Universities in New York and New Jersey have secured almost 20 places in the top 100 of the 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, with Princeton University falling from first place after a 15-year run at the summit.
The New Jersey institution was replaced at No. 1 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), while Columbia University climbed to 12th place and remains the highest-ranked university in New York State.
New York and New Jersey universities in the top 100
Columbia was followed by Cornell University in 14th place and New York University in 31st. The University of Rochester ranked 49th, while Stony Brook University and Stevens Institute of Technology were joint 59th nationally.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was placed 69th, with Syracuse University and Binghamton University joint 72nd. Fordham University and the University at Buffalo were tied at 85th, followed by Yeshiva University in 90th and the Rochester Institute of Technology in 95th.
Princeton was the leading institution in New Jersey despite losing the top spot overall, ranking second nationally. Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus came 44th, while Stevens Institute of Technology was joint 59th.
Rutgers University–Newark shared 73rd place, with the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 85th. Rutgers University–Camden was joint 95th.
The latest rankings mark a significant change at the top of the national universities table. MIT’s rise ended Princeton’s long-standing hold on first place, which had lasted since the 2012 edition.
MIT said its undergraduate engineering, computer science and economics programmes were also ranked first in their respective categories, while its business programme placed second.
How the U.S. News rankings are compiled
The annual table assesses more than 1,700 colleges and universities using up to 17 measures covering academic quality and outcomes for graduates.
Universities are grouped according to their academic mission and research focus before being assessed against institutions in the same category. The calculations draw on information supplied by universities, as well as federal and third-party data, including the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard and Elsevier research analytics.
Each institution receives a score out of 100, with the highest-performing university in its category used as the benchmark.
