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University of Massachusetts at Amherst tops our list of 40 Public Foundation universities in the United States at #247 in the QS World University Rankings 2026. It is followed by University of Tennessee, Knoxville (#184 in United States) and Florida Institute of Technology (#339 in United States). Across the whole list there are 236 courses to choose from.
40 universities · ranked best first
how we rankPublic University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 2 courses in Foundation
Public University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 2 courses in Foundation
Public University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 5 courses in Foundation
Public University · 5 courses in Foundation
Public University · 20 courses in Foundation
Public University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 18 courses in Foundation
Public University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 4 courses in Foundation
Public University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 1 course in Foundation
Public University · 26 courses in Foundation
Public University · 17 courses in Foundation
Public University · 4 courses in Foundation
Public University · 5 courses in Foundation
Public University · 2 courses in Foundation
Public University · 20 courses in Foundation
Public University · 4 courses in Foundation
Universities at other levels
By university type
Only one university here holds a QS World position — University of Massachusetts at Amherst at #247 — so it heads the list. The rest are ordered by research impact. University of Massachusetts at Amherst has the largest research record in this group, with 11,445,846 citations and an h-index of 904. 4 universities have neither a QS position nor a research record yet and appear at the end, marked "Not yet ranked".
The split is 40 public to 0 private institutions. By location, Arizona (1) and California (1) account for the most of those we can place. The University of Arizona Global Campus is the largest, with 20,152 students.
The most common subjects are Social Sciences & Psychology (33), Business & Management (32), Medicine & Health Sciences (26) and Science (25). The usual length is 1 year and 2 years. 97% are full-time and 6 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). Danville Community College offers the widest choice, with 26 of these courses.
We hold indicative fees for 2 of these universities. The University of Arizona Global Campus is the least expensive at USD 11,960 a year and University of Massachusetts Global the most at USD 12,540; the middle of the range is about USD 12,540. Check each university's own fee page before you budget — figures change every year.
University of Massachusetts at Amherst (QS World #247), University of Tennessee, Knoxville (#184 in United States) and Florida Institute of Technology (#339 in United States) lead this list. QS World positions come first; the rest are ranked by research impact.
Of those with published fees, The University of Arizona Global Campus is the least expensive at about USD 11,960 a year. Fees are indicative — confirm on the university's site.
40 public and 0 private universities are on this list.
Most listed courses run 1 year, with 2 years the next most common.
Fall is the main intake — 100% of courses with a stated start date begin then, and Spring is the second.
6 of these courses are listed as online.
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