Top Universities for Postgraduate Study in the USA

Types of US higher education institutions – college vs university

Colleges

Americans often use the term ‘college’ as an equivalent term for ‘university’; so, ‘going to university’ becomes ‘going to college’. However, ‘college’ is more often used to refer to undergraduate education. With some exceptions, colleges are usually smaller, with a focus on a few, specific subject areas and do not generally offer postgraduate programmes.

There are two common types of colleges in the US:

• Community colleges that only offer undergraduate programmes (many of which are associate degrees, preparing students for Bachelors-level study).
• Liberal arts colleges which may have postgraduate programmes awarding Masters degrees and even PhDs, but the majority focus on undergraduate education

Universities

In the US, universities are primarily higher education institutions offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees

Normally, to be classed as a university, an institution has to include a certain number of faculties or schools. These can either focus on specific subjects or a particular level of teaching. It's common for a large American university to include dedicated undergraduate colleges alongside more advanced graduate schools.

Universities are where most of the academic research happens in the USA. This means they have the expertise and facilities to deliver advanced degrees such as Masters and PhD qualifications.

Individual universities in the USA can either be public or private, depending on their funding status.

• Public universities are funded and administered by the state rather than the federal government. They tend to be large and often very prestigious institutions. Most US states maintain a single state university but sometimes they might operate across a network of sites (in which case individual campuses may specialise in particular academic fields). Because they are supported by state funding, fees at public universities are usually lower than those at private universities.
• Private universities in the USA are not funded by the state, but neither are they necessarily run on a commercial (for-profit) basis. Instead, they sustain their research and teaching activity through external investment (from charities or other organisations), and with the revenues they raise from tuition fees. Private universities are often more expensive than state universities, but most will also offer scholarships and other funding packages to help encourage and support students.

Graduate schools

Often existing as part of larger universities, graduate schools offer only Masters and PhD level qualifications. You may hear students go from ‘college’ to ‘graduate school’ (or ‘grad school’).

An individual university may have more than one graduate school, specialising in different subject areas. Some graduate schools focus on professional training like in Business, Medicine and Law. They may sometimes also be referred to as ‘professional schools’.

Public Ivies

The private nature of the Ivy League has led some top public universities in the US to be referred to as 'Public Ivies'. The Public Ivies aren't a formal association (and their 'membership' is completely unofficial), but the term is still a meaningful mark of respect.

The Association of American Universities (AAU)

The Association of American Universities is a membership organisation comprising leading public and private North American research universities. It includes 60 US institutions (including seven of the eight Ivies!) as well as two in Canada. In practice, the AAU is similar to the UK’s Russell Group. Membership serves as a badge of quality and allows universities to collectively lobby on higher education issues.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutes of Higher Education

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education system is based on the number of programmes US institutions offer at different levels, and the dominance of different subject areas in their research and training activity. The Basic Classification groups institutions according to the level and size of their degree programmes. Where a university offers postgraduate programmes, you can also use its Graduate Instructional Program Classification to see which disciplines predominate in its provision.

Top US universities for a postgraduate study

Domestic rankings of US universities

Think USA is the place for you? Read our comprehensive guides on Masters applications, funding and student visas.