Brandeis University
Waltham, MA
U.S. News 2026 National Universities rank: #69
Brandeis University is a private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston, founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian university sponsored by the American Jewish community and named for Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. It is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified among R1 doctoral universities with very high research activity. Undergraduates study within a single College of Arts and Sciences that offers 43 majors and 51 minors, and the school is known for strengths in the sciences, especially neuroscience and biology, alongside a long-standing international and Judaic studies tradition through programs like the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. About 40 percent of juniors study abroad in a given year. Class sizes are small: the student-to-faculty ratio is 9 to 1, and the majority of course sections enroll fewer than 20 students. There is no Greek life on campus. Athletics compete in NCAA Division III as part of the University Athletic Association. The setting is suburban, with the campus connected to Boston and Cambridge by commuter rail and a free shuttle. Brandeis suits students who want a research-oriented, science-strong campus with a serious, less traditionally social atmosphere and easy access to a major city.
Key figures
- Acceptance Rate (Overall): 40.5%
- Average Net Price (Federal Aid Recipients): $35,736
- 6-Year Graduation Rate: 86%
- Median Starting Salary: $44,493
- Total Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,618
- SAT Middle 50% (composite midpoint): 1462
- Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 9