University
46	190	University of Colorado at Boulder
47	192	University of Virginia
48	=195	Vanderbilt University
49	203	Texas A&M University
=50	=212	Arizona State University
=50	=212	University of Notre Dame
51	=214	University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC)
52	226	Georgetown University
53	=237	Tufts University
54	=242	University of Miami
55	246	University of Arizona
56	259	University of Massachusetts, Amherst
57	=279	North Carolina State University
58	=283	Rutgers - the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
59	=302	University of Hawaii at Mānoa
60	=310	Yeshiva University
61	=313	University at Buffalo SUNY
62	=323	Indiana University Bloomington
63	=326	Northeastern University
64	=336	University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)
65	=338	Virginia Polytechnic Institute
=66	=345	George Washington University
=66	=345	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
=66	=345	University of Utah
69	349	Stony Brook University
70	=367	University of Kansas
71	=373	University of Connecticut
72	=376	Boston College
73	=384	University of California, Riverside (UCR)
74	=387	Wake Forest University
75	=391	Washington State University
76	=397	University of Colorado at Denver
77	=412	Tulane University
78	419	University of Tennessee
=79	=426	Illinois Institute of Technology
=79	=426	University of Texas Dallas
81	=429	Brandeis University
82	431	The University of Georgia
83	=435	University of Iowa
=84	=439	University of Delaware
=84	=439	Wayne State University
=86	=450	Colorado State University
=86	=450	Oregon State University
88	=453	University of Maryland, Baltimore County
89	=461	Clark University
90	=472	Florida State University
91	=489	Iowa State University
92	494	University of New Mexico
93	=495	University of Oklahoma

After 500, the world ranking continues in bands (e.g. 501-510). Universities which share a band are considered to have the same rank.

US Rank	Global Rank	University
=94	501-510	Drexel University
=94	501-510	Howard University
=94	501-510	Lehigh University
97	521-530	University of South Florida
=98	531-540	New School University
=98	531-540	University of Vermont
=100	541-550	American University
=100	541-550	University of Cincinnati
=102	551-560	Syracuse University
=102	551-560	University of Kentucky
=102	551-560	University of Nebraska
=105	561-570	Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
=105	561-570	University of South Carolina at Columbia
=107	581-590	College of William & Mary
=107	581-590	University of Massachusetts, Boston
=107	581-590	University of Oregon
=110	591-600	Michigan Technological University
=110	591-600	University of Missouri, Columbia
=112	601-650	City University of New York
=112	601-650	Clarkson University
=112	601-650	Rutgers - the State University of New Jersey, Newark
=112	601-650	Smith College
=112	601-650	Virginia Commonwealth University
=112	601-650	Worcester Polytechnic Institute
=118	651-700	Louisiana State University
=118	651-700	Southern Methodist University
=118	651-700	Stevens Institute of Technology
=118	651-700	Temple University
=118	651-700	University at Albany SUNY
=118	651-700	University of Denver
=118	651-700	University of Houston
=118	651-700	University of Wyoming
=126	701-750	Clemson University
=126	701-750	Georgia State University
=126	701-750	Missouri University of Science and Technology
=126	701-750	Texas Tech University
=126	701-750	University of Alabama
=126	701-750	University of Tulsa
=132	751-800	Kansas State University
=132	751-800	Kent State University
=132	751-800	New Jersey Institute of Technology
=132	751-800	Oklahoma State University
=132	751-800	University of Central Florida
=132	751-800	University of New Hampshire

The remaining 19 top US universities are all ranked in the 801-1000 range, making them joint 138^th in the US. They are:

Auburn University, Baylor University, Binghamton University SUNY, Brigham Young University, Florida International University, Fordham University, George Mason University, Loyola University Chicago, Marquette University, Miami University, Ohio University, San Diego State University, University of Arkansas, University of Mississippi, University of Montana Missoula, University of San Diego, University of San Francisco, University of the Pacific and Utah State University.

Find out more about studying in the US with our complete guide, which includes advice on applications, visas, costs, funding and more.  

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