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 9 of 14NUC University
Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Ohio Christian University
Circleville, Ohio
Ohio Dominican University
Columbus, Ohio
Oklahoma Baptist University
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Oklahoma Christian University
Edmond, Oklahoma
Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, Illinois
Omega Graduate School
Dayton, Tennessee
Oral Roberts University
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Ottawa University - Kansas City
Overland Park, Kansas
Otterbein University
Westerville, Ohio
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, Washington
Pacific Oaks College
Pasadena, California
Park University
Parkville, Missouri
Parker University
Dallas, Texas
Pennsylvania Western University
California, Pennsylvania
Peru State College
Peru, Nebraska
Pfeiffer University
Misenheimer, North Carolina
Piedmont University
Demorest, Georgia
Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg, Kansas
Plymouth State University
Plymouth, New Hampshire
Point Loma Nazarene University
San Diego, California
Post University
Waterbury, Connecticut
Prescott College
Prescott, Arizona
Providence College
Providence, Rhode Island
Purdue University Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Purdue University Northwest
Hammond, Indiana
Queens University of Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Mahwah, New Jersey
Regis College
Weston, Massachusetts
Rhode Island College
Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, Rhode Island
Rider University
Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Rivier University
Nashua, New Hampshire
Roberts Wesleyan University
Rochester, New York
Rockford University
Rockford, Illinois
Rockhurst University
Kansas City, Missouri
Rocky Mountain College
Billings, Montana
Roger Williams University
Bristol, Rhode Island
Rollins College
Winter Park, Florida
Rosemont College
Rosemont, Pennsylvania
Saginaw Valley State University
University Center, Michigan
Saint Cloud State University
Saint Cloud, Minnesota
Saint Edward's University
Austin, Texas
Saint Elizabeth University
Morristown, New Jersey
Saint Francis University
Loretto, Pennsylvania
Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, Maine
Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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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