How these universities are ranked
69 of these universities hold a QS World position, from #5 (Harvard 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. 37 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 1,002 public to 10 private institutions. By location, New York (6), 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.
Inside the course list
By level: 3,479 bachelor's, 489 master's, 161 diploma and 86 phd / doctorate. Within the subject, the largest areas are Social Sciences & Psychology (5,195), Psychology (32), Communication & Media (30) and Anthropology (28). The usual length is 4 years and 1–2 years. 95% are full-time and 236 can be studied online. Start dates lean to Fall (100% of courses with a stated intake) and Spring (98% of courses with a stated intake). Humboldt State University offers the widest choice, with 63 of these courses.
What it costs
We hold indicative fees for 38 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 21,833. Check each university's own fee page before you budget — figures change every year.