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The Best Universities for Mathematics in the USA (2023)

Written by Vincent Hedman

Why Study Mathematics in the USA

There are many reasons why someone might want to study Mathematics at a university in the USA. Here are just a few:

  • The United States boasts some of the world's leading educational institutions offering high-quality education in Mathematics. Universities like MIT, Harvard, and Stanford consistently top global education rankings.
  • Graduate schools offer degree concentrations catering to diverse interests ranging from pure mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, and financial engineering. This allows students to have a broad spectrum of choices for specialisations.
  • Several American universities offer scholarships and financial aid programmes for talented international students, making it easier on the pockets for students during their Masters studies.
  • Masters programmes in Mathematics open doors to a wide range of career choices across sectors like finance, technology, and big data analysis.

The Best Universities for Mathematics in the USA

The following tables gives the 10 top universities in the USA for Mathematics, according to global and local university rankings. It can show you which American universities are amongst the best in the world - and help you compare institutions on an international level.

This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Times Higher Education, QS and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

Each ranking system uses its own methodology, with different factors having more or less influence on a university's result.

If you're wondering how these rankings affect your decision, our guide has more information on how to use international rankings as a postgraduate.


Top 10 Universities in the USA for Mathematics (Times Higher Education)
University USA Rank Global Rank
California Institute of Technology 1 1
Harvard University =2 =2
Stanford University =2 =2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4 4
Princeton University 5 5
University of California, Berkeley 6 6
Yale University 7 =12
Columbia University 8 15
University of Chicago 9 15
University of California, Los Angeles 10 16
This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Times Higher Education. Visit their website for more information.

What should I know about the Times Higher Education rankings?

The Times Higher Education rankings are strong in academic focus and diverse teaching metrics, but do not include employer-specific metrics. Additionally, the rankings may not include all specialist institutions.


Top 10 Universities in the USA for Mathematics (QS)
University USA Rank Global Rank
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1 1
Stanford University 2 =3
Harvard University 3 5
University of California, Berkeley 4 6
Princeton University 5 7
New York University 6 9
University of California, Los Angeles 7 12
California Institute of Technology 8 17
Carnegie Mellon University 9 =19
University of Chicago 10 21
This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by QS World University Rankings. Visit their website for more information.

What should I know about the QS rankings?

The QS World University Rankings are designed to meet the needs of prospective students, with more weight given to student-centric metrics such as staff/student ratio, international recruitment and employer opinion. The rankings are balanced between qualitative and quantitative data, but give less weight to research than some other rankings.


Top 10 Universities in the USA for Mathematics (ARWU)
University USA Rank Global Rank
Princeton University 1 2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2 6
Stanford University 3 7
New York University 4 9
The University of Texas at Austin 5 10
University of California, Los Angeles 6 11
University of Wisconsin 7 13
University of California, Berkeley 8 14
Stony Brook University 9 16
University of Chicago 10 18
This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Academic Ranking of World Universities. Visit their website for more information.

What should I know about the ARWU rankings?

The ARWU rankings reflect the presence of elite academics and the future academic success of graduates. However, they do not directly assess the quality of education at a university or take into account other aspects of university performance.


Last updated: 24 July 2023