Best universities in the United States 2025

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Which American university is the best? To choose the finest university for you and to learn more about the prices and application procedure for studying in the US, use this chart of the top institutions in the country.

Top 10 universities in the US 2025

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in the United States

Thinking about studying in the United States might be intimidating due to the sheer number of possibilities available. Which is the finest US university? Where are the best universities in the United States?

We thought you’d be interested in learning about the best institutions in the United States, according to the highly renowned Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025.

There are 174 of the world’s greatest universities and colleges in the United States, so no matter where you wish to study, a top university will be nearby. Almost every state and over 130 towns are featured on the greatest US colleges list.

With fifteen colleges, New York leads the list of the top US universities for 2025. California comes in second with fourteen, Texas with twelve, and Massachusetts with ten.

For students interested in studying in the United States, please see our guides on applying to universities in the United States and applying for a student visa to study in the United States.

There is a common misconception that studying in the United States is expensive; however, overseas students have access to a variety of scholarships and financial assistance opportunities.

Top 5 universities in the United States 2025

5. California Institute of Technology (CalTech)

Science and engineering are prioritised at all six of CalTech’s faculties.

39 Nobel laureates, six Turing Award winners, and four Fields Medallists are among CalTech’s exceptional roster of accomplished alumni and affiliations.

CalTech’s main campus, located in Pasadena, close to Los Angeles, spans 124 acres (about 50 hectares) and is home to over 2,200 students. Nearly all college students reside on campus.

The CalTech graduate community includes many lawmakers and public policy advisors, especially in the fields of science, technology, and energy, in addition to Nobel laureates and leading scholars.

Under the university’s alternative model to fraternities and sororities, all first-year students are members of one of four houses. Each home is linked to a variety of customs and occasions.

4. Stanford University

Many staff, students, and alumni have launched successful technological firms and start-ups, such as Google, Snapchat, and Hewlett-Packard.

Of the 16,000 students, the majority of whom reside on campus, 22% are international.

Stanford University, located in Palo Alto, directly next to Silicon Valley, has played an important role in promoting the growth of the region’s technology economy.

Stanford alumni-founded enterprises generate $2.7 trillion (£2.2 trillion) in revenue annually.

The institution is also known as “the Farm” since it was established on the grounds of the Stanford family’s Palo Alto stock farm. The complex comprises 8,180 acres (3,300 hectares), although more than half of it is yet undeveloped.

The Stanford campus is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world because of its characteristic red-roofed, sand-colored buildings. It has a public meditation facility, many sculpture parks, and art museums.

Stanford is extremely competitive, as one might anticipate from one of the top colleges in the world. The admittance rate is little more than 5%.

3. Princeton University

Princeton University is one of the oldest institutions in the United States. It is one of the famous Ivy League colleges.

In addition to high-quality teaching and research, the institution is famed for its gorgeous campus, which includes buildings created by some of America’s most renowned architects.

Notable graduates who have earned Nobel Prizes include physicists Richard Feynman and Robert Hofstadter, as well as chemists Richard Smalley and Edwin McMillan.

Princeton has educated two United States presidents: James Madison and Woodrow Wilson. Other notable graduates include Michelle Obama, Jimmy Stewart, Brooke Shields, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Apollo astronaut Pete Conrad.

2. Harvard University

Harvard University is the oldest university in the United States, having been established in 1636.

Approximately 25% of the 21,000 registered students are foreign nationals.

Since it consistently ranks first in the Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings, Harvard University is perhaps the most well-known university in the world.

Despite the high cost of tuition, students can get a lot of financial help because to Harvard’s financial endowment.

The biggest academic library in the world, the Harvard library system consists of 79 libraries.

Eight US presidents, 158 Nobel laureates, 14 Turing Award winners, and 62 living billionaires are just a few of Harvard’s well-known graduates.

Harvard is at least as well-known for the arts and humanities as it is for science and technology, in contrast to several other great colleges.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

A third of MIT’s 11,000 students are foreign, coming from 154 nations.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, and physicist Richard Feynman are among the notable graduates.

MIT fosters a strong entrepreneurial culture, with numerous graduates founding major firms like Intel and Dropbox.

MIT’s undergraduate and postgraduate programs are not entirely separate; many courses are available at either level.

The undergraduate program is one of the country’s most selective, admitting only 8% of candidates. Engineering and computer science are the most popular undergraduate courses.

