The USA is currently the most popular overseas study destination, with over 750,000 international students pursuing their dream course in a wide variety of quality universities. A number of American institutions are ranked highly by university ranking providers such as QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education World University Rankings, achieving high consistency in aspects like research output and stellar contributions to respective industries. Apart from its excellent higher education offerings, the USA offers an abundance of activities - both city-bound and nature-themed - to satisfy the needs of those who wish to explore and immerse in new experiences. For those who are seeking to pursue your foundation, undergraduate or postgraduate pathways in the USA, university rankings can provide a sense of whether the institution is right for you. Ranking providers like the QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education World (THE) University Rankings are globally recognised, often used by students as part of their research before applying to study abroad. With that, we’ve compiled the top universities in the USA for 2020 below, with data from the latest QS World University Rankings and THE World University Rankings.
Rank | University | Global Rank |
1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 1 |
2 | Stanford University | 2 |
3 | Harvard University | 3 |
4 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | 5 |
5 | University of Chicago | 10 |
6 | Princeton University | 13 |
7 | Cornell University | 14 |
8 | University of Pennsylvania | 15 |
9 | Yale University | 17 |
10 | Columbia University | 18 |
11 | University of Michigan | 21 |
12 | Johns Hopkins University | 24 |
13 | Duke University | 25 |
14 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | 28 |
15 | Northwestern University | 31 |
16 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | 35 |
17 | New York University (NYU) | 39 |
18 | University of California, San Diego (UCSD) | 45 |
19 | Carnegie Mellon University | 48 |
20 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 56 |
Rank | University | Global Rank |
1 | California Institute of Technology | 2 |
2 | Stanford University | 4 |
3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 5 |
4 | Princeton University | 6 |
5 | Harvard University | 7 |
6 | Yale University | 8 |
7 | University of Chicago | 9 |
8 | University of Pennsylvania | 11 |
9 | John Hopkins University | 12 |
10 | University of California, Berkeley | 13 |
11 | Columbia University | 16 |
12 | University of California, Los Angeles | 17 |
13 | Cornell University | 19 |
14 | Duke University | 20 |
15 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 21 |
16 | Northwestern University | 22 |
17 | University of Washington | 26 |
18 | Carnegie Mellon University | 27 |
19 | New York University | 29 |
20 | University of California, San Diego | 31 |
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