There are lots of options to choose from today when trying to decide which grad school to attend. College Factual has developed its Best Master's Degree Colleges ranking as one thing you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 1,151 grad schools in the United States to determine which ones have the best master's degree programs. Our ranking for the best grad schools is based on objective factors. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. The following gives more info on what goes into our ranking factors and why we consider those factors.
Higher Than Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving a master's degree from the school. A master's degree holder from a school in the United States makes an average starting salary of $58,425, but the students who attended schools in the top 25 of our list make an average of $76,617.
Starting Salary ( 63270 to 86989 )
Taking Out Student Loans
In addition to average starting salaries, we also consider the average amount of student loans that graduate students take on while pursuing their master's degree.
We consider this number in conjunction with average post-graduation earnings to gauge the difficulty master's recipients will have paying back their loans.
More Ranking Factors That Are Important
We also analyze a number of other factors in addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt when coming up with our yearly Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
On a broad level, other factors that go into our rankings include such things as the demand of the school, the student body caliber, if the school has online options, and the educational resources provided by the school.
Our analysis found Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be the best grad school for master’s degrees in the United States in this year’s ranking. MIT is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,803 master’s degrees to qualified graduate students.
Those who receive a master’s degree from MIT go into careers with an average salary of $107,308 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #2 in the United States on this year’s best master’s degree schools ranking. Stanford University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Stanford, California that handed out 2,203 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Stanford make an average of $101,186 per year during the early years of their career.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in the United States. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 5,216 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Northwestern is $80,937 during the early years of their career.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Duke University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in the United States. Durham, North Carolina is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 3,059 students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Duke make an average of $76,664 per year during the early years of their career.
Out of the 1,151 master’s degree schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Johns Hopkins University landed the #5 spot on the list. Johns Hopkins is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Baltimore, Maryland. It awarded 6,960 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins is $77,574 during the early years of their career.
University of Pennsylvania did quite well in the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking, coming in at #6. UPenn is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4,816 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from UPenn make an average of $90,142 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Chicago landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 3,326 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from UChicago make an average of $73,139 a year.
With a ranking of #8, Carnegie Mellon University did quite well on the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 3,045 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $79,946 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #9, Princeton University did quite well on the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Princeton, New Jersey. It awarded 605 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Princeton go into careers with an average salary of $75,130 during the early years of their career.
Harvard University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 4,670 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Harvard is $76,001 during the early years of their career.
Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 8,527 students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $75,670 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #12, Brown University did quite well on the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Providence, Rhode Island, and it awarded 752 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Brown make an average of $54,884 a year.
Yale University did quite well in the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking, coming in at #13. Located in New Haven, Connecticut, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 2,203 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $66,650 during the early years of their career.
University of Southern California landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 9,128 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from USC make an average of $73,789 a year.
Cornell University landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking. Cornell University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Ithaca, New York that handed out 2,888 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $91,796 during the early years of their career.
Presidio Graduate School ranked #16 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. Located in San Francisco, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 62 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Presidio Graduate School go into careers with an average salary of $69,335 during the early years of their career.
Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking, coming in at #17. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the large public school awarded 4,762 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Georgia Tech go into careers with an average salary of $85,207 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #18, Georgetown University did quite well on the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 3,975 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Georgetown make an average of $73,859 a year.
Keck Graduate Institute ranked #18 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. KGI is located in Claremont, California and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 140 master’s degrees to qualified graduate students.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from KGI is $66,497 during the early years of their career.
Washington University in St Louis ranked #20 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri. It awarded 2,343 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from WUSTL make an average of $64,992 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Notre Dame came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking. Located in Notre Dame, Indiana, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,161 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Notre Dame make an average of $60,478 per year during the early years of their career.
University of California - Berkeley landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking. Located in Berkeley, California, the large public school handed out 2,905 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from UC Berkeley go into careers with an average salary of $67,140 during the early years of their career.
Rice University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 929 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Rice is $71,091 during the early years of their career.
Vanderbilt University did quite well in the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States ranking, coming in at #24. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Nashville, Tennessee. It awarded 1,554 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Vanderbilt is $82,140 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #25, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on the 2023 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the United States list. This large public school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 4,916 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from U-M go into careers with an average salary of $73,861 during the early years of their career.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
college factual
