Both "U.S. News & World Report" (2010) and the "Times Higher Education Supplement" (2009) concur that the top American university is Harvard. The Times Supplement placed Harvard first among 200 top universities throughout the world, while the former publication ranked Harvard first among strictly U.S. institutions. Harvard is world renowned for many of its academic programs both in the humanities and in the natural and applied sciences. Harvard's medical and business schools are considered to be the top in the world. Harvard's law school is internationally reputed and its programs in engineering, math, history, English, education and several other disciplines are either top-rated or perennially rated in the top 10 among American institutions of higher education. Harvard typically leads the field in many of these disciplines because of its vast research in each field. The medical school is a prime example, with its annual endowment of over $500 million. Most other top medical programs like the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University only typically boast budgets of $400 to $450 million.
Harvard University
86 Brattle St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-1551
harvard.edu
Princeton University was ranked number one, tied with Harvard, by "U.S. & World Report" (2010) and number eight among the world's top universities by the Times Supplement (2009). One distinctive aspect of the Princeton culture that sets it apart from Harvard and Yale, to an extent, is that although it is a research institution, far more emphasis is placed on faculty advisement and teaching of undergraduate students, whereas Harvard and Yale have reputations for placing graduate programs first. Princeton offers students 29 different departments from which they can receive their degree. Princeton is highly competitive in its admission process and offers students ample financial aid without having to obtain student loans.
Princeton University
110 W. College
Princeton, NJ 08544
609-258-3060
princeton.edu
Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, ranked third among national universities in 2010 by "U.S. News & World Report" while the Times Supplement ranked the school number three in the world behind Harvard and the University of Cambridge (U.K.). Yale's position of prominence on the Times Supplement list is likely reflective of its research programs offered at the graduate school level. Yale's Law School was ranked number one by "U.S. News & World Report" in 2010 and its medical and graduate nursing programs both ranked in the top 10. Topuniversities.com has also noted that Yale's rankings in various fields places them among the best of the world in the arts and humanities, life sciences and biomedicine, and the social sciences. Additionally, Yale's Divinity School, music department, architectural school and business school all carry international fame as being among the best in the world or in the United States.
Yale University
P.O. Box 208234
New Haven, CT 06520
203-432-9316
yale.edu