Best American and Canadian Universities in Academic Reputation and Research Performance

The United States has a total of 2,774 4-year degree granting institutions (source).

The range in quality of these institutions is astonishingly large.

The top 113 (4%) among the 2774, according to Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2011-2012 (source), are listed below.

(Even the very best of US liberal arts colleges, such as Williams College, Swarthmore College, and Wellesley College, fail to make the THE list, due to their low research profile. See here for a ranking of US liberal arts colleges.)

The bottom 50 US universities ("dropout factories") by graduation rates can be found at the end of this post.


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THE (Times Higher Education) List of the top 131 Universities in North America (113 in USA, 18 in Canada)

The number preceding a university's name is its world ranking. Canadian universities are marked with [Canada].

* marks a university not on the ARWU lists below.


1 California Institute of Technology
=2 Harvard University
=2 Stanford University
5 Princeton University
7 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
----
9 University of Chicago
10 University of California Berkeley
11 Yale University
12 Columbia University
13 University of California Los Angeles
----
14 Johns Hopkins University
16 University of Pennsylvania
18 University of Michigan
19 University of Toronto [Canada]
20 Cornell University
----
21 Carnegie Mellon University
=22 University of British Columbia [Canada]
=22 Duke University
24 Georgia Institute of Technology
25 University of Washington
----
26 Northwestern University
27 University of Wisconsin-Madison
28 McGill University [Canada]
29 University of Texas at Austin
31 University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
----
33 University of California San Diego
35 University of California Santa Barbara
38 University of California Davis
41 Washington University in St Louis
42 University of Minnesota
----
43 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
44 New York University
49 Brown University
51 Pennsylvania State University
54 Boston University
----
55 University of Southern California
57 Ohio State University
59 University of Pittsburgh
64 University of Massachusetts
65 McMaster University [Canada]
----
70 Vanderbilt University
72 Rice University
75 Emory University
=77 University of Colorado Boulder
=77 Tufts University
----
=81 University of Rochester
=81 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
86 University of California Irvine
89 University of Notre Dame
90 Dartmouth College
----
93 Case Western Reserve University
94 University of Maryland, College Park
96 Michigan State University
97 University of Arizona
98 Purdue University
----
100 University of Alberta [Canada]
104 University of Montreal [Canada]
110 University of California Santa Cruz
113 University of Utah
114 Stony Brook University
----
123 Indiana University
125 University of Florida
127 Arizona State University
=135 George Washington University
=135 University of Virginia
----
138 Georgetown University
141 University of Iowa
143 University of California Riverside
144 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
146 College of William & Mary *
----
150 Brandeis University
154 Yeshiva University
=162 Medical University of South Carolina
=162 Wake Forest University
164 Texas A&M University
----
167 University of Illinois at Chicago
172 University of Miami
173 Queen's University [Canada]
177 University of Victoria [Canada]
180 University of Delaware
----
184 Iowa State University
185 University of Ottawa [Canada]
195 Boston College
197 Georgia Health Sciences University *

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Rank 201-225

University at Buffalo
University of Cincinnati
Colorado School of Mines *
University of Georgia
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
----
Northeastern University
University of South Carolina
Tulane University
University of Waterloo [Canada]
University of Western Ontario [Canada]
_________________________________

Rank 226-250

University of Calgary [Canada]
Carleton University [Canada]
Colorado State University
Creighton University *
Dalhousie University [Canada]
----
Drexel University
University of Missouri
Simon Fraser University [Canada]
State University of New York Albany - University at Albany
__________________________

Rank 251-275

University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Texas at Dallas
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Wayne State University
___________________________

Rank 276-300

University of Guelph [Canada]
University of Kansas
University of Kentucky
University of Texas at San Antonio
York University [Canada]
___________________________

Rank 301-350

Binghamton University, State University of New York *
George Mason University
University of Houston
Kent State University
Lehigh University
----
University of Manitoba [Canada]
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
University of Oklahoma
University of South Florida
Washington State University
_______________________

Rank 351-400

Auburn University
Clemson University
Georgia State University *
University of Idaho *
Kansas State University
----
Michigan Technological University *
New Jersey Institute of Technology *
Old Dominion University *
University of Wyoming

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Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2012 (here) focuses exclusively on the universities' research strength, and publishes the top 500 universities by research strength in the world. Amongst these 500, 150 are in the USA, and 22 are in Canada.

