MIT Sloan School of Management
The top of U.S. News & World Report’s National Universities ranking has long been remarkably predictable. Not in 2027, at least at the top of the list.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology climbed one spot to No. 1, knocking Princeton University to No. 2 and ending Princeton’s long-running hold on the top position. Harvard University remains No. 3, while Yale University holds at No. 4. Stanford, which shared No. 4 last year, slips one spot into a tie at No. 5.
California Institute of Technology, meanwhile, which rebounded six places from No. 11 to tie Stanford at No. 5.
Because of the ties, 11 universities occupy the Top 10 rank positions in 2027. Compared with last year, most of the same elite names remain firmly entrenched in the upper tier.
U.S. NEWS’ TOP 10 UNIVERSITIES |
|||||
2027 US Rank |
University |
2026 US Rank |
Change |
Tuition & fees |
Undergraduate enrollment |
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2 | 1 | $67,140 | 4,561 |
| 2 | Princeton University | 1 | -1 | $68,454 | 5,916 |
| 3 | Harvard University | 3 | 0 | $68,442 | 6,738 |
| 4 | Yale University | 4 | 0 | $72,500 | 6,667 |
| 5 | California Institute of Technology | 11 | 6 | $71,229 | 971 |
| 5 | Stanford University | 4 | -1 | $68,574 | 7,346 |
| 7 | University of Pennsylvania | 7 | 0 | $73,978 | 9,989 |
| 8 | Duke University | 7 | -1 | $76,375 | 6,525 |
| 9 | Johns Hopkins University | 7 | -2 | $69,170 | 6,354 |
| 9 | Northwestern University | 7 | -2 | $73,062 | 9,039 |
| 9 | University of Chicago | 6 | -3 | $77,955 | 7,453 |
Rounding out the top 10, University of Pennsylvania holds steady at No. 7, while Duke slips one spot to No. 8. Johns Hopkins and Northwestern, both tied at No. 7 last year, fall two spots into a three-way tie at No. 9 with the University of Chicago. After surging five places to No. 6 in the 2026 ranking, Chicago gives back three of those spots this year.
Just one of the top 10 colleges have an undergraduate business program ranked by Poets&Quants For Undergrads in 2026. UPenn’s The Wharton School ranked first in both our ranking, and U.S. News’ Best Undergraduate Business Programs which we previously broke down here.
2027’s BIG MOVERS
Just outside the top 10, Columbia rises three spots to No. 12, while Carnegie Mellon climbs six to No. 14. Among prominent public universities, UC Berkeley falls five places to No. 20 and Michigan drops five to No. 25.
Some of the year’s biggest movement comes farther down the list. Wake Forest jumps 17 places, from No. 51 to a tie at No. 34, while Villanova rises 15 spots to No. 42. Stevens Institute of Technology posts an even larger gain, climbing 21 places from No. 80 to No. 59.
On the other side, UC Merced falls 12 places to No. 69, while South Florida drops 12 to No. 100.
U.S. News’ Top 100 Jumps & Falls |
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Largest Leaps |
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| 2027 US Rank | University | 2026 US Rank | Change | Tuition & fees | Undergraduate enrollment |
| 59 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 80 | 21 | $68,230 | 4,185 |
| 34 | Wake Forest University | 51 | 17 | $73,170 | 5,595 |
| 100 | Creighton University | 117 | 17 | $52,902 | 4,833 |
| 100 | Elon University | 117 | 17 | $51,368 | 6,191 |
| 42 | Villanova University | 57 | 15 | $74,014 | 6,935 |
| 73 | Howard University | 88 | 15 | $38,936 | 11,084 |
| 85 | Fordham University | 97 | 12 | $70,474 | 10,383 |
| 90 | Gonzaga University | 102 | 12 | $59,510 | 4,976 |
| 73 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 84 | 11 | $65,238 | 5,461 |
| 59 | Brandeis University | 69 | 10 | $73,678 | 3,358 |
| 59 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 69 | 10 | $75,134 | 6,839 |
| 59 | University of Pittsburgh | 69 | 10 | $45,480 ($23,746 in-state) | 21,388 |
| 100 | Chapman University | 110 | 10 | $70,394 | 7,630 |
| 100 | University of San Diego | 110 | 10 | $65,199 | 6,049 |
Steepest Falls |
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| 2027 US Rank | University | 2026 US Rank | Change | Tuition & fees | Undergraduate enrollment |
| 49 | University of Maryland, College Park | 42 | -7 | $44,086 ($12,834 in-state) | 31,875 |
| 49 | University of Washington | 42 | -7 | $44,640 ($13,406 in-state) | 40,996 |
| 95 | American University | 88 | -7 | $64,402 | 6,730 |
| 95 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 88 | -7 | $64,608 | 14,145 |
| 59 | Florida State University | 51 | -8 | $25,702 ($6,517 in-state) | 34,271 |
| 59 | Texas A&M University | 51 | -8 | $40,847 ($12,878 in-state) | 62,031 |
| 55 | Purdue University–Main Campus | 46 | -9 | $28,794 ($9,992 in-state) | 43,633 |
| 73 | North Carolina State University | 64 | -9 | $34,961 ($9,247 in-state) | 29,340 |
| 85 | University at Buffalo–SUNY | 75 | -10 | $32,466 ($11,036 in-state) | 21,192 |
| 95 | University of Illinois Chicago | 84 | -11 | $35,670 ($18,970 in-state) | 24,260 |
| 69 | University of California, Merced | 57 | -12 | $51,927 ($16,015 in-state) | 8,234 |
| 100 | University of South Florida | 88 | -12 | $18,416 ($6,410 in-state) | 39,093 |
U.S. News cautions against reading too much into small year-to-year shifts, particularly in the middle of a field of more than 400 National Universities, where normal data fluctuations can move schools several places. While 99 of the Top 100 National Universities submitted data directly to U.S. News for 2027, just 73% of all ranked institutions did.
NEXT PAGE: U.S. News’ Top 100 National Universities for 2027
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