Home Notifications Newsletters Next Share

The 50 best American colleges and universities of 2020https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/the-50-best-american-colleges-and-universities-of-2020/slidelist/75844990.cms2020-05-20T15:24:45+05:30

The 50 best American colleges and universities of 2020

Advertisement

Madison HoffMay 20, 2020, 15:24 IST

The 50 best American colleges and universities of 2020 — Harvard University is the best college in the US.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Education research firm Quacquarelli Symonds shared its first-ever ranking of the best colleges and universities in the United States with Business Insider.
The research firm looked at four categories to create an overall index score for 300 universities.
At the top of the list was Harvard University with an overall score of 93.3 out of 100.
Harvard University is the best university in the US, according to education research firm Quacquarelli Symonds.
QS releases an annual ranking of the best universities in the world. This year, the company decided to release its first-ever US-specific national university ranking.
"The QS US Rankings aim to provide not only international students with new and more granular insights when deciding on a study destination in the [United States], but also offer domestic students with a fresh outlook on their home institutions, set within the frame of a new bespoke methodology," QS told Business Insider.
QS ranked 300 US universities that have both undergraduate and graduate programs.
To rank the universities, QS used 17 metrics that fall into four broader groups that were weighted and combined into a final index score: Employability had a weight of 27%, diversity and internationalization had a weight of 25%, learning experience had a weight of 22%, and research had a weight of 26%. A university's scores in each category were added together to calculate the total index score on a scale of 0 to 100.

Harvard University earned the highest overall score of 93.3, making it the best US university according to QS' metrics. Harvard scored a perfect score in employability and research, 76.0 in diversity and internationalization, and 96.8 in learning experience.
Stanford, MIT, and University of California, Berkeley, followed behind Harvard with scores above 79.0. Additionally, 14 universities on the list had a total index score of over 70.0 out of 100.
The following are the 50 best US universities and their total index scores. To find out where the top 300 universities in the US fall on the list, read the full ranking on QS' website.
Read the original article on Business Insider

Advertisement

50. University of Virginia

50. University of Virginia — epantha/Getty Images
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Overall index: 55.8
Read more about the University of Virginia on QS Top Universities.

48 (tie). University of Maryland, College Park

48 (tie). University of Maryland, College Park — G Fiume/Getty Images
Location: College Park, Maryland
Overall index: 56.3
Read more about University of Maryland, College Park, on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

48 (tie). Boston College

48 (tie). Boston College — Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
Location: Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Overall index: 56.3
Read more about Boston College on QS Top Universities.

47. Pennsylvania State University, University Park

47. Pennsylvania State University, University Park — Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Location: Centre County, Pennsylvania
Overall index: 56.4
Read more about Pennsylvania State University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

46. University at Buffalo SUNY

46. University at Buffalo SUNY — Seth Wenig/AP
Location: Buffalo, New York
Overall index: 56.6
Read more about University at Buffalo on QS Top Universities.

45. Stony Brook University

45. Stony Brook University — Mark LoMoglio/AP
Location: Stony Brook, New York
Overall index: 56.8
Read more about Stony Brook University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

43 (tie). University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC)

43 (tie). University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC) — Joe Robbins/Stringer/Getty Images
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Overall index: 57.5
Read more about University of Illinois, Chicago, on QS Top Universities.

43 (tie). Case Western Reserve University

43 (tie). Case Western Reserve University — kim willems/Getty Images
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Overall index: 57.5
Read more about Case Western University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

41 (tie). University of California, Irvine (UCI)

41 (tie). University of California, Irvine (UCI) — Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Torrance Daily Breeze/Getty Images
Location: Irvine, California
Overall index: 57.6
Read more about University of California, Irvine, on QS Top Universities.

41 (tie). Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick

41 (tie). Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick — Rutgers University/Shutterstock
Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey
Total index score: 57.6
Read more about Rutgers University, New Brunswick, on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

40. University of Notre Dame

40. University of Notre Dame — Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Location: Notre Dame, Indiana
Total index score: 57.8
Read more about the University of Notre Dame on QS Top Universities.

39. University of Miami

39. University of Miami — Lance King/Getty Images
Location: Coral Gables, Florida
Total index score: 57.9
Read more about the University of Miami on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

38. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

38. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — Jonathan Drake/Reuters
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Total index score: 58.3
Read more about The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on QS Top Universities.

37. Dartmouth College

37. Dartmouth College — AP Photo/Bob Child
Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
Total index score: 58.4
Read more about Dartmouth College on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

35 (tie). University of Florida

35 (tie). University of Florida — Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Total index score: 58.6
Read more about University of Florida on QS Top Universities.

35 (tie). Tufts University

35 (tie). Tufts University — Brian Snyder/Reuters
Location: Medford, Massachusetts
Total index score: 58.6
Read more about Tufts University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

34. The George Washington University

34. The George Washington University — Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Location: Washington, D.C.
Total index score: 59.1
Read more about George Washington University on QS Top Universities.

33. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

33. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/Shutterstock
Location: Champaign, Illinois
Total index score: 55.9
Read more about University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

32. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)

32. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) — Rob Hainer/Shutterstock
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Total index score: 60.4
Read more about Georgia Tech on QS Top Universities.

