MIT overtakes Princeton to top 2027 U.S. News National Universities rankings

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has overtaken Princeton University to claim the top spot in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best National Universities rankings, marking a notable change at the top of the annual league table.

Princeton, which has held the No. 1 position in recent years, ranks second this year, while Harvard University is ranked third and Yale University fourth.

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Stanford University are tied for fifth. Caltech recorded one of the largest gains among the leading institutions, rising six places from last year.

The University of Pennsylvania ranks seventh, followed by Duke University in eighth. Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago are tied for ninth.

Columbia University and Dartmouth College share 12th place, while Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Cornell University are tied at 14th. CMU also climbed six places compared with last year.

Brown University, Rice University, Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis are tied for 16th, while the University of California, Berkeley, UCLA and the University of Notre Dame share 20th place.

The latest rankings show substantial movement beyond the top 20.

Wake Forest University recorded the largest rise among the institutions highlighted by U.S. News, climbing 17 places. Villanova University moved up 15 places, while Boston University rose eight places.

Meanwhile, the University of Maryland and the University of Washington each fell seven places, while the University of Georgia dropped six places.

Earnings by major added as a new ranking measure

The National Universities category covers institutions offering a broad range of undergraduate programmes as well as master’s and doctoral degrees. Many of the universities included place a strong emphasis on research and attract students from across the US and internationally.

This year’s rankings also introduce a new Earnings by Major factor, alongside changes to category eligibility and the addition of new specialty and value rankings.

The new measure uses data from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard to assess the earnings of employed students four years after graduation. It focuses on students who received federal financial aid and whose highest qualification is a bachelor’s degree.

According to U.S. News, the measure is intended to provide a more direct assessment of post-graduation economic outcomes while reducing the influence of pre-existing financial resources and family networks.

The new factor replaces the Graduate Indebtedness measure, which U.S. News said relied on federal data that had not been updated for several years and whose future availability was uncertain.

The change reflects growing interest among prospective students and families in the economic value of higher education, with earnings after graduation becoming an increasingly prominent consideration in discussions about college affordability and return on investment.