Rankings by major · 215 schools scored

Best colleges for neuroscience

Every school we cover is scored 0–100 for neuroscience. The score blends how graduates in the major do four years out against the national norm for the same major, the strength of the student body, how many undergraduate courses the department lists, and the size of the program. Small programs (under five graduates a year) are capped. 80 and up is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Many neuroscience students go on to graduate or medical school, which early-career pay undercounts, so read this one alongside the school's overall strength.

The top neuroscience schools: Yale University, Harvard University, Stanford University.

Top 100 colleges for neuroscience
Rank	School	Score (0–100)	Tier	Graduates per year in the major	Share of the class	Pay vs. national, same major	Acceptance rate
1	Yale University New Haven, CT	97	Standout	92	6.5%	–	5%
2	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	96	Standout	100	5.9%	–	4%
2	Stanford University Stanford, CA	96	Standout	83	5.2%	1.62×	4%
4	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	95	Standout	183	6.4%	1.29×	5%
4	Duke University Durham, NC	95	Standout	95	5.1%	1.17×	5%
4	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	95	Standout	77	7%	–	5%
7	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	94	Standout	73	7%	2.29×	6%
8	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	93	Standout	163	9.5%	0.95×	6%
9	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	92	Standout	87	5%	1.19×	4%
10	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	91	Standout	168	11.7%	0.90×	8%
10	Emory University Atlanta, GA	91	Standout	153	7.2%	1.18×	10%
10	Columbia University New York, NY	91	Standout	91	4.1%	1.12×	5%
10	Brown University Providence, RI	91	Standout	81	4.8%	–	5%
14	Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO	90	Standout	134	7.3%	0.82×	12%
15	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	89	Standout	136	6.3%	1.05×	11%
16	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	88	Standout	113	5.5%	0.87×	7%
16	Pomona College Claremont, CA	88	Standout	35	9.6%	–	7%
18	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	87	Standout	219	9.4%	1.51×	16%
18	Rice University Houston, TX	87	Standout	89	8.7%	0.82×	8%
18	Colby College Waterville, ME	87	Standout	44	8.3%	–	7%
18	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	87	Standout	26	2.1%	–	4%
22	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	86	Standout	81	6.2%	–	35%
22	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	86	Standout	28	6.3%	–	7%
22	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	86	Standout	24	5.7%	–	7%
25	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	85	Standout	48	7.3%	1.46×	11%
25	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	85	Standout	35	6.2%	–	14%
27	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	84	Standout	127	2.3%	1.33×	10%
27	Tufts University Medford, MA	84	Standout	61	4.1%	1.60×	11%
27	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	84	Standout	43	6.6%	–	19%
27	Haverford College Haverford, PA	84	Standout	21	6.9%	–	12%
31	University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	83	Standout	327	4.1%	0.92×	16%
31	University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	83	Standout	155	3.2%	–	17%
31	Barnard College New York, NY	83	Standout	68	9.4%	1.07×	9%
31	Georgetown University Washington, DC	83	Standout	32	1.8%	–	13%
31	Smith College Northampton, MA	83	Standout	31	5.2%	–	21%
36	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	82	Standout	118	5.7%	0.78×	14%
36	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	82	Standout	54	6.3%	1.09×	40%
36	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	82	Standout	37	2.3%	1.99×	11%
39	New York University New York, NY	81	Standout	73	1.1%	–	9%
39	United States Military Academy at West Point West Point, NY	81	Standout	69	6.5%	–	12%
41	University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	80	Standout	408	4.4%	1.10×	9%
41	Lafayette College Easton, PA	80	Standout	48	6.9%	–	31%
43	Boston University Boston, MA	79	Strong	122	2.6%	1.10×	13%
43	Amherst College Amherst, MA	79	Strong	17	3.4%	–	9%
45	University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA	78	Strong	192	4.1%	1.05×	59%
45	Trinity University San Antonio, TX	78	Strong	51	8.8%	–	26%