30 (tie). Vanderbilt University

30 (tie). Vanderbilt University — Harrison McClary/Reuters
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Total index score: 60.8
Read more about Vanderbilt University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

30 (tie). University of Rochester

30 (tie). University of Rochester — kickstand/Getty Images
Location: Rochester, New York
Total index score: 60.8
Read more about University of Rochester on QS Top Universities.

28 (tie). Washington University in St. Louis

28 (tie). Washington University in St. Louis — Evan Meyer/Shutterstock
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Total index score: 60.9
Read more about Washington University in St. Louis on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

28 (tie). University of California, Davis (UCD)

28 (tie). University of California, Davis (UCD) — Haven Lockhart/Getty Images
Location: Davis, California
Total index score: 60.9
Read more about University of California, Davis, on QS Top Universities.

27. Emory University

27. Emory University — BluIz60/Shutterstock
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Total index score: 61.1
Read more about Emory University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

26. University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

26. University of California, San Diego (UCSD) — Mike Blake/Reuters
Location: San Diego, California
Total index score: 62.3
Read more about UCSD on QS Top Universities.

25. The University of Texas at Austin

25. The University of Texas at Austin — Jon Herskovitz/Reuters
Location: Austin, Texas
Total index score: 62.4
Read more about The University of Texas at Austin on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

24. University of Washington

24. University of Washington — Mike Peters/Shutterstock
Location: Seattle, Washington
Total index score: 62.5
Read more about University of Washington on QS Top Universities.

23. Georgetown University

23. Georgetown University — Sharkshock/Shutterstock
Location: Washington, D.C.
Total index score: 64.1
Read more about Georgetown University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

21 (tie). Rice University

21 (tie). Rice University — AP/Pat Sullivan
Location: Houston, Texas
Total index score: 64.3
Read more about Rice University on QS Top Universities.

21 (tie). Boston University

21 (tie). Boston University — Maddie Meyer/Getty
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Total index score: 64.3
Read more about Boston University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

20. Brown University

20. Brown University — Hyungwon Kang/Reuters
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Total index score: 65.8
Read more about Brown University on QS Top Universities.

19. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

19. California Institute of Technology (Caltech) — John Antczak/AP
Location: Pasadena, California
Total index score: 66.1
Read more about Caltech on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

18. University of Michigan

18. University of Michigan — Getty Images
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Total index score: 66.3
Read more about University of Michigan on QS Top Universities.

17. Carnegie Mellon University

17. Carnegie Mellon University — Tupungato/Shutterstock
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Total index score: 66.5
Read more about Carnegie Mellon University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

16. Northwestern University

16. Northwestern University — David Banks/Getty Images
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Total index score: 67.2
Read more about Northwestern University on QS Top Universities.

15. University of Southern California

15. University of Southern California — Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Location: Los Angeles, California
Total index score: 68.5
Read more about University of Southern California on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

14. John Hopkins University

14. John Hopkins University — Joe Giza/Reuters
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Total index score: 70.2
Read more about John Hopkins University on QS Top Universities.

13. Duke University

13. Duke University — Rainier Ehrhardt/AP
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Total index score: 70.5
Read more about Duke University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

12. University of Chicago

12. University of Chicago — Natalia Bratslavsky/Shutterstock
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Total index score: 71.8
Read more about University of Chicago on QS Top Universities.

11. New York University (NYU)

11. New York University (NYU) — Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Location: New York City, New York
Total index score: 72.9
Read more about NYU on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

10. Cornell University

10. Cornell University — Lewis Liu/Shutterstock
Location: Ithaca, New York
Total index score: 73.5
Read more about Cornell University on QS Top Universities.

9. Princeton University

9. Princeton University — REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Total index score: 75.7
Read more about Princeton University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

8. University of Pennsylvania

8. University of Pennsylvania — f11photo/Shutterstock
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Total index score: 76.1
Read more about University of Pennsylvania on QS Top Universities.

6 (tie). Yale University

6 (tie). Yale University — Michelle McLoughlin/Reuters
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Total index score: 78.3
Read more about Yale University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

6 (tie). University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

6 (tie). University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) — Damian Dovarganes/AP
Location: Los Angeles, California
Total index score: 78.3
Read more about UCLA on QS Top Universities.

5. Columbia University

5. Columbia University — LENS-68/Shutterstock
Location: New York City, New York
Total index score: 79.0
Read more about Columbia University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

4. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

4. University of California, Berkeley (UCB) — Jeff Chiu/AP
Location: Berkeley, California
Total index score: 79.2
Read more about University of California, Berkeley, on QS Top Universities.

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — Associated Press
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Total index score: 87.1
Read more about MIT on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

2. Stanford University

2. Stanford University — turtix/Shutterstock
Location: Stanford, California
Total index score: 89.7
Read more about Stanford University on QS Top Universities.

1. Harvard University

1. Harvard University — Charles Krupa/AP
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Total index score: 93.3
Read more about Harvard University on QS Top Universities.

Advertisement

Next Story 31 free Harvard University classes you can take o...

Advertisement

View All Latest

Advertisement

Copyright © 2024. Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.For reprint rights. Times Syndication Service.