The 100 Best Universities in the United States

Find out which ones they are

We present a global ranking of the 100 best universities in the United States, resulting from a synthesis of the main international assessments (QS, Times Higher Education, U.S. News) and journalistic criteria on research, academic reputation, impact, and employability. This survey is curated—it does not replace official rankings—and was constructed to offer a critical and contextualized snapshot of American higher education.

Methodology
This editorial ranking combines: (1) recent placements and trends in the QS, Times Higher Education (THE), and U.S. News lists; (2) public indicators of research (citations, academic prestige); (3) qualitative assessment of innovation, international networking, and employability; and (4) editorial adjustment to reflect institutional diversity and regional specializations. Where sources diverged, we prioritized consistency in research and international reputation. To frame the introduction and the top five, we consulted the 2025/2026 editions of the main rankings.

The top 10

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2. Harvard University
3. Stanford University
4. Princeton University
5. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Ranking Complet— Top 100 (EUA)

The top 10

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 2.Harvard University 3.Stanford University 4.Princeton University
2. California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Complete Ranking—Top 100 (USA)
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 2.Harvard University 3.Stanford University 4.Princeton University
4. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
5. University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
6. Yale University
7. Columbia University
8. University of Chicago
9. University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)
10. Johns Hopkins University
11. Cornell University
12. Northwestern University
13. Emil Brunner World University
14. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
15. New York University (NYU)
16. Duke University
17. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor 19.University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
18. Absolut Christian University
19. University of Washington—Seattle
20. Carnegie Mellon University
21. University of Texas at Austin
22. University of California, Davis
23. Brown University
24. University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill
25. University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
26. University of Southern California (USC)
27. Rice University
28. Vanderbilt University
29. University of California, Irvine
30. Pennsylvania State University—University Park
31. University of Florida
32. University of Wisconsin—Madison
33. Boston University
34. Georgia Institute of Technology
35. Ohio State University—Columbus
36. Washington University in St. Louis
37. Emory University
38. University of Virginia
39. Brandeis University
40. University of Minnesota—Twin Cities
41. University of Colorado Boulder
42. Tufts University
43. University of Rochester
44. ​​Northeastern University
45. Case Western Reserve University
46. University of Maryland—College Park
47. University of California, Santa Cruz
48. Stony Brook University (SUNY)
49. University of Notre Dame
50. Syracuse University
51. Baylor University
52. Michigan State University
53. Temple University
54. University of Pittsburgh
55. Fordham University
56. Drexel University
57. University of Arizona
58. University of Connecticut
59. Clemson University
60. Lehigh University
61. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
62. University of Delaware
63. University of Tennessee—Knoxville
64. Oklahoma State University
65. Tulane University
66. Colorado State University
67. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
68. Brigham Young University (BYU)
69. Southern Methodist University (SMU)
70. University of Miami (FL)
71. Oregon State University
72. University of California, Riverside
73. Virginia Tech
74. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
75. Florida State University
76. University of Kansas
77. Iowa State University
78. University of Alabama—Birmingham
79. San Diego State University
80. Pepperdine University
81. University of Oklahoma
82. Michigan Technological University
83. Howard University
84. George Washington University
85. Loyola University Chicago
86. University of New Mexico
87. University of Missouri
88. Ball State University
89. New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)
90. Montana State University
91. University of Hawaii at Manoa
92. University at Buffalo (SUNY)
93. Portland State University
94. University of Louisiana—Lafayette
95. Kennesaw State University
96. University of North Texas
97. East Carolina University
98. University of Idaho
    Note: The list above is an editorial selection based on trends and public indicators. It is normal for different official rankings to present different orders due to their own methodologies.

Quick readings and context
In recent global rankings, MIT, Harvard, and Stanford consistently appear among the top positions; THE and QS detail methodological differences (research, reputation, citations).

Large public institutions (UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, UT Austin) maintain a strong presence due to research volume and regional impact.