List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston

This is a list of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston. Some are located within Boston proper while some are located in neighboring cities and towns, but all are within the 128/95/1 loop. This is closer to the "inner core" definition of Metropolitan Boston, which excludes more suburban North Shore, South Shore and MetroWest regions. Although larger institutions may have several schools, some of which are located in cities other than that of the main campus (such as Harvard Medical School and Tufts University School of Medicine), each institution is listed only once and location is determined by the site of each institution's main campus. Three universities—Harvard and MIT in Cambridge, as well as Tufts in Somerville—make up the "brainpower triangle" of greater Boston, a region defined by universities that have a large local and national influence.

There are a total of 44 institutions of higher education in the defined region, including three junior colleges, 11 colleges that primarily grant baccalaureate and master's degrees, eight research universities, and 22 special-focus institutions. Of these, 39 are private ventures while five are public institutions (four are run by the state of Massachusetts and one is operated by the city of Quincy).

In 2024, enrollment at these colleges and universities ranged from 43 students at Boston Baptist College to 37,737 students at Boston University. The first to be founded was Harvard University, also the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, while the most recently established institution is Sattler College. All but five of these schools are accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

Institutions Name Location Control Classification Enrollment Founded NECHE-accredited Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology BostonPrivate Special-focus74419082006 Bentley University WalthamPrivate Master's5,33319171966 Berklee College of Music BostonPrivate Special-focus8,3691945 1973 Boston Architectural College BostonPrivate Special-focus85318891991 Boston Baptist College MiltonPrivate Special-focus431976 Boston College NewtonPrivate Research15,43218631935 Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis BrooklinePrivate Special-focus16919731996 Boston University BostonPrivate Research37,73718391929 Brandeis University WalthamPrivate Research5,20519481953 Bunker Hill Community College BostonPublic Associate's9,87619731976 Cambridge College BostonPrivate Master's1,83519711981 Curry College MiltonPrivate Baccalaureate1,99418791970 Eastern Nazarene College QuincyPrivate Baccalaureate6019001943 Emerson College BostonPrivate Master's5,26318801950 Emmanuel College BostonPrivate Baccalaureate1,98319191933Fisher CollegeBostonPrivateBaccalaureate1,65219031970 Harvard University CambridgePrivate Research30,25916361929 Hebrew College NewtonPrivate Special-focus16319211955 Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology BrooklinePrivate Special-focus27419371974 Hult International Business School CambridgePrivate Special-focus2,00819641976 Labouré College MiltonPrivate Special-focus53018922005 Lasell University NewtonPrivate Baccalaureate1,66818511932 Lesley University CambridgePrivate Master's2,55719091952 Longy School of Music of Bard College CambridgePrivate Special-focus3171915 Massachusetts College of Art and Design BostonPublic Special-focus1,98918731954 Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences BostonPrivate Special-focus5,94518231974 Mass General Brigham University of Health Professions BostonPrivate Special-focus1,89419771985 Massachusetts Institute of Technology CambridgePrivate Research11,88618611929 New England College of Optometry BostonPrivate Special-focus51518941976 New England Conservatory BostonPrivate Special-focus85318671951 New England Law Boston BostonPrivate Special-focus1,1311938 North Bennet Street School BostonPrivate Special-focus1551881 Northeastern University BostonPrivate Research32,55318981940 Quincy College QuincyPublic Associate's3,02219581980 Roxbury Community College BostonPublic Associate's2,04419731981 Saint John's Seminary BostonPrivate Special-focus8618841969Sattler CollegeBostonPrivate Special-focus572016 Simmons University BostonPrivate Master's4,66618991929 Suffolk University BostonPrivate Master's6,35619061952 Tufts University MedfordPrivate Research13,59918521929 University of Massachusetts Boston BostonPublic Research15,57519641972 Urban College of Boston BostonPrivate Special-focus86819932001 Wentworth Institute of Technology BostonPrivate Special-focus4,19119041967 William James College NewtonPrivate Special-focus96719741984

See also List of colleges and universities in Massachusetts for a full listing of the institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Colleges of Worcester Consortium for Worcester-area colleges.

Explanatory notes

References