Behind the ivy-covered walls and prestigious names lie universities that are multi-billion dollar ecosystems, where schools like MIT and Harvard deploy over a billion dollars annually in research while institutions from Oxford to UCLA educate populations larger than many towns.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, Harvard University had a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,240 students, with 52% female and 48% male
- Stanford University reported 7,761 undergraduate students in fall 2023, including 5,137 freshmen with an acceptance rate of 3.7%
- The University of California, Berkeley had 32,143 undergraduates in 2022-2023, with 42,951 total enrollment including graduates
- Harvard University employs 2,400 full-time instructional faculty in 2023
- Stanford University has 1,845 full-time faculty members as of 2023
- UC Berkeley faculty numbered 1,582 ladder-rank professors in 2023
- Harvard University research expenditure was $1.01 billion in FY2023
- Stanford research funding reached $1.59 billion in FY2023
- UC Berkeley received $1.02 billion in research expenditures in FY2022
- Harvard University's operating revenue was $5.4 billion in FY2023
- Stanford endowment value reached $36.4 billion as of June 2023
- UC Berkeley operating budget was $2.8 billion in FY2023
- Harvard University ranked #3 globally in QS World University Rankings 2025
- Stanford ranked #6 in QS 2025, #2 in THE 2024
- UC Berkeley #12 in QS 2025
Top universities vary greatly in size, research funding, and global rankings.
Enrollment and Demographics
- In 2023, Harvard University had a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,240 students, with 52% female and 48% male
- Stanford University reported 7,761 undergraduate students in fall 2023, including 5,137 freshmen with an acceptance rate of 3.7%
- The University of California, Berkeley had 32,143 undergraduates in 2022-2023, with 42,951 total enrollment including graduates
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) enrolled 4,657 undergraduates and 7,201 graduate students in 2023
- Yale University had 6,590 undergraduates in 2023, with 14% international students from 120 countries
- Princeton University undergraduate enrollment stood at 5,321 in fall 2023, all in a single-faculty residential college system
- University of Oxford had 12,510 undergraduates and 13,162 postgraduates in 2022/23
- University of Cambridge enrolled 12,230 undergraduates and 13,500 postgraduates in 2023
- University of Chicago had 7,653 undergraduates in 2023, with a student-faculty ratio of 5:1
- Columbia University total enrollment was 33,757 in 2023, including 9,001 undergraduates
- In 2022, 57% of U.S. undergraduates were female, totaling about 9.2 million women enrolled
- Total U.S. postsecondary enrollment was 18.1 million in fall 2022, down 1.2% from 2021
- At UCLA, fall 2023 enrollment reached 46,678 undergraduates and graduates, with 27% Asian, 30% White
- Duke University had 6,640 undergraduates in 2023, 51% female
- Johns Hopkins University enrolled 6,044 undergraduates and 16,061 graduates in 2023
- Northwestern University total enrollment was 23,161 in 2023, with 8,659 undergraduates
- University of Pennsylvania had 10,044 undergraduates in fall 2023
- Cornell University enrolled 15,735 undergraduates and 8,463 graduates in 2023
- Brown University had 7,125 undergraduates in 2023, with 16% international students
- Dartmouth College undergraduate enrollment was 4,458 in 2023, all undergraduates in a liberal arts college
- Vanderbilt University had 7,145 undergraduates in fall 2023
- Rice University enrolled 4,582 undergraduates and 4,112 graduates in 2023
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor had 32,695 undergraduates in 2023, total enrollment 50,278
- University of Southern California (USC) total enrollment was 48,956 in 2023
- New York University (NYU) enrolled 29,401 undergraduates and 21,081 graduates in 2023
- University of Texas at Austin had 40,168 undergraduates in fall 2023
- University of Washington-Seattle had 36,201 undergraduates in 2023
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign enrolled 35,936 undergraduates in 2023
- Purdue University had 37,804 undergraduates in fall 2023
- University of Florida total enrollment was 55,781 in 2023, with 34,882 undergraduates
Enrollment and Demographics Interpretation
The data paints a fascinating, if slightly dizzying, portrait of prestige where elite universities boast acceptance rates slimmer than a razor and cohorts smaller than a small town, while the true scale of American higher education hums along in the massive state systems that educate armies of students.
Faculty and Staff
- Harvard University employs 2,400 full-time instructional faculty in 2023
- Stanford University has 1,845 full-time faculty members as of 2023
- UC Berkeley faculty numbered 1,582 ladder-rank professors in 2023
- MIT has 1,097 faculty members in 2023, with student-faculty ratio of 3:1
- Yale University employs 4,300 faculty and scholars in 2023
- Princeton has 1,293 full-time faculty in 2023
- Oxford University has over 12,000 staff including 6,100 academic staff in 2023
- Cambridge University employs 6,900 academic and research staff in 2023
- University of Chicago has 2,043 full-time faculty in 2023
- Columbia University faculty totals 4,343 full-time instructional in 2023
- U.S. colleges employed 1.5 million full-time faculty in 2022, 56% male
- UCLA has 4,598 faculty members in 2023
- Duke University employs 1,663 full-time faculty in 2023
- Johns Hopkins has 3,614 full-time faculty across divisions in 2023
- Northwestern University faculty numbered 2,436 full-time in 2023
- UPenn has 1,866 full-time faculty in 2023
- Cornell employs 2,821 full-time faculty in 2023
- Brown University has 881 full-time faculty in 2023
- Dartmouth has 714 faculty members in 2023
- Vanderbilt employs 1,525 full-time faculty in 2023
- Rice University has 740 full-time faculty in 2023
- University of Michigan has 4,372 full-time faculty in 2023
- USC employs 4,483 full-time faculty in 2023
- NYU has 5,990 full-time instructional faculty in 2023
- UT Austin faculty totals 3,120 in 2023
- University of Washington has 4,102 faculty in 2023
- UIUC employs 2,842 full-time faculty in 2023
- Purdue has 2,480 faculty members in 2023
- University of Florida faculty numbered 2,298 in 2023
Faculty and Staff Interpretation
While it appears we have gathered quite a distinguished village of scholars, it seems Oxford has brought an entire academic city to the conversation.
