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Massachusetts Institute of Technology tops our list of 50 Private universities in the United States at #1 in the QS World University Rankings 2026. Next come Stanford University (QS World #3) and Harvard University (QS World #5). The universities on this list offer 2,574 matching courses between them.
50 universities · ranked best first
how we rankPrivate University · 2 courses
Private University · 4 courses
Private University · 15 courses
Private University · 12 courses
Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 37 courses
All 37 courses →Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 13 courses
Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 20 courses
Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 0 courses
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Private University · 49 courses
Private University · 0 courses
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8 of these universities hold a QS World position, from #1 (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to #600 (Tulane University of Louisiana); they are listed first, in that order. Below them, universities follow their research output: Harvard University is cited most (147,623,675 citations). 9 universities have neither a QS position nor a research record yet and appear at the end, marked "Not yet ranked".
0 are public and 50 private (0% public). By location, New York (12), Puerto Rico (7) and Florida (5) account for the most of those we can place. The oldest is Harvard University, founded in 1636. Columbia University is the largest, with 33,000 students.
By level: 161 bachelor's, 72 master's, 57 diploma and 20 foundation. The most common subjects are Medicine & Health Sciences (75), Business & Management (38), Business Administration (MBA) (21) and Arts, Design & Architecture (17). The usual length is 4 years and 2 years. 89% are full-time and 40 can be studied online. Start dates lean to Fall (100% of courses with a stated intake) and Spring (87% of courses with a stated intake). Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Cupey Campus offers the widest choice, with 118 of these courses.
We hold indicative fees for 48 of these universities. Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon is the least expensive at USD 5,780 a year and Columbia University in the City of New York the most at USD 71,845; the middle of the range is about USD 42,955. Check each university's own fee page before you budget — figures change every year.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (QS World #1), Stanford University (QS World #3) and Harvard University (QS World #5) lead this list. QS World positions come first; the rest are ranked by research impact.
Of those with published fees, Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon is the least expensive at about USD 5,780 a year. Fees are indicative — confirm on the university's site.
0 public and 50 private universities are on this list.
Most listed courses run 4 years, with 2 years the next most common.
Fall is the main intake — 100% of courses with a stated start date begin then, and Spring is the second.
40 of these courses are listed as online.
Tuition is only half of the decision. The US Department of Education publishes median earnings and median student debt for each individual degree programme, and our sister site TopUniversitiesUSA is built on that federal file.
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