The number preceding the university's name is its USA/Canada rank, and the number following its name is its world rank.

* marks a university not on the THE list above.

ARWU List of the top 150 Universities in the USA

Country Rank	Institution	World Rank
1	Harvard University	1
2	Stanford University	2
3	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	3
4	University of California, Berkeley	4
5	California Institute of Technology	6
6	Princeton University	7
7	Columbia University	8
8	University of Chicago	9
9	Yale University	11
10	University of California, Los Angeles	12
11	Cornell University	13
12	University of Pennsylvania	14
13	University of California, San Diego	15
14	University of Washington	16
15	The Johns Hopkins University	17
16	University of California, San Francisco *	18
17	University of Wisconsin - Madison	19
18	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	22
19	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	25
20	New York University	27
21	University of Minnesota, Twin Cities	29
22	Northwestern University	30
23	Washington University in St. Louis	31
24	Rockefeller University *	32
25	University of Colorado at Boulder	33
26	University of California, Santa Barbara	34
27	The University of Texas at Austin	35
28	Duke University	36
29	University of Maryland, College Park	38
30	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	41
31	University of California, Irvine	45
32	University of Southern California	46
33	University of California, Davis	47
34	The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas *	48
35	Pennsylvania State University - University Park	49
36	Vanderbilt University	50
37	Carnegie Mellon University	51
38	Purdue University - West Lafayette	56
39	University of Pittsburgh	58
40	Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - New Brunswick	61
41	Brown University	65
41	The Ohio State University - Columbus	65
43	Boston University	71
44	University of Florida	72
45	University of Arizona	77
46	Arizona State University - Tempe	79
47	University of Utah	82
48	Indiana University Bloomington	84
49	University of Rochester	86
50	Rice University	91
51	Texas A&M University - College Station	93
52	Michigan State University	96
53	Case Western Reserve University	99
54-67	Baylor College of Medicine *	101-150
54-67	Emory University	101-150
54-67	Georgia Institute of Technology	101-150
54-67	Mayo Medical School *	101-150
54-67	The University of Georgia	101-150
54-67	Tufts University	101-150
54-67	University of California, Riverside	101-150
54-67	University of California, Santa Cruz	101-150
54-67	University of Delaware	101-150
54-67	University of Hawaii at Manoa	101-150
54-67	University of Iowa	101-150
54-67	University of Massachusetts Amherst	101-150
54-67	University of Massachusetts Medical School - Worcester *	101-150
54-67	University of Virginia	101-150
68-85	Colorado State University	151-200
68-85	Dartmouth College	151-200
68-85	George Mason University	151-200
68-85	Iowa State University	151-200
68-85	Mount Sinai School of Medicine *	151-200
68-85	North Carolina State University - Raleigh *	151-200
68-85	Oregon Health and Science University *	151-200
68-85	Oregon State University *	151-200
68-85	State University of New York at Stony Brook	151-200
68-85	The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston *	151-200
68-85	The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center *	151-200
