Stanford University is the third richest university on the planet, ranked No. 2 in the 2016/17 QS rankings.
Stanford is an elite university, with a wide range of subjects and programs, among which the programs in entrepreneurship and computer science stand out. In addition to its strong research activities, the university pays close attention to the practical application of the theoretical knowledge acquired by students.
Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, it is not surprising that the university has the closest ties to the leading corporations based there, many of whose top managers are its graduates.
California Institute of Technology, famed CalTech, #5 in the 2016/17 QS rankings, whose faculty and alumni include 31 Nobel Prize winners, as well as many other prestigious honorees.
In addition to traditional technical subjects, CalTech offers a significant number of interdisciplinary programs. The school encourages teamwork – both on homework assignments and on large-scale research and application projects.
CalTech is home to a business incubator and a vibrant place for basic science, from which many prominent companies and groundbreaking technologies have emerged.
The University of Southern California (ranked 136th by QS 2016/17) is the oldest private research university in California and actively promotes interdisciplinary research and international collaboration. It has one of the largest endowment funds and the largest research library in the United States.
All the above-mentioned universities have a wide academic specialization, work in a wide range of subject areas and conduct vigorous research, which is indispensable for getting into the world university rankings, including QS.
In all, there are more than 130 different private universities in California: some are affiliated with major universities in other states, while others are small, highly specialized independent institutions, and still others teach only graduate students. We can say that the goals of higher education, set by the state Department of Education, have been achieved – today California offers students the most diverse and high-quality education.