Best Colleges In Massachusetts: U.S. News Rankings 2020

You probably already know Harvard University is the highest-ranked national university in Massachusetts, but what about the rest of the schools? Dozens of Bay State colleges and universities made the U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 best colleges list, released Monday.

A total of 15 in Massachusetts colleges were featured on the national list with the highest-ranking college — Harvard — coming in at no. 2.

Massachusetts also scored the top three National Liberal Arts Colleges: Williams, Amherst and Wellesley, respectively. It also had the No. 2 school in its north regional rankings via Bentley.

The 2020 rankings include the overall best national universities rankings, as well as rankings for the best liberal-arts colleges, the top public schools, the best value schools and more. See the rankings below:

National Universities

2. Harvard, Cambridge

3. MIT, Cambridge

29. Tufts, Medford

37. BC

40. BU; Brandeis, Waltham; Northeastern, Boston

64. UMass-Amherst; WPI

91. Clark, Worcester

125. Simmons

179. UMass-Lowell

218. UMass-Dartmouth; Western New England, Springfield

228. UMass-Boston

246. Lesley, Cambridge

National Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Williams College, Williamstown
2. Amherst College
3. Wellesley College
11. Smith College, Northampton
27.Holy Cross, Worcester

32. Mount Holyoke, South Hadley

82. Wheaton College, Norton

124.Stonehill College, Easton

140. MCLA, North Adams

164-215. Emmanuel College, Boston; Gordon College, Wenham; Pine Manor, Chestnut Hill

Unranked. Hampshire College, Amherst

Regional Colleges North

4. Mass. Maritime, Buzzards Bay

7. Bard College at Simon's Rock, Great Barrington

17. Fisher College, Boston

25. Dean College, Franklin

29. Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy

36-46. Bay State College, Boston; Becker, Worcester

Regional Universities North

2. Bentley University, Waltham

8. Emerson College, Boston

19. Springfield College

23. Endicott College, Beverly

32. Assumption College, Worcester

38. Suffolk University, Boston

46. Merrimack College, North Andover; Wentworth Institute of Tech, Boston

86. College of Our Lady of the Elms, Chicopee; Westfield St.

94. Bay Path University, Longmeadow

100. Worcester St.

104. Framingham St.

108. Bridgewater St.; Fitchburg St.

116. Lasell College, Newton

119. Salem St.

126. Wheelock College, Boston

129-170. American International College, Springfield; Anna Maria College, Paxton; Curry College, Milton

Unranked. Cambridge College

A total of 1,400 colleges are included in the 2020 rankings.The publication says that 90 percent of those reading the best-colleges list are looking for schools outside the top 10. (You can read the full methodology here)

“For more than three decades, we’ve collected and analyzed data on thousands of colleges and
universities across the country and helped put schools on the map,” Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News, said in a news release. “We’ve found the best institutions to be ones committed to academically and financially supporting their students through graduation. They draw in high-quality professors and set students up for postgraduate success.”

Below are the top 5 national universities:

1. Princeton University (NJ)
2. Harvard University (MA)
3. Columbia University (NY) (tie)
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (tie)
3. Yale University (CT) (tie)

Below are the top 3 liberal arts colleges:

1. Williams College (MA)
2. Amherst College (MA)
3. Swarthmore College (PA) (tie)
3. Wellesley College (MA) (tie)

Below are the top 3 public universities:

1. University of California—Los Angeles
2. University of California—Berkeley
3. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor