Master's institutions in the United States
Master's colleges and universities award a significant number of master's degrees but few or no doctorates, under the Carnegie classification. This dataset includes 646 U.S. institutions classified as Master's under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, maintained by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, enrolling about 3,611,715 students in total.
Of these, 238 are public and 408 private. The largest by enrollment include Western Governors, Southern New Hampshire, and UMGC. Among institutions that report the figure, the median graduation rate is 52% and the median average net price is $19,076.
R1 vs R2 vs Doctoral/Professional
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, maintained by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation, sorts doctoral universities into these research tiers.
| Tier | Research activity | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| R1 | Very high research activity | Doctoral universities with the highest level of research activity, the top Carnegie research tier (e.g. Harvard, MIT, most flagship state universities). |
| R2 | High research activity | Doctoral universities with high research activity, the second Carnegie research tier, below R1 but above the doctoral/professional category. |
| Doctoral/Professional | Doctoral or professional-practice degrees | Universities that award research or professional-practice doctorates but fall below the research-activity thresholds for R1 or R2. |
646 institutions
Page 3 of 14Chadron State College
Chadron, Nebraska
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii
Champlain College
Burlington, Vermont
Charleston Southern University
Charleston, South Carolina
Chestnut Hill College
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chicago State University
Chicago, Illinois
Christian Brothers University
Memphis, Tennessee
Christopher Newport University
Newport News, Virginia
Citadel Military College of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Clayton State University
Morrow, Georgia
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, South Carolina
Coker University
Hartsville, South Carolina
College of Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
College of Our Lady of the Elms
Chicopee, Massachusetts
College of Saint Mary
Omaha, Nebraska
College of Staten Island CUNY
Staten Island, New York
Colorado Christian University
Lakewood, Colorado
Colorado State University Global
Denver, Colorado
Colorado State University Pueblo
Pueblo, Colorado
Columbia College
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia College
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Columbia International University
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia Southern University
Orange Beach, Alabama
Columbus State University
Columbus, Georgia
Concord University
Athens, West Virginia
Concordia University Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Concordia University Texas
Austin, Texas
Concordia University - Chicago
River Forest, Illinois
Concordia University - Nebraska
Seward, Nebraska
Concordia University - Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Converse University
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Coppin State University
Baltimore, Maryland
Corban University
Salem, Oregon
Cornerstone University
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Crown College
Saint Bonifacius, Minnesota
Cumberland University
Lebanon, Tennessee
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
New York, New York
CUNY Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, New York
CUNY Hunter College
New York, New York
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
New York, New York
CUNY Lehman College
Bronx, New York
CUNY Queens College
Queens, New York
CUNY York College
Jamaica, New York
Curry College
Milton, Massachusetts
Dakota State University
Madison, South Dakota
Davenport University
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Delaware State University
Dover, Delaware
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Master's institution under the Carnegie Classification?
- Master's colleges and universities award a significant number of master's degrees but few or no doctorates, under the Carnegie classification. This dataset tracks 646 of them in the United States.
- What are the largest Master's in the U.S.?
- By total enrollment, the largest are Western Governors, Southern New Hampshire, UMGC, APUS, and Utah Valley.
- What is the typical graduation rate and net price for these institutions?
- The median graduation rate among institutions that report one is 52%, and the median average net price is $19,076. Figures come from IPEDS and College Scorecard.
Related categories
Browse by state
Data: IPEDS Fall 2025–26 provisional · College Scorecard (June 2026 release). All sources & release dates →
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card