List of colleges and universities in Massachusetts

There are 114 colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that are listed under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.^[1] These institutions include fourteen research universities, twenty-one master's universities, and thirty-four special-focus institutions. Eighty-five of Massachusetts' post-secondary institutions are private, of which five are for-profit. Thirty of the state's post-secondary institutions are public, a number which excludes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which was founded by the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, but later became a private institution.^[2][3][4]

Harvard University is the state's oldest post-secondary institution, having been founded in 1636.^[5] Boston University is the state's largest institution of higher learning in terms of enrollment, having 32,603 students in the fall of 2013 while Conway School of Landscape Design is the state's smallest college with an enrollment of 18.^[6][7][8] The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the state's largest public university, with an enrollment of 28,518 students.^[9] Massachusetts is also home to a number of internationally recognized universities, including Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which are ranked among the top ten universities in the world.^[10][11][12]

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the state's sole public land-grant university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Massachusetts system.^[13] There are also eleven Catholic post-secondary institutions, including Boston College, the College of the Holy Cross, and Stonehill College. There are also two Judaic post-secondary institutions in Massachusetts, including Brandeis University and Hebrew College. The state has four medical schools, Boston University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Tufts University School of Medicine. There are nine law schools, which are accredited by the American Bar Association, including Boston College Law School, Harvard Law School and the University of Massachusetts School of Law.^[14] One hundred and seven of Massachusetts post-secondary institutions are officially recognized by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), while most are accredited by multiple higher education accreditation agencies.

A tree map depicting the relative size of Massachusetts post-secondary institutions by share of total degrees awarded across the state. Data from the 2014 NCES IPEDS report published by the Department of Education^[15]