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Which colleges and universities are the most influential in the US? And which are the most influential schools in the world?

Find excellent universities in your field, see which colleges have made the biggest historical impact in your discipline, find out which schools are both influential and affordable, and more!
How we measure influence…
What is desirability?

Name

Country

Discipline

Subdiscipline

Min Year of Influence

Max Year of Influence

List of the most influential schools in Psychology, for the years 2000 – 2020

# 1

Harvard University

Private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

#1 institution's overall influence

#2 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

25K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/34

Cambridge, MA

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# 2

Stanford University

Private research university located in Stanford, California, United States

#10 institution's overall influence

#1 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$51K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1495/33

Stanford, CA

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# 3

Columbia University

Private Ivy League research university in New York City

#3 institution's overall influence

#6 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

28K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

New York, NY

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# 4

University of London

Federal research university in London, England

#2 institution's overall influence

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# 5

University of Michigan

Public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

#15 institution's overall influence

#37 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$16K

Acceptance

23%

Graduation

91%

Student body

42K

Median SAT/ACT

1420/32

Ann Arbor, MI

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# 6

Yale University

Private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States

#7 institution's overall influence

#4 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

Graduation

98%

Student body

15K

Median SAT/ACT

1515/34

New Haven, CT

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# 7

University of California, Berkeley

Public research university in Berkeley, California, United States

#6 institution's overall influence

#29 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

92%

Student body

41K

Median SAT/ACT

1425/33

Berkeley, CA

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# 8

University of Chicago

Private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States

#5 institution's overall influence

#8 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$57K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

12K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/34

Chicago, IL

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# 9

Princeton University

Private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States

#8 institution's overall influence

#5 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1505/33

Princeton, NJ

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# 10

University of Pennsylvania

Private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#17 institution's overall influence

#10 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1485/33

Philadelphia, PA

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# 11

New York University

Private research university in New York City

#16 institution's overall influence

#44 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

20%

Graduation

85%

Student body

47K

Median SAT/ACT

1410/31

New York, NY

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# 12

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

#9 institution's overall influence

#3 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

Graduation

93%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1535/35

Cambridge, MA

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# 13

Cornell University

Private university in Ithaca

#14 institution's overall influence

#14 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

94%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1465/33

Ithaca, NY

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# 14

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Public research university in Madison, Wisconsin., USA

#26 institution's overall influence

#216 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

52%

Graduation

85%

Student body

36K

Median SAT/ACT

1365/29

Madison, WI

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# 15

University of California, Los Angeles

Public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States

#24 institution's overall influence

#31 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$13K

Acceptance

14%

Graduation

91%

Student body

44K

Median SAT/ACT

1405/32

Los Angeles, CA

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# 16

University of Vienna

Public university in Vienna, Austria

#19 institution's overall influence

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# 17

University of Cambridge

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

#4 institution's overall influence

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# 18

University of Minnesota

Public research university in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

#34 institution's overall influence

#890 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$15K

Acceptance

52%

Graduation

78%

Student body

44K

Median SAT/ACT

1375/28

Minneapolis, MN

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# 19

Johns Hopkins University

University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

#20 institution's overall influence

#21 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

92%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Baltimore, MD

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# 20

McGill University

English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec

#42 institution's overall influence

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# 21

Duke University

Private university in Durham, North Carolina, United States

#31 institution's overall influence

#12 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

Graduation

95%

Student body

15K

Median SAT/ACT

1510/34

Durham, NC

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# 22

University of Toronto

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

#23 institution's overall influence

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# 23

University of Oxford

Collegiate research university in Oxford, England

#11 institution's overall influence

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# 24

University of Zurich

University in Switzerland

#40 institution's overall influence

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# 25

Brandeis University

Private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts

#91 institution's overall influence

#167 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

31%

Graduation

90%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1390/31

Waltham, MA

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# 26

Humboldt University of Berlin

University in Germany

#12 institution's overall influence

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# 27

Northwestern University

Private research university with campuses in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, United States

