#38 Yale University

Yale University is an American private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1701, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine Colonial Colleges chartered before the American Revolution.

Chartered by Connecticut Colony, the “Collegiate School” was established by clergy in Saybrook Colony to educate Congregational ministers. It moved to New Haven in 1716 and shortly after was renamed Yale College in recognition of a gift from British East India Company governor Elihu Yale. Originally restricted to theology and sacred languages, the curriculum began to incorporate humanities and sciences by the time of the American Revolution. In the 19th century, the school introduced graduate and professional instruction, awarding the first Ph.D. in the United States in 1861 and organizing as a university in 1887. Its faculty and student populations grew rapidly after 1890 with rapid expansion of the physical campus and scientific research.