Two Massachusetts schools — MIT and Harvard — landed in the top three of the annual U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges list for 2026.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology finished second and Harvard University third. Princeton held onto its top spot.
MIT was also recognized as having the best undergraduate engineering, business and computer science programs in the country. Harvard was #1 for best undergraduate psychology programs, and Harvard and MIT tied for second in the best undergraduate economics programs category, just behind Stanford University.
Other New England schools landing in the top 50 were Connecticut’s Yale University at #4, Rhode Island’s Brown University at #13, New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College at #13. In Massachusetts, Boston College was ranked #36, Tufts University #36, Boston University #42 and Northeastern University #46.
The list is based on a methodology of 17 different academic factors, with this year’s list including an importance on social mobility and post-graduation success, according to U.S. News & World Report.
In the National Liberal Arts Colleges category, Williams College finished first, and Amherst College second. Maine’s Bowdoin College was #5, Wellesley College was #7, and Vermont’s Middlebury College, Connecticut’s Wesleyan University and Smith College were tied for #13.
Bates College and Colby College in Maine were tied at #24. Holy Cross finished at #27, Mount Holyoke College was #29 and Trinity College in Connecticut was #37. Connecticut College finished tied for #50 with four other schools.
