Each year, people avidly examine the results of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Maybe were proud to see our alma mater on the list or maybe were trying to decide where to attend. The Times list ranks more than 2,000 institutions in 115 countries and world territories, using metrics such as ratio of staff to students, gender equivalence and how many students attend full-time. Here in the U.S. were lucky that the second, third and fourth spots are all based here.

　　In first place is the University of Oxford in England; its held that spot for nine years! Maybe next year MIT can wrest that honor awaythe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is at No. 2. MIT already rose from spot No. 3 last year, bumping Stanford down to No. 6. Lodged in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, MIT boasts academic excellence and leadership in innovation. Its first in the world in the lists social sciences and business and economics categories. Its overall score is 98.1, compared to Oxfords 98.5.

　　In third place is another university in the same town: Harvard. Dating to 1636, Harvard is the oldest college in the U.S. and attracts a high caliber of faculty and students. Like MIT, Harvard is known for groundbreaking research. Last year, it was in fourth place. Its first in the world in engineering, law, and life sciences. Its overall score is 97.7.

　　The fourth-place university in the world is Princeton, located in New Jersey, with an overall score of 97.5. It didnt capture any firsts in the categories. Last year, it was in the No. 6 position. (And interestingly, fifth place, flanking our U.S. winners, is another university in Cambridge, although it is quite a different Cambridge! Its the University of Cambridge in the U.K.)

　　All of the U.S. universities in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2025 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

　　3. Harvard University

　　4. Princeton University

　　6. Stanford University

　　7. California Institute of Technology

　　8. University of California, Berkeley

　　10. Yale University

　　14. Tie: University of Chicago University of Pennsylvania

　　16. Johns Hopkins University

　　18. Tie: Columbia University University of California, Los Angeles

　　20. Cornell University

　　22. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

　　24. Carnegie Mellon University

　　25. University of Washington

　　27. Duke University

　　31. Northwestern University

　　33. New York University

　　34. University of California, San Diego

　　40. Georgia Institute of Technology

　　46. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

　　50. University of Texas, Austin

　　56. University of Wisconsin, Madison

　　58. Brown University

　　62. University of California, Davis

　　67. University of California, Santa Barbara

　　69. Washington University in St. Louis

　　70. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

　　72. University of Southern California

　　75. Boston University

　　79. Purdue University, West Lafayette

　　84. University of Massachusetts

　　87. University of Minnesota

　　90. Tie: University of California, Irvine Vanderbilt University

　　98. Emory University

　　100. Penn State (main campus)

　　112. Tie: Rice University University of Maryland, College Park

　　116. Ohio State University (main campus)

　　122. Michigan State University

　　127. University of Rochester

　　130. University of Florida

　　136. University of Arizona

　　141. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh

　　143. Texas AM University

　　144. University of Colorado, Boulder

　　159. Case Western Reserve University

　　163. University of Virginia (main campus)

　　168. Dartmouth College

　　179. Tufts University

　　189. Indiana University

　　196. Tie: University of California, Santa Cruz University of Notre Dame