Top universities in the United States 2025

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2025 profile

US rank 2025 World University Rank 2025 World University Rank 2024 University City State
1 2 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge Massachusetts
2 3 4 Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts
3 4 6 Princeton University Princeton New Jersey
4 6 2 Stanford University Stanford California
5 7 7 California Institute of Technology Pasadena California
6 8 9 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley California
7 10 10 Yale University New Haven Connecticut
=8 =14 13 The University of Chicago Chicago Illinois
=8 =14 16 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pennsylvania
10 16 15 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore Maryland
=11 =18 17 Columbia University New York City New York
=11 =18 18 University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles California
13 20 20 Cornell University Ithaca New York
14 =22 23 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Michigan
15 24 24 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
16 25 25 University of Washington Seattle Washington
17 27 26 Duke University Durham North Carolina
18 31 28 Northwestern University Evanston Illinois
19 33 27 New York University New York City New York
20 34 34 University of California, San Diego San Diego California
21 40 36 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Georgia
22 46 42 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign Illinois
23 =50 52 University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas
24 =56 63 University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison Wisconsin
25 =58 =64 Brown University Providence Rhode Island
26 =62 59 University of California, Davis Davis California
27 =67 69 University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California
28 69 68 Washington University in St Louis St Louis Missouri
29 70 72 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill North Carolina
30 72 74 University of Southern California Los Angeles California
31 75 78 Boston University Boston Massachusetts
32 79 86 Purdue University West Lafayette West Lafayette Indiana
33 =84 =123 University of Massachusetts Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, Worcester Massachusetts
34 =87 85 University of Minnesota Minneapolis Minnesota
=35 =90 =92 University of California, Irvine Irvine California
=35 =90 =92 Vanderbilt University Nashville Tennessee
37 =98 =106 Emory University Atlanta Georgia
38 =100 122 Penn State (Main campus) State College Pennsylvania
=39 =112 =119 Rice University Houston Texas
=39 =112 114 University of Maryland, College Park College Park Maryland
41 =116 =99 Ohio State University (Main campus) Columbus Ohio
42 122 =116 Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan
43 127 133 University of Rochester Rochester New York
44 =130 132 University of Florida Gainesville Florida
45 =136 =155 University of Arizona Tucson Arizona
46 =141 =145 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
=47 =143 118 Texas A&M University College Station Texas
=47 =143 =138 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder Colorado
49 159 =164 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland Ohio
50 =163 166 University of Virginia (Main campus) Charlottesville Virginia
51 =168 =161 Dartmouth College Hanover New Hampshire
52 179 =191 Tufts University Medford Massachusetts
53 =189 198 Indiana University Bloomington Indiana
=54 =196 201–250 University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California
=54 =196 =199 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame Indiana
=56 201–250 182 Arizona State University (Tempe) Tempe Arizona
=56 201–250 =187 Georgetown University Washington DC
=56 201–250 201–250 George Washington University Washington DC
=56 201–250 201–250 Northeastern University, US Boston Massachusetts
=56 201–250 201–250 University of Illinois Chicago Chicago Illinois
=56 201–250 201–250 University of Miami Coral Gables Florida
=56 201–250 201–250 University of Utah Salt Lake City Utah
=63 251–300 251–300 Boston College Boston Massachusetts
=63 251–300 251–300 North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina
=63 251–300 251–300 Stony Brook University Stony Brook New York
=63 251–300 301–350 University at Buffalo Buffalo New York
=63 251–300 251–300 University of California, Riverside Riverside California
=63 251–300 201–250 University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Honolulu Hawai’i
=63 251–300 201–250 University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa
=63 251–300 251–300 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg Virginia
=71 301–350 251–300 Florida State University Tallahassee Florida
=71 301–350 301–350 Oregon Health and Science University Portland Oregon
=71 301–350 201–250 Rutgers University – New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey
=71 301–350 301–350 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville Tennessee
=71 301–350 351–400 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver Colorado
=71 301–350 351–400 University of Connecticut Mansfield Connecticut
=77 351–400 301–350 Drexel University Philadelphia Pennsylvania
=77 351–400 351–400 Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago Illinois
=77 351–400 351–400 Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania
=77 351–400 401–500 University of Delaware Newark Delaware
=77 351–400 351–400 University of Georgia (USA) Athens Georgia
=77 351–400 351–400 University of Kansas Lawrence Kansas
=77 351–400 251–300 University of South Florida Tampa Florida
=84 401–500 251–300 Brandeis University Waltham Massachusetts
=84 401–500 NR Colorado School of Mines Golden Colorado
=84 401–500 401–500 Colorado State University, Fort Collins Fort Collins Colorado
=84 401–500 401–500 Florida International University Miami Florida
=84 401–500 401–500 George Mason University Fairfax Virginia
=84 401–500 351–400 Iowa State University Ames Illinois
