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Of the 8 Private Master's universities in the United States, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranks highest at #1 in the QS World University Rankings 2026. Stanford University (QS World #3) and Columbia University (QS World #14) complete the top three. Across the whole list there are 69 courses to choose from.
8 universities · ranked best first
how we rankPrivate University · 2 courses in Master's
Private University · 1 course in Master's
Private University · 4 courses in Master's
Private University · 4 courses in Master's
Private University · 10 courses in Master's
Private University · 16 courses in Master's
Private University · 22 courses in Master's
Private University · 10 courses in Master's
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3 of these universities hold a QS World position, from #1 (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to #14 (Columbia University); they are listed first, in that order. The rest are ordered by research impact. Stanford University has the largest research record in this group, with 89,857,545 citations and an h-index of 2,527. 2 universities have neither a QS position nor a research record yet and appear at the end, marked "Not yet ranked".
The split is 0 public to 8 private institutions. By location, Massachusetts (2), New York (2) and California (1) account for the most of those we can place. The oldest is Columbia University, founded in 1754. Columbia University is the largest, with 33,000 students.
The most common subjects are Business & Management (20), Medicine & Health Sciences (19), Media & Communication (6) and Arts, Design & Architecture (6). The usual length is 1–2 years. 79% are full-time and 13 can be studied online. Start dates lean to Fall (100% of courses with a stated intake) and Spring (100% of courses with a stated intake). Ana G. Mendez University offers the widest choice, with 22 of these courses.
We hold indicative fees for 7 of these universities. Universidad del Sagrado Corazon is the least expensive at USD 6,410 a year and Columbia University the most at USD 66,000; the middle of the range is about USD 58,378. Check each university's own fee page before you budget — figures change every year.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (QS World #1), Stanford University (QS World #3) and Columbia University (QS World #14) lead this list. QS World positions come first; the rest are ranked by research impact.
Of those with published fees, Universidad del Sagrado Corazon is the least expensive at about USD 6,410 a year. Fees are indicative — confirm on the university's site.
0 public and 8 private universities are on this list.
Most listed courses run 1–2 years.
Fall is the main intake — 100% of courses with a stated start date begin then, and Spring is the second.
13 of these courses are listed as online.
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