68-85	University of Illinois at Chicago	151-200
68-85	University of Maryland, Baltimore	151-200
68-85	University of Miami	151-200
68-85	University of Nebraska - Lincoln *	151-200
68-85	University of Tennessee - Knoxville *	151-200
68-85	Virginia Commonwealth University *	151-200
68-85	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	151-200
86-109	Brandeis University	201-300
86-109	Florida State University *	201-300
86-109	Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge *	201-300
86-109	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	201-300
86-109	State University of New York at Buffalo	201-300
86-109	The George Washington University	201-300
86-109	The University of Alabama at Birmingham *	201-300
86-109	The University of Connecticut - Storrs *	201-300
86-109	The University of New Mexico - Albuquerque *	201-300
86-109	Thomas Jefferson University *	201-300
86-109	University of Central Florida *	201-300
86-109	University of Cincinnati	201-300
86-109	University of Colorado at Denver *	201-300
86-109	University of Houston	201-300
86-109	University of Kansas - Lawrence	201-300
86-109	University of Kentucky	201-300
86-109	University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey	201-300
86-109	University of Missouri - Columbia	201-300
86-109	University of Notre Dame	201-300
86-109	University of Oregon *	201-300
86-109	University of South Carolina - Columbia	201-300
86-109	University of South Florida	201-300
86-109	Washington State University - Pullman	201-300
86-109	Yeshiva University	201-300
110-137	Brigham Young University *	301-400
110-137	City University of New York City College *	301-400
110-137	Clemson University	301-400
110-137	Drexel University	301-400
110-137	Georgetown University	301-400
110-137	Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis *	301-400
110-137	Kansas State University	301-400
110-137	Medical University of South Carolina	301-400
110-137	Northeastern University	301-400
110-137	Saint Louis University *	301-400
110-137	San Diego State University *	301-400
110-137	State University of New York at Albany	301-400
110-137	State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn *	301-400
110-137	Syracuse University *	301-400
110-137	Temple University *	301-400
110-137	The University of Montana - Missoula *	301-400
110-137	The University of Texas at Dallas	301-400
110-137	The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio *	301-400
110-137	The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston *	301-400
110-137	Tulane University	301-400
110-137	University of Alaska - Fairbanks *	301-400
110-137	University of Nebraska Medical Center *	301-400
110-137	University of New Hampshire - Durham *	301-400
110-137	University of Oklahoma - Norman	301-400
110-137	University of Rhode Island *	301-400
110-137	University of Vermont *	301-400
110-137	Wake Forest University	301-400
110-137	Wayne State University	301-400
138-150	Auburn University	401-500
138-150	Boston College	401-500
138-150	Kent State University	401-500
138-150	Lehigh University	401-500
138-150	Medical College of Wisconsin *	401-500
138-150	Montana State University - Bozeman *	401-500
138-150	Southern Methodist University *	401-500
138-150	Texas Tech University *	401-500
138-150	The University of Texas at San Antonio	401-500
138-150	University of Arkansas at Fayetteville *	401-500
138-150	University of Louisville *	401-500
138-150	University of Wyoming	401-500

