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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

Min Year of Influence

Max Year of Influence

List of the most influential schools for the years 2000 – 2020

# 51

Australian National University

University in Canberra, Australia

#107 institution's overall influence

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# 52

University of Pittsburgh

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

#68 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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# 53

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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# 54

University of Warwick

University in Coventry, United Kingdom

#157 institution's overall influence

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# 55

School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences

French higher education institution

#134 institution's overall influence

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# 56

Syracuse University

University located in Syracuse, New York, United States

#84 institution's overall influence

#1450 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$52K

Acceptance

50%

Graduation

82%

Student body

23K

Median SAT/ACT

1275/27

Syracuse, NY

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# 57

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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# 58

Washington University in St. Louis

University in St. Louis, Missouri, United States

#66 institution's overall influence

#20 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$53K

Acceptance

15%

Graduation

94%

Student body

12K

Median SAT/ACT

1520/33

Saint Louis, MO

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# 59

Dartmouth College

University and liberal arts college in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States

#53 institution's overall influence

#11 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

Graduation

97%

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

1490/33

Hanover, NH

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# 60

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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# 61

University of Leeds

University in Leeds, United Kingdom

#70 institution's overall influence

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# 62

Tel Aviv University

Israeli University in Tel Aviv

#151 institution's overall influence

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# 63

University of East Anglia

University in Norwich, England

#149 institution's overall influence

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# 64

University of Birmingham

University in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

#54 institution's overall influence

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# 65

University of Sussex

University in Brighton and Hove, UK

#147 institution's overall influence

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# 66

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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# 67

University of Sydney

Australian university founded in 1850

#78 institution's overall influence

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# 68

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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# 69

University of Florida

Public research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States

#101 institution's overall influence

#45 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$6K

Acceptance

39%

Graduation

87%

Student body

45K

Median SAT/ACT

1360/29

Gainesville, FL

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# 70

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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# 71

University of Melbourne

Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria

#97 institution's overall influence

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# 72

University of Utah

Public coeducational space-grant research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

#80 institution's overall influence

#1235 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$9K

Acceptance

67%

Graduation

65%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1240/25

Salt Lake City, UT

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# 73

University of Vienna

Public university in Vienna, Austria

#19 institution's overall influence

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# 74

University of Waterloo

Public research university in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

#168 institution's overall influence

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# 75

The New School

University in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village

#89 institution's overall influence

#1438 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$49K

Acceptance

57%

Graduation

68%

Student body

10K

Median SAT/ACT

1255/27

New York, NY

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# 76

Arizona State University

Public university located in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Arizona, United States

#153 institution's overall influence

#1312 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$11K

Acceptance

85%

Graduation

67%

Student body

50K

Median SAT/ACT

1245/25

Tempe, AZ

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# 77

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Public university in Massachusetts, USA

#127 institution's overall influence

#953 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$16K

Acceptance

60%

Graduation

76%

Student body

28K

Median SAT/ACT

1295/28

Amherst, MA

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# 78

Emory University

Private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

#111 institution's overall influence

#41 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$51K

Acceptance

19%

Graduation

91%

Student body

13K

Median SAT/ACT

1435/32

Atlanta, GA

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# 79

University of Rochester

Private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States

#99 institution's overall influence

#61 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$54K

Acceptance

29%

Graduation

85%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1410/32

Rochester, NY

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# 80

University of Delhi

Central university located in New Delhi

#156 institution's overall influence

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# 81

Vanderbilt University

Private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States

#115 institution's overall influence

#16 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$50K

Acceptance

10%

Graduation

92%

Student body

11K

Median SAT/ACT

1505/34

Nashville, TN

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# 82

National University of Singapore

Autonomous research university in Singapore

#192 institution's overall influence

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# 83

Leiden University

University in Leiden, Netherlands

#29 institution's overall influence

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# 84

York University

University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

#193 institution's overall influence

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# 85

University of California, Santa Cruz

Public University of California campus in Santa Cruz

#174 institution's overall influence

#734 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$14K

Acceptance

47%

Graduation

77%

Student body

20K

Median SAT/ACT

1295/29

Santa Cruz, CA

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# 86

George Mason University

Public liberal arts and research university in Fairfax, Virginia

#190 institution's overall influence

#548 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$12K

Acceptance

81%

Graduation

70%

Student body

30K

Median SAT/ACT

1220/27

Fairfax, VA

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# 87

University of Glasgow

University located in Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1451

#33 institution's overall influence

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# 88

University of Alberta

Public research university in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

#145 institution's overall influence

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# 89

Wesleyan University

Private liberal arts college in Middletown, Connecticut

#96 institution's overall influence

#34 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$55K

Acceptance

17%

Graduation

91%

Student body

Middletown, CT

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# 90

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

German university in Munich, Bavaria

#25 institution's overall influence

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# 91

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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# 92

University of Nottingham

Russell Group public research university in Nottingham, England

#143 institution's overall influence

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# 93

University at Buffalo

University with campuses in and around Buffalo, NY and Amherst, NY

#98 institution's overall influence

#1348 student desirability

Tuition + fees

$10K

Acceptance

56%

Graduation

74%

Student body

27K

Median SAT/ACT

1245/26

Buffalo, NY

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# 94

University of California, San Francisco

University

#165 institution's overall influence

Student body

San Francisco, CA

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# 95

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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# 96

University of Bonn

Public research university located in Bonn, Germany

#30 institution's overall influence

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# 97

Durham University

Collegiate public research university in Durham, England, United Kingdom

#123 institution's overall influence

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# 98

City University of New York

Public university system in New York City

#120 institution's overall influence

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# 99

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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# 100

University of Göttingen

University in the city of Göttingen, Germany

#18 institution's overall influence

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