#28 institution's overall influence

#24 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

94%

Student body

19K

Median SAT/ACT

1490/34

Evanston, IL

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# 28

University of Edinburgh

Public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland

#13 institution's overall influence

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# 29

University of British Columbia

Public research university in British Columbia, Canada

#63 institution's overall influence

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# 30

University of Texas at Austin

Public research university in Austin, Texas, United States

#41 institution's overall influence

#43 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

39%

Graduation

81%

Student body

45K

Median SAT/ACT

1355/30

Austin, TX

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# 31

Carnegie Mellon University

Private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

#45 institution's overall influence

#35 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

17%

Graduation

90%

Student body

16K

Median SAT/ACT

1500/34

Pittsburgh, PA

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# 32

Brooklyn College

Senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn

#112 institution's overall influence

#1381 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$7K

Acceptance

44%

Graduation

51%

Student body

15K

Brooklyn, NY

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# 33

University of California, San Diego

Public university in La Jolla, California, United States

#49 institution's overall influence

#71 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

30%

Graduation

87%

Student body

36K

Median SAT/ACT

1365/30

La Jolla, CA

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# 34

Teachers College

Graduate school of Columbia University

#295 institution's overall influence

Student body

New York, NY

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# 35

University of Washington

Public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States

#44 institution's overall influence

#69 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

49%

Graduation

84%

Student body

46K

Median SAT/ACT

1340/29

Seattle, WA

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# 36

Boston University

Private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

#38 institution's overall influence

#56 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

22%

Graduation

87%

Student body

30K

Median SAT/ACT

1415/31

Boston, MA

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# 37

University of California, Santa Barbara

Public university near Goleta, California, United States and part of the University of California system

#94 institution's overall influence

#100 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

32%

Graduation

82%

Student body

26K

Median SAT/ACT

1345/30

Santa Barbara, CA

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# 38

City College of New York

Senior college of the City University of New York in New York City

#60 institution's overall influence

Tuition + fees

$7K

Acceptance

48%

Graduation

47%

Student body

13K

New York, NY

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# 39

Ohio State University

Public research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States

#102 institution's overall influence

#77 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

52%

Graduation

84%

Student body

55K

Median SAT/ACT

1345/29

Columbus, OH

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# 40

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Israeli University in Jerusalem

#81 institution's overall influence

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# 41

University of Virginia

Public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

#43 institution's overall influence

#40 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$17K

Acceptance

26%

Graduation

94%

Student body

24K

Median SAT/ACT

1415/32

Charlottesville, VA

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# 42

Rutgers University

Multi-campus American public research university in New Jersey, United States

#47 institution's overall influence

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# 43

Michigan State University

Public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States

#103 institution's overall influence

#1461 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$16K

Acceptance

78%

Graduation

78%

Student body

43K

Median SAT/ACT

1210/26

East Lansing, MI

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# 44

University of Southern California

Private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States

#39 institution's overall influence

#30 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$56K

Acceptance

13%

Graduation

92%

Student body

37K

Median SAT/ACT

1440/32

Los Angeles, CA

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# 45

University of Iowa

Public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States

#57 institution's overall influence

#369 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$9K

Acceptance

83%

Graduation

72%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1225/25

Iowa City, IA

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# 46

University of Pittsburgh

State-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

#67 institution's overall influence

#987 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$19K

Acceptance

59%

Graduation

81%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1350/30

Pittsburgh, PA

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# 47

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

#74 institution's overall influence

#38 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$9K

Acceptance

23%

Graduation

91%

Student body

25K

Median SAT/ACT

1375/31

Chapel Hill, NC

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# 48

Leipzig University

University in Leipzig, Germany

#21 institution's overall influence

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# 49

Clark University

American private university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts

#189 institution's overall influence

#469 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$46K

Acceptance

59%

Graduation

75%

Student body

Worcester, MA

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# 50

University of Arizona

Public university in Tucson, Arizona, United States

#88 institution's overall influence

#605 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$12K

Acceptance

84%

Graduation

60%

Student body

39K

Median SAT/ACT

1190/24

Tucson, AZ

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