Having steered ahead of Yale University in the QS World University Rankings® 2014/15, Princeton University now joins Harvard University as one of the top two US Ivy League schools. Both are ranked within the overall top 10 universities globally, and both excel across the board of academic subjects, making choosing between the two a tricky (but enviable) task to face. Here’s our guide toPrinceton vs Harvard, taking in the latest data from the rankings, as well as information about location, student community, fees and financial aid.
This year’s top Ivy League schools
Comprised of just eight elite members, the Ivy League is a group of private US universities known throughout the world for their prestige and history, all located within the New England region in the northeast of the nation. In the 2014/15 edition of the QS World University Rankings, Harvard University remains the Ivy League’s frontrunner, ranked 4th in the world, while Princeton is the group’s second representative, having scooped 9th place and overtaken Yale (10th), which we compared to Harvard last year. Although Harvard beats Princeton in a number of factors, Princeton (the younger of the two by 110 years), certainly holds its own. In fact, by endowment per student, Princeton now claims the title of the wealthiest school in the United States.
Below is an overview of what both of these two top Ivy League schools have on offer, allowing you to compare them on the factors that are most important to you. Below the table is a more in-depth analysis of each school’s excellence. So, Princeton vs Harvard: which will win?
| Harvard University | Princeton University | |
| QS World University Rankings® 2014/15 | Ranked 4th in the world overall in 2014/15 Ranked 2nd in the world by academics and 3rd by employers Stronger than Princeton for research citations and international students | Ranked 9th in the world overall in 2014/15 Ranked 11th in the world by academics and 32nd by employers Stronger than Harvard for faculty-student ratio |
| Subject strengths* | Ranked 1st in the world for arts & humanities 17th for engineering & technology 1st for life sciences & medicine 2nd for natural sciences 1st for social sciences & management | Ranked 7th in the world for arts & humanities 27th for engineering & technology 131st for life sciences & medicine 10th for natural sciences 15th for social sciences & management |
| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts On the northeast coast of the US, north of Boston. | Princeton, New Jersey Also in the northeast, just southwest of New York State. |
| Student community | About 21,000 students, of which 14,000 are postgraduates 11% of undergraduate students and 34% of graduates (within arts and sciences) are international. | About 8,010 students, of which 2,674 are postgraduates 11% of undergraduate students and 37% of graduate students are international. |
| Tuition fees & financial aid | Undergraduate student fees for 2014-15 are US$43,938. 60% of undergraduates receive need-based aid (Harvard Scholarship). Need-blind admission for all | Undergraduate student fees for 2015-16 are US$43,540. 60% of undergraduates receive need-based aid (averaging US$40,000). Need-blind admission for all |
Clearly, Harvard University and Princeton University are both among the world’s strongest performers in the international university rankings, claiming strong scores in all of the performance indicators used. At this elite level, there’s very little difference between institutions, but nonetheless a closer look at the rankings data might throw some light on the fields in which each of these top Ivy League schools particularly excels. QS World University Rankings® 2014/15
Ranked 4th in the world overall, Harvard is in fact named the globe’s number one university in three out of the five major subject areas considered in the QS World University Rankings by Faculty; arts & humanities, life sciences & medicine and social sciences & management. It’s also ranked 2nd in the world for natural sciences (behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and 17th in the world for engineering & technology – not quite as astounding, but still an incredibly strong rank.
As for Princeton University, its strongest faculty area is arts & humanities, in which it ranks 7th in the world, followed by natural sciences where it places 10th. Just 10 places behind its rival, Princeton ranks 27th for engineering & technology, and in social sciences & management comes 15th. Princeton’s only faculty area outside of the world’s top 30 is life sciences and medicine, for which it currently ranks 131st globally.
It’s also possible to compare the two on each of the six performance indicators used to compile the rankings. Helped by its long-standing prestige, Harvard University is ranked 2nd in the world for its academic reputation (based on QS’s global survey of academics) and 3rd in the world for its reputation amongst employers (based on QS’s global survey of employers). Princeton on the other hand receives a rank of 32nd for employer reputation and 11th for academic reputation – but it’s worth remembering that this nonetheless makes it one of the world’s very highest reputed institutions.
In the indicator based on research citations per faculty member, Harvard comes 3rd in the world, and Princeton 27th. For ratio of academic staff members to students, Harvard is again slightly ahead, at 29th in the world, while Princeton’s global position for this factor is 43rd. The final two indicators assess proportions of international students and international faculty members, aiming to measure the levels of international diversity at each university. Here, both Ivy League leaders place a little lower than elsewhere. Harvard places 53rd in the world for international faculty and 117th for international students, while Princeton meanwhile is 187th for faculty and 194th for students. In global terms, both are still pretty international places to work and study – but this does remain an area in which both top Ivy League schools have space for improvement.
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