Top Universities in New York State

New York has one of the most distinguished collections of universities in the world — anchored by the Ivy League's Columbia University and Cornell, plus world-class public institutions and specialized schools.

Columbia University (New York City)
An Ivy League institution and one of the great research universities of the world, Columbia is particularly strong in journalism (the Columbia Journalism School originated the Pulitzer Prizes), law, medicine, international affairs, and the core curriculum liberal arts. Columbia's medical center in Washington Heights is one of the leading biomedical research complexes in the US.

Cornell University (Ithaca)
The most unusual Ivy League school — both a private Ivy League university and a land-grant university (New York's official land-grant institution). Cornell has 14 colleges spanning everything from hotel administration (the world's top hospitality program) to veterinary medicine (#1 in the US) to engineering and architecture. The Ithaca campus atop gorges and hills is one of the most dramatic in the country.

New York University (New York City)
A sprawling private research university woven through Manhattan and Brooklyn. NYU is strongest in law, business (Stern), art, film (Tisch School), medicine, and public administration. Global campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai extend its international footprint.

University at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo)
The flagship of the State University of New York system, UB is a major research university particularly strong in pharmaceutical sciences (the Jacobs School of Medicine is highly rated), engineering, law, and business. As a public institution, it provides research-university quality at public tuition rates.

Stony Brook University (SUNY)
A leading research university on Long Island, strong in STEM — particularly physics (affiliated with Brookhaven National Laboratory), mathematics, and biomedical sciences. The Simons Foundation's mathematics programs have made Stony Brook a top-tier math department globally.

Fordham, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and Colgate round out a deep tier of private universities with strong regional and national reputations.