Syracuse University

In brief

Syracuse University is a private research university in Syracuse, New York, chartered on March 24, 1870. By our measure of academic influence, it ranks #49 in the United States and #135 in the world. It admitted 45.9% of applicants for fall 2024, and admitted students had a median SAT score of 1355.

Where Syracuse’s influence is strongest

Syracuse’s influence is concentrated in public affairs and communications. Its strongest broad fields, by US rank in our data, are:

• Political science: #25 in the US
• Communications: #26
• Business: #30
• Earth sciences: #33

In public administration Syracuse ranks #2 in the US, behind only Harvard, a reflection of its Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. It is also #2 in abnormal psychology (behind Harvard) and #3 in environmental science (behind its neighbor, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Harvard). By comparison, Syracuse sits further back in medicine (#76), nursing (#86), and biology (#91).

How we measure influence: these ranks come from the citations and recognition earned by a school’s faculty and alumni in each discipline, not from surveys or admissions statistics. See our methodology.

Notable people

Syracuse-connected public figures include Joseph R. Biden Jr., the 46th President, who earned his law degree there in 1968, and former US Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala. Its writers and artists include the novelists Joyce Carol Oates and George Saunders, the playwright and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, and the musician Lou Reed, and its broadcasters include Ted Koppel and Dick Clark. Our full lists of Syracuse’s most influential alumni and faculty appear below.

Frequently asked questions

Is Syracuse hard to get into? Moderately. It admitted 45.9% of applicants for fall 2024; the middle half of admitted students scored 640–720 on the SAT reading section and 630–720 on math.

What does Syracuse cost after financial aid? Tuition is $68,429 for 2025–26. The average net price for aided students with family incomes of $48,000–$75,000 was $25,499 in 2024–25; it ranged from about $21,339 for incomes of $30,000–$48,000 to $60,127 for incomes above $110,000.

How do Syracuse graduates do? 80.5% of students who started in 2019 graduated within six years, and 90% of first-year students return for a second year. Ten years after starting college, former students had median earnings of $85,054.

What is Syracuse best known for academically? By our influence data: public administration, where it is second only to Harvard, along with political science, communications, and business.