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 4 of 14Delaware Valley University
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Delta State University
Cleveland, Mississippi
Denver Seminary
Littleton, Colorado
DeVry University - California
Ontario, California
DeVry University - Illinois
Lisle, Illinois
Doane University
Crete, Nebraska
Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology
Berkeley, California
Dominican University
River Forest, Illinois
Dominican University of California
San Rafael, California
Dordt University
Sioux Center, Iowa
Drury University
Springfield, Missouri
East Central University
Ada, Oklahoma
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
East Texas Baptist University
Marshall, Texas
Eastern Connecticut State University
Willimantic, Connecticut
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, Illinois
Eastern Mennonite University
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Eastern Nazarene College
Quincy, Massachusetts
Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus
Portales, New Mexico
Eastern Oregon University
La Grande, Oregon
Eastern University
Saint Davids, Pennsylvania
Eastern Washington University
Cheney, Washington
ECPI University
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
Elmhurst University
Elmhurst, Illinois
Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, Florida
Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide
Daytona Beach, Florida
Emerson College
Boston, Massachusetts
Emory & Henry University
Emory, Virginia
Empire State University
Saratoga Springs, New York
Emporia State University
Emporia, Kansas
Endicott College
Beverly, Massachusetts
Erikson Institute
Chicago, Illinois
Evangel University
Springfield, Missouri
Everglades University
Boca Raton, Florida
Excelsior University
Albany, New York
Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus
Madison, New Jersey
Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus
Teaneck, New Jersey
Fairmont State University
Fairmont, West Virginia
Faith International University
Tacoma, Washington
Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, New York
Faulkner University
Montgomery, Alabama
Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Felician University
Lodi, New Jersey
Fitchburg State University
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Florida Institute of Technology - Online
Melbourne, Florida
Florida National University - Main Campus
Hialeah, Florida
Florida Southern College
Lakeland, Florida
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
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Data: IPEDS Fall 2025–26 provisional · College Scorecard (June 2026 release). All sources & release dates →
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