Missing from table: 138-150 Utah State University * 401- 500


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ARWU List of the top 22 Universities in Canada

Country Rank	Institution	World Rank
1	University of Toronto	27
2	University of British Columbia	39
3	McGill University	63
4	McMaster University	92
5-6	University of Alberta	101-150
5-6	University of Montreal	101-150
7	University of Waterloo	151-200
8-17	Dalhousie University	201-300
8-17	Laval University *	201-300
8-17	Queen's University	201-300
8-17	Simon Fraser University	201-300
8-17	The University of Calgary	201-300
8-17	The University of Western Ontario	201-300
8-17	University of Guelph	201-300
8-17	University of Manitoba	201-300
8-17	University of Ottawa	201-300
8-17	University of Saskatchewan *	201-300
18	University of Victoria	301-400
19-22	Carleton University	401-500
19-22	University of Quebec *	401-500
19-22	University of Sherbrooke *	401-500
19-22	York University	401-500

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The Center for Measuring University Performance (University of Florida) determines the Top American Research Universities (2010 report, here) by their rank on nine different measures: Total Research, Federal Research, Endowment Assets, Annual Giving, National Academy Members, Faculty Awards, Doctorates Granted, Postdoctoral Appointees, and SAT/ACT range. 

The tables (below) group research institutions according to how many times they rank in the top 25 on each of these nine measures. The top category includes those universities that rank in the top 25 on all nine indicators. The bottom category includes universities with only one of the nine measures ranked in the top 25.

Within these groups, institutions are then sorted by how many times they rank between 26 and 50 on the nine  performance variables, with ties listed alphabetically. A similar methodology produces a second set of institutions—those ranked 26 through 50 on the same nine measures.


Top American Research Universities

Rank 1-53

Rank 54-76

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50 US Universities with highest dropout rates

(source)

Below are the Washington Monthly's 2010 rankings of the 4-year public and private not-for-profit colleges in America with the worst graduation rates. To read the story "College Dropout Factories" click here.

* Indicates a public school. † Crichton is now the for-profit Victory University.
††, ⊕ These symbols denote post-release edits to chart: Read footnotes.

	Institution
		Graduation Rate
1	Southern University at New Orleans (LA)*, ⊕	5%
2	Allen University (SC)††	6%
3	Martin University (IN)	7%
4	Bellevue University (NE)	7%
5	Calumet College of Saint Joseph (IN)	7%
6	Baker College of Auburn Hills (MI)	7%
7	University of the District of Columbia*	8%
8	East-West University (IL)††	9%
9	Haskell Indian Nations University (KS)*	9%
10	Crichton College (TN)†, ††	9%
11	Jarvis Christian College (TX)††	10%
12	Edward Waters College (FL)	11%
13	Oglala Lakota College (SD)*	11%
14	Baker College of Clinton Township (MI)	12%
15	Heritage University (WA)	12%
16	Davenport University (MI)	12%
17	Texas College	12%
18	Texas Southern University*	13%
19	Chicago State University*	13%
20	Purdue University, North Central Campus (IN)*	13%
21	Macon State College (GA)*	13%
22	West Virginia University at Parkersburg*	13%
23	Mountain State University (WV)	13%
24	Saint Paul's College (VA)	13%
25	Nevada State College*	13%
26	University of Houston, Downtown (TX)*	14%
27	Louisiana State University, Shreveport*	15%
28	Utah Valley University*	15%
29	University of Alaska Southeast*	15%
30	Boricua College (NY)	15%
31	University of Great Falls (MT)	16%
32	Bryn Athyn College of the New Church (PA)	16%
33	Coppin State University (MD)*	16%
34	Paul Quinn College (TX)	16%
35	Holy Names University (CA)	17%
36	Huston-Tillotson University (TX)	17%
37	University of Texas at Brownsville*	17%
38	Bacone College (OK)	17%
39	Marygrove College (MI)	17%
40	Rogers State University (OK)*	18%
41	Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus (NY)	18%
42	Miles College (AL)	18%
43	Western New Mexico University*	18%
44	Sul Ross State University (TX)*	18%
45	Northeastern Illinois University*	18%
46	Life University (GA)	19%
47	CUNY New York City College of Technology	19%
48	Harris-Stowe State University (MO)*	19%
49	Stillman College (AL)	19%
50	Mitchell College (CT)	20%

†† The original version of this table listed several schools—Concordia College at Moorhead, Saint Augustine’s College, Nyack College, Visible School—Music and Worship Arts College, and Idaho State University—as dropout factories based upon graduation rate data they reported to a database maintained by the U.S. Department of Education. We have since determined that those schools reported incorrect graduation rate information to the government; had they reported accurate data they would not have been included in the table. We have corrected the rankings accordingly. ⊕Southern University's low graduation rate reflects the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the campus. The average graduation rate of the four cohorts of students who graduated prior to Katrina was 11 percent; at that rate the school would rank 13th on our list.

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Related:

* Best British and Irish Universities in Academic Reputation and Research Performance (here)

* Best Australian and New Zealand Universities in Academic Reputation and Research Performance (here)