45	Hamilton College Clinton, NY	78	Strong	24	4.9%	–	14%
48	Northeastern University Boston, MA	77	Strong	124	2.8%	1.19×	5%
48	Bates College Lewiston, ME	77	Strong	17	3.6%	–	13%
50	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	76	Strong	257	2.9%	1.47×	11%
50	George Washington University Washington, DC	76	Strong	48	1.6%	–	47%
50	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	76	Strong	31	4.2%	–	14%
50	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	76	Strong	22	5%	–	14%
54	University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	75	Strong	1,117	12.6%	1.02×	29%
54	University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI	75	Strong	288	3.9%	0.94×	45%
54	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	75	Strong	30	2.4%	–	29%
54	Trinity College Hartford, CT	75	Strong	28	5.4%	1.07×	30%
58	The University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX	74	Strong	262	2.5%	1.04×	27%
58	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	74	Strong	38	1.3%	–	19%
58	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	74	Strong	28	4.3%	–	34%
61	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	73	Strong	67	4.2%	0.84×	34%
61	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	73	Strong	24	4.9%	0.97×	45%
63	The Ohio State University Columbus, OH	72	Strong	283	2.5%	1.10×	51%
63	Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA	72	Strong	90	2.2%	–	13%
63	Connecticut College New London, CT	72	Strong	28	6.6%	–	37%
66	University of California, Davis Davis, CA	71	Strong	584	6.7%	0.96×	44%
66	Macalester College Saint Paul, MN	71	Strong	35	6.4%	–	29%
66	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY	71	Strong	29	5.1%	–	24%
66	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA	71	Strong	16	2.8%	–	36%
70	University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD	70	Strong	67	0.8%	–	45%
70	University of Washington Seattle, WA	70	Strong	48	0.6%	1.04×	39%
70	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	70	Strong	39	2.8%	–	48%
70	Union College Schenectady, NY	70	Strong	24	4.9%	1.10×	44%
70	Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO	70	Strong	23	4.6%	–	18%
75	Saint Louis University St. Louis, MO	69	Strong	66	4.4%	–	75%
76	University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL	68	Strong	112	4%	–	94%
76	University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	68	Strong	90	1.2%	0.95×	80%
76	Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, PA	68	Strong	21	3.8%	–	28%
76	Kenyon College Gambier, OH	68	Strong	19	4.1%	–	31%
80	University of Delaware Newark, DE	67	Strong	141	3.2%	0.89×	71%
80	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	67	Strong	67	1.3%	–	80%
82	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	66	Strong	247	2.8%	0.93×	85%
82	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA	66	Strong	16	3.1%	–	42%
82	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	66	Strong	15	1.7%	–	29%
85	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	65	Strong	215	3%	0.96×	55%
85	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	65	Strong	67	4.6%	1.17×	54%
85	Rutgers University–New Brunswick Piscataway, NJ	65	Strong	40	0.5%	–	58%
85	Ursinus College Collegeville, PA	65	Strong	22	7.5%	–	92%
89	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	64	Solid	108	2.1%	–	93%
89	The University of the South Sewanee, TN	64	Solid	20	5%	–	57%
91	Indiana University–Bloomington Bloomington, IN	63	Solid	136	1.9%	1.19×	78%
91	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	63	Solid	52	1.5%	0.87×	46%
93	University at Buffalo–SUNY Buffalo, NY	62	Solid	61	1.2%	–	81%
93	Purdue University–Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	62	Solid	57	0.7%	–	50%
95	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	61	Solid	147	2.2%	1.15×	78%
95	University of Tennessee–Knoxville Knoxville, TN	61	Solid	137	2.6%	–	42%
95	University of Georgia Athens, GA	61	Solid	49	0.6%	0.85×	38%
95	Texas A&M University College Station, TX	61	Solid	33	0.2%	–	52%
95	Rhodes College Memphis, TN	61	Solid	28	5.8%	–	50%
95	Creighton University Omaha, NE	61	Solid	18	1.5%	–	92%

115 more schools are on the full neuroscience ranking.

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Best colleges for neuroscience

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