In 2010, U.S. News and World Report named Harvard University the best university in the United States. Harvard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a member of the prestigious group of colleges known as the Ivy League. It has an undergraduate and graduate enrollment of more than 19,000 students. Because of its prestige, admission to Harvard's graduate school is highly competitive; only 11 percent of those who apply receive an invitation to enroll, according to the college's website. The university grants doctoral degrees in fields like business; anthropology; biology; Celtic language and literature; engineering; health policy; music; and regional studies, including Middle Eastern and Inner Asian. Many of the doctoral programs offer assistantships, which allow students to attend classes for free in exchange for teaching at the undergraduate level. A limited number of fellowships or grants for research and need-based scholarships are also available.
Harvard University
86 Brattle St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-1551
harvard.edu
Located in Waltham, Brandeis University is a private, nonsectarian college approximately 10 miles from Boston. Home to more than 5,300 undergraduate and graduate students, the university received the 31st-place ranking among all universities in the United States from U.S. News and World Report in 2010. Among the university's doctoral programs are social policy; management; biophysics; computer science; history; molecular and cell biology; musicology; neuroscience; physics; and psychology. Most students at the doctoral level receive funding for their first five years at Brandeis. Through this program, students assume teaching positions and receive full scholarships, as well as a monthly stipend and health insurance benefits. Merit-based fellowships are also granted to help students fund their research endeavors.
Brandeis University
415 South St.
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
781-736-3500
brandeis.edu
Established in 1863, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst is a public institution 90 miles west of Boston and 60 miles north of Hartford, Connecticut. Overall, the university is home to more than 26,000 students, though less than 5,000 are graduate students. Doctoral degree offerings include a number of uncommon programs, such as audiology; communication disorders; entomology; food science; geoscience; hospitality and tourism management; kinesiology; landscape architecture; linguistics; marine sciences; public health; sports management; and wildlife and fisheries management. Assistantships and fellowships are available through some departments at the University of Massachusetts, but not every doctoral student is able to receive such funding. Other financial aid opportunities offered through the college include work study, institutional scholarships and government loans and grants.
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
37 Mather Dr.
Amherst, MA 01003-9313
413-545-0222
umass.edu