Finances and Budget
- Harvard University's operating revenue was $5.4 billion in FY2023
- Stanford endowment value reached $36.4 billion as of June 2023
- UC Berkeley operating budget was $2.8 billion in FY2023
- MIT total expenses $4.9 billion in FY2023
- Yale endowment stood at $40.7 billion in FY2023
- Princeton financial aid budget $180 million for 2023-24
- Oxford total income £2.9 billion in 2022/23
- Cambridge income £2.6 billion in 2022/23
- University of Chicago operating budget $3.5 billion in FY2023
- Columbia University expenses $6.1 billion in FY2023
- Average U.S. public university tuition in-state $11,260 for 2023-24
- UCLA budget $10.4 billion system-wide for UC in FY2023
- Duke endowment $12.7 billion in 2023
- Johns Hopkins operating revenue $8.5 billion in FY2023
- Northwestern endowment $14.1 billion as of 2023
- UPenn endowment $20.9 billion in FY2023
- Cornell endowment $9.3 billion in 2023
- Brown endowment $6.6 billion in FY2023
- Dartmouth endowment $8.5 billion in 2023
- Vanderbilt endowment $10.3 billion in FY2023
- Rice endowment $7.8 billion as of 2023
- University of Michigan endowment $17.9 billion in 2023
- USC endowment $8.1 billion in FY2023
- NYU endowment $5.9 billion in 2023
- UT Austin endowment $42.9 billion (including permanents)
- University of Washington endowment $4.1 billion in 2023
- UIUC operating budget $2.8 billion in FY2023
- Purdue endowment $3.7 billion as of 2023
- University of Florida endowment $2.3 billion in 2023
Finances and Budget Interpretation
While we collectively fret over student loan debt, it's clear from the billions flowing through these institutions that higher education isn't lacking capital, just a more equitable distribution of it.
Rankings and Achievements
- Harvard University ranked #3 globally in QS World University Rankings 2025
- Stanford ranked #6 in QS 2025, #2 in THE 2024
- UC Berkeley #12 in QS 2025
- MIT #1 in QS World University Rankings 2025
- Yale #23 globally in THE 2024
- Princeton #1 in U.S. News National Universities 2025
- Oxford #3 in QS 2025
- Cambridge #5 in QS 2025
- University of Chicago #11 in QS 2025
- Columbia #34 in THE 2024
- U.S. universities hold 40% of top 100 QS 2025 spots
- UCLA #29 in QS 2025
- Duke #57 globally in QS 2025
- Johns Hopkins #32 in QS 2025
- Northwestern #50 in QS 2025
- UPenn #11 in U.S. News 2025
- Cornell #20 in QS 2025
- Brown #79 in QS 2025
- Dartmouth #237 in QS 2025
- Vanderbilt #384 in QS 2025
- Rice #141 in QS 2025
- University of Michigan #44 in QS 2025
- USC #125 in QS 2025
- NYU #43 in QS 2025
- UT Austin #66 in QS 2025
- University of Washington #76 in QS 2025
- UIUC #69 in QS 2025
- Purdue #99 in QS 2025
- University of Florida #168 in QS 2025
Rankings and Achievements Interpretation
While the ranking systems clearly can't agree on who gets the silver and bronze, they all bow to MIT's gold, and collectively confirm that if you want to win at higher education, you'd better bring an American passport.
Research and Funding
- Harvard University research expenditure was $1.01 billion in FY2023
- Stanford research funding reached $1.59 billion in FY2023
- UC Berkeley received $1.02 billion in research expenditures in FY2022
- MIT research volume was $1.41 billion in FY2023
- Yale research expenditures totaled $1.24 billion in FY2023
- Princeton University R&D expenditures were $448 million in FY2022
- Oxford University research income was £708 million in 2022/23
- Cambridge research grants totaled £594 million in 2022/23
- University of Chicago research spending was $948 million in FY2023
- Columbia research expenditures reached $945 million in FY2023
- U.S. universities spent $97.8 billion on R&D in FY2021
- UCLA research expenditures were $1.7 billion in FY2023
- Duke research funding totaled $1.29 billion in FY2023
- Johns Hopkins R&D was $3.18 billion in FY2022 (highest in U.S.)
- Northwestern research expenditures $865 million in FY2023
- UPenn research volume $1.18 billion in FY2023
- Cornell R&D expenditures $1.23 billion in FY2022
- Brown University research funding $287 million in FY2023
- Dartmouth research expenditures $364 million in FY2023
- Vanderbilt research spending $679 million in FY2023
- Rice University R&D $172 million in FY2023
- University of Michigan research expenditures $1.77 billion in FY2023
- USC research funding $927 million in FY2023
- NYU research expenditures $581 million in FY2023
- UT Austin R&D $1.02 billion in FY2023
- University of Washington research $1.63 billion in FY2023
- UIUC research expenditures $755 million in FY2023
- Purdue research funding $682 million in FY2023
- University of Florida R&D $985 million in FY2023
Research and Funding Interpretation
While Johns Hopkins flexes its massive research budget like a university-sized whale, the ocean of academic discovery is so vast that even the smaller fish like Brown and Dartmouth are making meaningful and expensive ripples.
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