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 7 of 14Lynn University
Boca Raton, Florida
Madonna University
Livonia, Michigan
Maharishi International University
Fairfield, Iowa
Malone University
Canton, Ohio
Manchester University
North Manchester, Indiana
Manhattan University
Riverdale, New York
Manhattanville University
Purchase, New York
Maranatha Baptist University
Watertown, Wisconsin
Marian University
Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin
Marist University
Poughkeepsie, New York
Marywood University
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
McDaniel College
Westminster, Maryland
McKendree University
Lebanon, Illinois
McNeese State University
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Mercy University
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Mercyhurst University
Erie, Pennsylvania
Merrimack College
North Andover, Massachusetts
Messiah University
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Methodist University
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Metropolitan College of New York
New York, New York
Metropolitan State University
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Denver, Colorado
Mid - America Christian University
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
MidAmerica Nazarene University
Olathe, Kansas
Middle Georgia State University
Macon, Georgia
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
Monterey, California
Midland University
Fremont, Nebraska
Midway University
Midway, Kentucky
Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls, Texas
Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Millersville, Pennsylvania
Milligan University
Milligan, Tennessee
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Moorhead, Minnesota
Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Minot State University
Minot, North Dakota
Mississippi University for Women
Columbus, Mississippi
Mississippi Valley State University
Itta Bena, Mississippi
Missouri Baptist University
Saint Louis, Missouri
Missouri Southern State University
Joplin, Missouri
Missouri Western State University
Saint Joseph, Missouri
Molloy University
Rockville Centre, New York
Monmouth University
West Long Branch, New Jersey
Monroe University
Bronx, New York
Montana State University Billings
Billings, Montana
Montana Technological University
Butte, Montana
Moravian University
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Morehead State University
Morehead, Kentucky
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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