Highest graduation rates — doctoral research universities

These 50 doctoral research universities rank highest by 6-year graduation rate, drawn from 443 institutions with reported data in the most recent U.S. Department of Education release (2024-25). Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) leads at 97.6%.

#	Institution	Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time)
1	Princeton UniversityNJ · Private	97.6%
2	Harvard UniversityMA · Private	97.6%
3	Duke UniversityNC · Private	96.8%
4	University of PennsylvaniaPA · Private	96.5%
5	Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMA · Private	96.4%
6	Columbia University in the City of New YorkNY · Private	96.1%
7	University of ChicagoIL · Private	95.9%
8	Yale UniversityCT · Private	95.7%
9	Brown UniversityRI · Private	95.7%
10	University of Virginia-Main CampusVA · Public	95.6%
11	Dartmouth CollegeNH · Private	95.5%
12	Cornell UniversityNY · Private	95.4%
13	University of Notre DameIN · Private	95.2%
14	Northwestern UniversityIL · Private	95.1%
15	Georgetown UniversityDC · Private	94.8%
16	Rice UniversityTX · Private	94.6%
17	California Institute of TechnologyCA · Private	94.4%
18	Washington University in St LouisMO · Private	94.3%
19	Carnegie Mellon UniversityPA · Private	94.1%
20	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main CampusGA · Public	94%
21	Johns Hopkins UniversityMD · Private	93.8%
22	Vanderbilt UniversityTN · Private	93.5%
23	Tufts UniversityMA · Private	93.5%
24	University of Michigan-Ann ArborMI · Public	93.2%
25	University of California-BerkeleyCA · Public	92.8%
26	University of California-Los AngelesCA · Public	92.6%
27	Stanford UniversityCA · Private	91.9%
28	Villanova UniversityPA · Private	91.9%
29	University of Southern CaliforniaCA · Private	91.8%
30	University of North Carolina at Chapel HillNC · Public	91.2%
31	University of FloridaFL · Public	91.1%
32	Emory UniversityGA · Private	91.1%
33	Boston CollegeMA · Private	90.8%
34	Northeastern UniversityMA · Private	90.5%
35	Worcester Polytechnic InstituteMA · Private	89.7%
36	University of GeorgiaGA · Public	89.7%
37	University of Wisconsin-MadisonWI · Public	89.5%
38	William & MaryVA · Public	89.4%
39	Wake Forest UniversityNC · Private	89.1%
40	The University of Texas at AustinTX · Public	88.9%
41	Boston UniversityMA · Private	88.7%
42	University of Maryland-College ParkMD · Public	88.6%
43	Santa Clara UniversityCA · Private	87.9%
44	Lehigh UniversityPA · Private	87.9%
45	Ohio State University-Main CampusOH · Public	87.7%
46	New York UniversityNY · Private	87.6%
47	Case Western Reserve UniversityOH · Private	87.2%
48	Stevens Institute of TechnologyNJ · Private	86.9%
49	University of California-IrvineCA · Public	86.9%
50	Clemson UniversitySC · Public	86.6%

A data ranking — not an Ibex endorsement or quality rating. Ranked solely on the metric named above using the most recent College Scorecard & IPEDS release, which lags the current academic year by 2–3 years. Institutions that do not report this metric are excluded. Figures and peer context appear on each institution’s profile.

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Source: U.S. Department of Education — College Scorecard & IPEDS (most recent release, 2024-25), with Census ACS, BLS Employment Projections, WICHE & the FSA Direct Loan Dashboard. Compiled by Ibex Insights. For informational benchmarking only — not financial, investment, or accreditation advice. See the methodology.