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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 Religious Studies, 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

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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# 3

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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# 4

University of Oxford

Collegiate research university in Oxford, England

#11 institution's overall influence

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# 5

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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# 6

University of London

Federal research university in London, England

#2 institution's overall influence

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# 7

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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# 8

University of Cambridge

Collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

#4 institution's overall influence

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# 9

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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# 10

Brigham Young University

Private research university in Provo, Utah, United States

#104 institution's overall influence

#102 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$6K

Acceptance

64%

Graduation

83%

Student body

34K

Median SAT/ACT

1305/28

Provo, UT

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# 11

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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# 12

University of Toronto

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

#23 institution's overall influence

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# 13

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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# 14

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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# 15

Humboldt University of Berlin

University in Germany

#12 institution's overall influence

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# 16

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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# 17

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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# 18

University of Lancaster

Research university in Lancaster, United Kingdom

#280 institution's overall influence

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# 19

Durham University

Collegiate public research university in Durham, England, United Kingdom

#122 institution's overall influence

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# 20

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Israeli University in Jerusalem

#81 institution's overall influence

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# 21

University of Birmingham

University in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

#54 institution's overall influence

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# 22

McGill University

English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec

#42 institution's overall influence

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# 23

Georgetown University

Private university in Washington, D.C., United States

#69 institution's overall influence

#19 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

94%

Student body

14K

Median SAT/ACT

1450/32

Washington, DC

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# 24

Rice University

University in Houston, Texas, USA

#93 institution's overall influence

#15 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$47K

Acceptance

11%

Graduation

93%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Houston, TX

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# 25

University of Notre Dame

Catholic university in South Bend, Indiana, United States

#116 institution's overall influence

#23 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

18%

Graduation

95%

Student body

13K

Median SAT/ACT

1475/34

Notre Dame, IN

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# 26

University of Göttingen

University in the city of Göttingen, Germany

#18 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 Tübingen

Public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

#51 institution's overall influence

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# 29

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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# 30

University of Edinburgh

Public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland

#13 institution's overall influence

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# 31

University of Freiburg

University in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

#48 institution's overall influence

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# 32

Brown University

University in Providence, Rhode Island

#36 institution's overall influence

#7 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

96%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1485/33

Providence, RI

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# 33

University of Kent

Public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom

#309 institution's overall influence

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# 34

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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# 35

Santa Clara University

Private non-profit Jesuit university located in Santa Clara, California

#375 institution's overall influence

#1245 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

50%

Graduation

89%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1355/30

Santa Clara, CA

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# 36

The Catholic University of America

Private Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

#200 institution's overall influence

#261 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$46K

Acceptance

84%

Graduation

70%

Student body

Washington, DC

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# 37

Claremont Graduate University

University located in Claremont, California, United States

#385 institution's overall influence

Student body

Claremont, CA

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# 38

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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# 39

University of Bristol

Research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom

#64 institution's overall influence

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# 40

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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# 41

Princeton Theological Seminary

Seminary

#354 institution's overall influence

Student body

Princeton, NJ

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# 42

Queen's University

University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada

#179 institution's overall influence

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# 43

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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# 44

University of California, Riverside

Public research university in Riverside, California, USA

#296 institution's overall influence

#919 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

51%

Graduation

73%

Student body

23K

Median SAT/ACT

1220/26

Riverside, CA

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# 45

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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# 46

University of California, Irvine

Public research university in Irvine, California, United States

#100 institution's overall influence

#87 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

29%

Graduation

87%

Student body

36K

Median SAT/ACT

1300/29

Irvine, CA

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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

Wheaton College

Christian liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois

#394 institution's overall influence

#1019 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$36K

Acceptance

83%

Graduation

91%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1315/29

Wheaton, IL

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# 49

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Religious education organization located in New York, New York

#325 institution's overall influence

Tuition + fees

$57K

Acceptance

47%

Graduation

79%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1430/32

New York, NY

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# 50

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

German university in Munich, Bavaria

#25 institution's overall influence

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