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Princeton University tops our list of 201 Public PhD universities in the United States at #15 in the QS World University Rankings 2026. It is followed by University of California, Berkeley (QS World #28) and Georgia Institute of Technology (QS World #123). The universities on this list offer 733 matching courses between them.
201 universities · ranked best first
how we rankPublic University · 15 courses in PhD
Public University · 1 course in PhD
Public University · 25 courses in PhD
Public University · 5 courses in PhD
Public University · 2 courses in PhD
Public University · 1 course in PhD
Public University · 10 courses in PhD
Public University · 1 course in PhD
Public University · 8 courses in PhD
Public University · 2 courses in PhD
Public University · 2 courses in PhD
Public University · 9 courses in PhD
Public University · 4 courses in PhD
Public University · 17 courses in PhD
Public University · 2 courses in PhD
Public University · 24 courses in PhD
Public University · 22 courses in PhD
Public University · 13 courses in PhD
Public University · 1 course in PhD
Public University · 1 course in PhD
Public University · 1 course in PhD
Public University · 10 courses in PhD
Public University · 3 courses in PhD
Public University · 1 course in PhD
Universities at other levels
By university type
18 of these universities hold a QS World position, from #15 (Princeton University) to #575 (University of South Carolina); they are listed first, in that order. The rest are ordered by research impact. University of California, Berkeley has the largest research record in this group, with 58,388,527 citations and an h-index of 1,903. 9 universities have neither a QS position nor a research record yet and appear at the end, marked "Not yet ranked".
The split is 201 public to 0 private institutions. By location, New York (2), Texas (2) and California (1) account for the most of those we can place. The oldest is University of California, Berkeley, founded in 1868. University of California, Berkeley is the largest, with 45,000 students.
The most common subjects are Medicine & Health Sciences (151), Education (93), Engineering (84) and Social Sciences & Psychology (80). The usual length is 4–6 years and null. 94% are full-time and 32 can be studied online. Start dates lean to Fall (100% of courses with a stated intake) and Spring (0% of courses with a stated intake). New Mexico State University offers the widest choice, with 29 of these courses.
We hold indicative fees for 8 of these universities. CUNY Graduate School and University Center is the least expensive at USD 15,185 a year and University of California, Berkeley the most at USD 44,000; the middle of the range is about USD 33,671. Check each university's own fee page before you budget — figures change every year.
Princeton University (QS World #15), University of California, Berkeley (QS World #28) and Georgia Institute of Technology (QS World #123) lead this list. QS World positions come first; the rest are ranked by research impact.
Of those with published fees, CUNY Graduate School and University Center is the least expensive at about USD 15,185 a year. Fees are indicative — confirm on the university's site.
201 public and 0 private universities are on this list.
Most listed courses run 4–6 years, with null the next most common.
Fall is the main intake — 100% of courses with a stated start date begin then, and Spring is the second.
32 of these courses are listed as online.
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