=84 401–500 401–500 Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla Missouri
=84 401–500 401–500 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy New York
=84 401–500 401–500 Saint Louis University Saint Louis Missouri
=84 401–500 401–500 Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken New Jersey
=84 401–500 401–500 Syracuse University Syracuse New York
=84 401–500 401–500 Tulane University New Orleans Louisiana
=84 401–500 401–500 University of California, Merced Merced California
=84 401–500 401–500 University of Central Florida Orlando Florida
=84 401–500 501–600 University of Houston Houston Texas
=84 401–500 401–500 University of Kentucky Lexington Kentucky
=84 401–500 401–500 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln Nebraska
=84 401–500 401–500 University of Oregon Eugene Oregon
=84 401–500 401–500 University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia Colorado
=84 401–500 351–400 University of Texas at Dallas Richardson Texas
=84 401–500 401–500 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond Virginia
=84 401–500 401–500 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem North Carolina
=84 401–500 301–350 Washington State University Pullman Washington
=107 501–600 401–500 Georgia State University Atlanta Georgia
=107 501–600 401–500 Mizzou – University of Missouri Columbia Missouri
=107 501–600 401–500 New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark New Jersey
=107 501–600 501–600 Rush University Chicago Illinois
=107 501–600 NR SUNY University at Albany Albany New York
=107 501–600 501–600 The University of Tulsa Tulsa Oklahoma
=107 501–600 601–800 University of Arkansas Fayetteville Arkansas
=107 501–600 501–600 University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha Nebraska
=107 501–600 501–600 Wayne State University Detroit Michigan
=116 601–800 601–800 American University Washington DC
=116 601–800 501–600 Auburn University Auburn Alabama
=116 601–800 601–800 Baylor University Waco Texas
=116 601–800 601–800 Clark University Worcester Massachusetts
=116 601–800 801–1000 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton Florida
=116 601–800 601–800 Kansas State University Lawrence Kansas
=116 601–800 601–800 Lehigh University Bethlehem Pennsylvania
=116 601–800 601–800 Louisiana State University Baton Rouge Louisiana
=116 601–800 601–800 Mississippi State University Starkville Mississippi
=116 601–800 601–800 Ohio University (Main campus) Athens Ohio
=116 601–800 601–800 Oklahoma State University Stillwater Oklahoma
=116 601–800 801–1000 Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester New York
=116 601–800 601–800 SUNY Binghamton University Binghamton New York
=116 601–800 601–800 Texas Tech University Lubbock Texas
=116 601–800 601–800 The Catholic University of America Washington DC
=116 601–800 501–600 The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio Texas
=116 601–800 501–600 University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks Alaska
=116 601–800 501–600 University of Denver Denver Colorado
=116 601–800 601–800 University of Maryland, Baltimore County Baltimore Maryland
=116 601–800 601–800 University of Nevada, Las Vegas Las Vegas Nevada
=116 601–800 601–800 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte North Carolina
=116 601–800 601–800 University of Texas at Arlington Arlington Texas
=116 601–800 601–800 University of Toledo Toledo Ohio
=116 601–800 601–800 University of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming
=116 601–800 601–800 William & Mary Williamsburg Virginia
=116 601–800 601–800 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester Massachusetts
=142 801–1000 801–1000 Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne Florida
=142 801–1000 801–1000 New Mexico State University (Main campus) Albuquerque New Mexico
=142 801–1000 601–800 Northern Illinois University DeKalb Illinois
=142 801–1000 601–800 Old Dominion University Norfolk Virginia
=142 801–1000 801–1000 Portland State University Portland Oregon
=142 801–1000 NR Southern Illinois University Carbondale Carbondale Illinois
=142 801–1000 601–800 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Alabama
=142 801–1000 801–1000 University of Memphis Memphis Tennessee
=142 801–1000 601–800 University of Rhode Island South Kingstown Rhode Island
=142 801–1000 801–1000 University of Texas at El Paso El Paso Texas
=152 1001–1200 1001–1200 Bowling Green State University Bowling Green Ohio
=152 1001–1200 1001–1200 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant Michigan
=152 1001–1200 801–1000 Clarkson University Potsdam New York
=152 1001–1200 1001–1200 Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Tallahassee Florida
=152 1001–1200 801–1000 Montana State University Bozeman Montana
=152 1001–1200 1001–1200 Oakland University Rochester Michigan
=152 1001–1200 1001–1200 Rowan University Glassboro New Jersey
=152 1001–1200 801–1000 San Diego State University San Diego California
=152 1001–1200 NR South Dakota State University Brookings South Dakota
=152 1001–1200 801–1000 The New School New York City New York
=152 1001–1200 1001–1200 University of South Dakota Vermillion South Dakota
=163 1201–1500 801–1000 Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale Florida
=163 1201–1500 1001–1200 Texas State University San Marcos Texas
=163 1201–1500 NR University of Nebraska Omaha Omaha Nebraska
=163 1201–1500 1201–1500 University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Brownsville Texas
=163 1201–1500 1001–1200 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo Michigan
=168 1501+ 1501+ Adelphi University Garden City New York
=168 1501+ 1501+ College of Charleston Charleston South Carolina
=168 1501+ 1201–1500 Georgia Southern University Statesboro Georgia
=168 1501+ NR Grand Valley State University Allendale Michigan
=168 1501+ NR Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles California
=168 1501+ 1201–1500 Morgan State University Baltimore Maryland
=168 1501+ NR Pace University-New York New York City New York

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