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Best universities in the US for arts and humanities degrees 2024

Explore the best universities in the US for arts and humanities degrees, using data from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings

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November 29 2023
best universities in the United States for arts and humanities degrees

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Top 10 universities in the US for arts and humanities degrees

Scroll down for the full list of best universities for arts and humanities in the US

US arts and humanities rank 2024  Arts and humanities rank 2024  University State
1  1  Stanford University California
2  2  Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts
3  5  Harvard University Massachusetts
4  7  University of California, Berkeley California
5  8  Princeton University New Jersey
6  9  Yale University Connecticut
=7  =10  The University of Chicago Illinois
=7  =10  Columbia University New York
9  14  University of California, Los Angeles California
10  16  New York University New York

Arts and humanities subjects include history, English literature, philosophy, languages and architecture (scroll down for a full list of subjects and what you can do with them).

As home to four of the top six universities in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, the US is a top destination for many students looking to study arts and humanities subjects.  

Universities in the US allow students flexibility when it comes to their studies, in the form of majors and minors. Students might choose to major in a specialist subject, but minor in another discipline, or take a range of elective courses across the arts and humanities in order to graduate with a liberal arts degree.

Below are the top US universities for arts and humanities degrees. 


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5. Princeton University 

Princeton University offers a liberal arts education to all undergraduate students, encouraging students to take courses across the arts, humanities, natural sciences engineering and social sciences. 

At Princeton University all arts and humanities courses sit within the faculty of humanities. There is a wide range of courses that students can choose from including comparative literature, history, linguistics, musicology and visual arts among many others. 

The university offers the Humanities Sequence, which is a year-long introduction to Western history, philosophy, and literature from antiquity to the 20th century. This course is taught through a range of lectures and seminars as well as trips to museums, plays and art galleries. 

4. University of California, Berkeley

The school of arts and humanities at University of California, Berkeley is split into 19 departments and 14 research units, including art history, languages, classics, comparative literature, music and philosophy.

The university offers programmes for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, maintaining smaller class sizes than average in the arts and humanities department.

Notable alumni graduating from the University of California, Berkeley school of arts and humanities includes author and 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner, Viet Thanh Nguyen and actor Chris Pine.

3. Harvard University

The Division of Arts and Humanities at Harvard University is organised into 15 departments, which include classics, comparative literature, folklore and mythology, history of art and architecture and history and literature.

Each department offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programmes. There are also four interdisciplinary undergraduate degree programmes for students looking to combine the arts and humanities with another discipline.

There are a number of world-class research centres and museums within the division. These include the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, the Mahindra Humanities Center, and the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. There is also the Semitic Museum, which is home to rare manuscripts, artefacts and documents that are available to arts and humanities students.

Arts and humanities students are offered various international experiences. Those studying classics or history of art and architecture are given the opportunity to travel abroad with their professors. Other departments such as romance languages and literatures offer faculty-led summer programmes that enable students to study overseas for an extended period of time.

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is one of five schools at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

There are 16 disciplines within the school including global languages, economics, history, literature, music, philosophy and theatre arts. Each discipline offers a range of both undergraduate and graduate courses, and students can combine modules across disciplines to build a broad academic foundation across arts and humanities subjects.

Areas of research include improving health policy, understanding human language, alleviating poverty, safeguarding elections, planning space policy and assessing the impact of new technology.

1. Stanford University

The School of Humanities and Sciences is the largest school at Stanford University and has become a centre of liberal arts teaching and research.

There are 23 departments within the school including art and art history, biology, economics, English, history and mathematics.

The school offers a range of undergraduate majors and minors, joint majors, and honours programmes. There are also 44 masters and 33 doctoral degree programmes available as well as 25 interdisciplinary programmes.

The Humanities and Sciences Summer Research Programmes are fully funded by the school and designed to encourage students from underrepresented groups in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to consider studying for a doctoral programme. The school is home to a number of centres, institutes and affiliates that facilitate research projects throughout the year. These include the Archaeology Centre, the Centre for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and the Patrick Suppes Centre for History and Philosophy of Science.


What can you do with an archaeology degree?
What can you do with an architecture degree?
What can you do with a design degree?
What can you do with an art degree?
What can you do with a performing arts degree?
What can you do with a history degree?
What can you do with a linguistics degree?
What can you do with a languages degree?
What can you do with a philosophy degree?
What can you do with an English literature degree?
What can you do with an English language degree?
What can you do with a theology degree?


