Aljawaz Your guide to study abroad When you choose to study in the USA, you’ll find that there are too many excellent universities to choose from. That is due to the fact that universities in the USA are known for being the best worldwide. As a matter of fact, you would be choosing between a number of excellent universities. In this article, we will list the top 10 universities in the USA as per official ranking. To know more on subjects and programs, click on the university name, which will lead you to the university website.
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Harvard University
Definitely, Harvard University not only takes first place in the USA, but also is the second-best university in the world. In fact, it is popular for making forward-thinking leaders that have the power to change the world.
Without a doubt, Harvard is the oldest and most respected in the US and the world. It was built in 1636 and is the largest university in space. Additionally, it is known for its classic buildings.
- Well known graduates: John Kennedy, Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates.
- Subjects: Medicine, engineering, teaching, design, arts, business, law, and public health.
Stanford University
Stanford takes second place in the USA and third in the world. In fact, 6700 undergraduate students and 8000 postgraduate students enroll every year. It should be noted, these students not only come from the US, but from all around the world.
- Well known graduates: the founders of Google, YouTube, Yahoo and Snapchat.
- Subjects: Earth science, business management, teaching, science, engineering, medicine and law.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT takes third place in the 10 best universities in the USA and ranks fifth in the world. It should be noted that it currently has connection with more than 80 Nobel Prize laureates. MIT is also at the origin of some of the most important scientific discoveries and technological advances in the world: the first chemical synthesis of penicillin, the discovery of quarks, the invention of magnetic core memory that enabled today’s digital computers’ development… There is also the entrepreneurship side, since MIT’s living alumni, taken together, generates the equivalent to the 10th largest economy in the world in terms of annual revenue.
- Subjects: Mathematics, engineering, technology, humanities, architecture, business management and social sciences.
- Well known graduates: Koffi Annan, Claude Shannon.
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Next on our list of top 10 universities is Caltech, which also ranks fourth in the USA and sixth worldwide. Founded in 1894, Caltech focuses on science and engineering. As a matter of fact, the institution offers some of the best programs in the USA when it comes to engineering and sciences (biology, earth sciences, mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science). Caltech also has many cutting-edge facilities including the NASA’s Propulsion Laboratory, the International Observatory Network as well as the Caltech Seismological Laboratory.
- Subjects: Science, engineering.
- Well known graduates: Thomas Morgan in medicine and Arnold Beckman in chemistry.
Princeton University
Princeton University places fifth in the USA and seventh in the world. Not only one of the most eminent higher education institutions in the world, Princeton is also one of the oldest universities in the USA. It came into existence in 1746 as the College of New Jersey and got the university status in 1896 as Princeton University. Along with that, the university has also more than 40 Nobel Prize laureates in its network – being in the 10 best research universities in the USA but also in the world.
- Well-known graduates: Alan Turing, James Stewart, James Madison, Michelle Obama.
University of California, Berkeley
UC Berkeley places sixth in the USA and eighth in the world, with over 14 faculties. UC Berkeley has 70 Nobel Prize winners, hence placing 6th in the world for number of Nobel Prize winners. Being therefore a hot spot of research in the USA and in the world (3rd in the Forbes classification), Berkeley has no less than 100 research centers. It’s one of the most prestigious state universities in the USA, part of the University of California system, which was born in 1868.
Yale University
Following is the seventh in the USA and ninth worldwide: Yale university which has 19 Nobel Prize winners as faculty members. Yale is located in the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It comes into existence in 1701, making it the third-oldest higher education institution in the USA. Yale University has 14 schools, the original undergraduate college, Yale Graduate School of Arts and sciences, along with 12 professional schools. These professional schools include: a law school, a medical school, a nursing school, and also a school of management.
- Subjects: It features 12 faculties among which are medicine, law, science, and engineering.
- Well known graduates: George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and Jodie Foster.
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago ranks eighth in the USA and tenth worldwide, with more than 90 Nobel Prize winners. Established in 1856, the university is located in the urban center of Chicago, in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Innovation and research are among the university’s greatest interests. That’s why the university includes highly ranked postgraduate schools such as Booth School of Business, its Law School, Harris School of Public Policy Studies and the Pritzker School of Medicine.
- Faculties: Medicine, law, business management and more.
- Well known graduates: Nobel Prize winner James Watson. He won the prize for discovering the content, pattern, and structure of DNA.
Columbia University
Based in New York, the University of Columbia ranks ninth in the USA and eleventh in the world. As a matter of fact, giving its high level of education to international students is among Columbia University’s interests. Not only that, but it also has the highest number of graduate Nobel Prize winners in science in America.
- Well known graduates: Barack Obama, Alexander Hamilton, Franklin Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt.
- The university is the first to teach biology, humanities, and genealogy.
University of Pennsylvania (Penn)
The last in our list of the top 10 universities in the USA is the University of Pennsylvania. This private Ivy League university, located in the city of Philadelphia, was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1740, with the purpose to create a school to educate future generations. Penn also ranks among the top 10 in the country for its arts and sciences programs. Moreover, it ranks 13th globally and has links with 25 Nobel Laureates.
- Well known graduates: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Kwame Nkrumah – former prime minister and president of Ghana.
- The university has 4 undergraduate colleges: College of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, School of Nursing and the first collegiate business school Wharton School.
Check also our article on how to apply to a US university.
