How these universities are ranked
60 of these universities hold a QS World position, from #3 (Stanford University) to #593 (University of Central Florida); they are listed first, in that order. The rest are ordered by research impact. Harvard University has the largest research record in this group, with 146,463,495 citations and an h-index of 2,807. 34 universities have neither a QS position nor a research record yet and appear at the end, marked "Not yet ranked".
Public, private and where they are
The split is 884 public to 9 private institutions. By location, New York (5), Massachusetts (4) and Texas (3) account for the most of those we can place. The oldest is Harvard University, founded in 1636. Ohio State University-Main Campus is the largest, with 45,638 students.
What the courses look like
By level: 1,659 bachelor's, 241 master's, 143 diploma and 45 professional. Within the subject, the largest areas are Arts, Design & Architecture (2,579), Fine Arts (53), Multimedia Design (8) and Fashion Design (7). The usual length is 4 years and 1–2 years. 98% are full-time and 51 can be studied online. Start dates lean to Fall (100% of courses with a stated intake) and Spring (99% of courses with a stated intake). Pratt Institute offers the widest choice, with 83 of these courses.
What it costs
We hold indicative fees for 33 of these universities. University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez is the least expensive at USD 5,274 a year and Columbia University the most at USD 66,000; the middle of the range is about USD 22,326. Check each university's own fee page before you budget — figures change every year.