Top universities in the US for arts and humanities degrees 2024

Click each institution to view its World University Rankings 2024 profile

US arts and humanities rank 2024  Arts and humanities rank 2024  University State
1  1  Stanford University California
2  2  Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts
3  5  Harvard University Massachusetts
4  7  University of California, Berkeley California
5  8  Princeton University New Jersey
6  9  Yale University Connecticut
=7  =10  The University of Chicago Illinois
=7  =10  Columbia University New York
9  14  University of California, Los Angeles California
10  16  New York University New York
11  17  University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
12  18  University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan
13  31  Cornell University New York
14  =35  Duke University North Carolina
15  =41  Johns Hopkins University Maryland
16  =56  University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus Pennsylvania
17  59  University of Texas at Austin Texas
18  63  Brown University Rhode Island
19  66  University of Notre Dame Indiana
20  68  Rutgers University – New Brunswick New Jersey
21  =70  University of California, San Diego California
22  73  University of Massachusetts Massachusetts
23  =77  Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania
24  80  University of Washington Washington
25  83  University of California, Santa Barbara California
26  85  University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin
27  =89  Northwestern University Illinois
28  93  Indiana University Indiana
29  96  University of California, Irvine California
30  =100  Michigan State University Michigan
=31  101–125  University of Arizona Arizona
=31  101–125  Georgetown University Washington DC
=31  101–125  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois
=31  101–125  University of Minnesota Minnesota
=31  101–125  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina
=31  101–125  Ohio State University (Main campus) Ohio
=31  101–125  University of Southern California California
=31  101–125  University of Virginia (Main campus) Virginia
=39  126–150  Boston University Massachusetts
=39  126–150  Emory University Georgia
=39  126–150  University of Maryland, College Park Maryland
=39  126–150  Penn State (Main campus) Pennsylvania
=43  151–175  Arizona State University (Tempe) Arizona
=43  151–175  University of California, Davis California
=43  151–175  University of California, Santa Cruz California
=46  176–200  University of Colorado Boulder Colorado
=46  176–200  Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia
=46  176–200  University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Hawai'i
=46  176–200  Washington University in St Louis Missouri
=50  201–250  Boston College Massachusetts
=50  201–250  University of Connecticut Connecticut
=50  201–250  Dartmouth College New Hampshire
=50  201–250  Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana
=50  201–250  Rice University Texas
=50  201–250  Stony Brook University New York
=50  201–250  Texas A&M University Texas
=50  201–250  Vanderbilt University Tennessee
=58  251–300  University at Buffalo New York
=58  251–300  University of Florida Florida
=58  251–300  Florida State University Florida
=58  251–300  Northeastern University, US Illinois
=58  251–300  University of Oregon Oregon
=63  301–400  Baylor University Texas
=63  301–400  Brandeis University Massachusetts
=63  301–400  University of California, Riverside California
=63  301–400  Case Western Reserve University Ohio
=63  301–400  The Catholic University of America Washington DC
=63  301–400  George Washington University Washington DC
=63  301–400  University of Georgia Georgia
=63  301–400  University of Illinois Chicago Illinois
=63  301–400  University of Kansas Kansas
=63  301–400  University of Miami Florida
=63  301–400  Mizzou - University of Missouri Missouri
=63  301–400  North Carolina State University North Carolina
=63  301–400  University of Rochester New York
=63  301–400  Tufts University Massachusetts
=63  301–400  University of Utah Utah
=63  301–400  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia
=63  301–400  Washington State University Washington
=80  401–500  University of Delaware Delaware
=80  401–500  George Mason University Virginia
=80  401–500  Georgia State University Georgia
=80  401–500  University of Houston Texas
=80  401–500  University of Iowa Iowa
=80  401–500  Iowa State University Iowa
=80  401–500  University of Kentucky Kentucky
=80  401–500  University of Memphis Tennessee
=80  401–500  University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska
=80  401–500  The New School New York
=80  401–500  Saint Louis University Missouri
=80  401–500  University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina
=80  401–500  University of South Florida Florida
=80  401–500  Syracuse University New York
=80  401–500  Temple University Pennsylvania
=80  401–500  Tulane University Louisiana
=80  401–500  Wake Forest University North Carolina
=80  401–500  William & Mary Virginia
=80  401–500  University of Wyoming Wyoming
=99  501–600  University of Alabama Alabama
=99  501–600  University of Arkansas Arkansas
=99  501–600  Auburn University Alabama
=99  501–600  Bowling Green State University Ohio
=99  501–600  University of Central Florida Florida
=99  501–600  Colorado State University, Fort Collins Colorado
=99  501–600  University of Denver Colorado
=99  501–600  Drexel University Pennsylvania
=99  501–600  Florida International University Florida
=99  501–600  Lehigh University Pennsylvania
=99  501–600  Louisiana State University Louisiana
=99  501–600  Marquette University Wisconsin
=99  501–600  Mississippi State University Mississippi
=99  501–600  University of Nevada, Las Vegas Nevada
=99  501–600  University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina
=99  501–600  Northern Illinois University Illinois
=99  501–600  Ohio University (Main campus) Ohio
=99  501–600  Oklahoma State University Oklahoma
=99  501–600  SUNY Binghamton University New York
=99  501–600  The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee
=99  501–600  University of Texas at Arlington Texas
=99  501–600  University of Texas at Dallas Texas
=99  501–600  University of Texas at El Paso Texas
=99  501–600  The University of Texas at San Antonio Texas
=99  501–600  Texas Tech University Texas
=99  501–600  Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia
=99  501–600  Western Michigan University Michigan
=126  601+  American University Washington
=126  601+  College of Charleston South Carolina
=126  601+  University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Colorado
=126  601+  Florida Atlantic University Florida
=126  601+  Kansas State University Kansas
=126  601+  Portland State University Oregon
=126  601+  Rochester Institute of Technology New York
=126  601+  San Diego State University California
=126  601+  Texas State University Texas
=126  601+  Wayne State University Michigan

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