
There are 114 colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts that are listed under the
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and universities in the United States. It was created in 1970 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Adva ...
.
These institutions include fourteen
research universities, twenty-one
master's universities
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and universities in the United States. It was created in 1970 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Adva ...
, and thirty-four
special-focus institutions. Eighty-five of Massachusetts' post-secondary institutions are private, of which five are
for-profit. Thirty of the state's post-secondary institutions are public, a number which excludes the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which was founded by the
Morrill Land-Grant Acts, but later became a private institution.
Harvard University is the state's oldest post-secondary institution, having been founded in 1636.
Boston University is the state's largest institution of higher learning in terms of enrollment, having 32,603 students in the fall of 2013 while
Conway School of Landscape Design
The Conway School (Conway), is a graduate program for sustainable landscape design and planning. It was founded in 1972 in a rural campus in Conway, Massachusetts, and in 2015 opened a new campus in a renovated mill in Easthampton, Massachusetts. ...
is the state's smallest college with an enrollment of 18.
The
University of Massachusetts Amherst is the state's largest public university, with an enrollment of 28,518 students.
Massachusetts is also home to a number of internationally recognized universities, including Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which are ranked among the top ten universities in the world.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the state's sole public
land-grant university
A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...
, and is the flagship institution of the
University of Massachusetts system.
There are also eleven Catholic post-secondary institutions, including
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
,
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...
, and
Stonehill College
Stonehill College is a Private college, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on ...
. There are also two
Judaic post-secondary institutions in Massachusetts, including
Brandeis University and
Hebrew College. The state has four medical schools,
Boston University School of Medicine
The Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, formerly the Boston University School of Medicine, is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1848, the medical school was the first institution in the world ...
,
Harvard Medical School, the
University of Massachusetts Medical School, and
Tufts University School of Medicine. There are nine law schools, which are
accredited by the
American Bar Association, including
Boston College Law School,
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
and the
University of Massachusetts School of Law.
One hundred and seven of Massachusetts post-secondary institutions are officially recognized by the
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institution ...
(NEASC), while most are accredited by
multiple higher education accreditation agencies.
Extant institutions
Defunct institutions
At least eighty-two colleges and universities have closed in Massachusetts, beginning with
Worcester Medical Institute in 1859. Defunct institutes include multiple private institutions, and the public
Hyannis State Teachers College
The Hyannis State Teachers College is a former college located in Barnstable, Massachusetts. It operated under various names from 1897 to 1944. It operated as the Hyannis State Normal School from 1897 to 1932 and the Hyannis State Teachers Coll ...
. Many schools were also merged into modern public universities, which form the origins of the
Boston,
Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to:
Places
* Dartmouth, Devon, England
** Dartmouth Harbour
* Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States
* Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
* Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia
Institutions
* Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...
, and
Lowell campuses of the
University of Massachusetts system. Many of these were private institutions, which either merged with private institutions and ceased to grant degrees, or institutions like the
Swedenborg School of Religion, which merged with the
Pacific School of Religion upon its relocation to California. The
Bible Normal School
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
was founded in Massachusetts but moved to
Connecticut before it was merged into the
Hartford Seminary. However, this excludes institutions which operated as part of for-profit corporations incorporated in other states, such as
Empire Beauty Schools
Empire Beauty School is a large system of for-profit cosmetology schools in the United States. Headquartered in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, it is the largest system of cosmetology schools in the country. Founded in 1946, it currently has 76 scho ...
and the
University of Phoenix, as they were not operated as separate college campuses and operated more as corporate entities.
Forbes National Rankings
The ''
Forbes'' National Colleges Ranking is a ranking system for the best
four-year colleges in the
United States.
These colleges are ranked for their
alumni salary,
debt,
return on investment,
graduation rate, membership in Forbes honors lists such as
Forbes 30 Under 30,
student retention, and
academic achievement
Academic achievement or academic performance is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals. Completion of educational benchmarks such as secondary school diplomas and bachelor's deg ...
.
As of 2021, ''Forbes'' recognizes the
University of Massachusetts Amherst as the
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
public university and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the flagship
private university in
Massachusetts.
See also
*
List of college athletic programs in Massachusetts
This is a list of college athletics programs in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
Notes:
*This list is in a tabular format, with columns arranged in the following order, from left to right:
**Athletic team description (short school name and nick ...
*
List of engineering schools in Massachusetts
This is a list of BS degree granting engineering schools in Massachusetts, arranged in alphabetical order.
See also
*List of colleges and universities in Massachusetts
There are 114 colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Massach ...
*
List of law schools in Massachusetts
Law schools in Massachusetts,
Lists of law schools, Massachusetts
Massachusetts education-related lists, Law schools
Massachusetts law-related lists, Law schools ...
*
List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston
*
Colleges of Worcester Consortium
The Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts (HECCMA) is a nonprofit association of eleven public and private colleges and universities located in Central Massachusetts. The Consortium allows full-time students at any of the member col ...
*
Higher education in the United States
Higher education in the United States is an optional stage of formal learning following secondary education. Higher education is also referred as post-secondary education, third-stage, third-level, or tertiary education. It covers stages 5 to 8 ...
*
Lists of American institutions of higher education
*
List of recognized higher education accreditation organizations
Notes
References
External links
List of public institutions of higher learning in MassachusettsList of all colleges and universities in Massachusetts
{{Massachusetts
Colleges and Universities
This is a list of lists of universities and colleges.
Subject of study
* Aerospace engineering
* Agriculture
* Art schools
* Business
* Chiropractic
* Engineering
* Forestry
* Law
* Maritime studies
* Medicine
* Music
* Nanotechnology
* Osteopathy ...
Massachusetts