In this article, we list and explain the top 10 universities in Georgia. You will also learn about why schooling in Georgia is a great choice, admission requirements for a prospective undergraduate student, and how the institutions rank nationally.
This ranking is based on a thorough analysis of the academic, financial, admissions, and student life data obtained from the US Department of Education. Reviews from students and alumni were also considered in this ranking.
Choice during your school search can boost your chances of getting a quality college education, a good job, and a great career path. Georgia universities offer a wide range of programs for students of all walks of life, from PhD candidates to second bachelor’s degrees .
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech and GT or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia; Metz, France; Shenzhen, China; and Singapore.
The school was founded as the Georgia School of Technology as part of Reconstruction plans to build an industrial economy in the post-Civil War Southern United States. Initially, it offered only a degree in mechanical engineering. By 1901, its curriculum had expanded to include electrical, civil, and chemical engineering. In 1948, the school changed its name to reflect its evolution from a trade school to a larger and more capable technical institute and research university. Today, Georgia Tech is organized into 6 colleges and contains about 31 departments and academic units, with emphasis on science and technology.
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia was established in 1801 and serves as one of the oldest public schools in the country. The University of Georgia offers degree programs in various areas, including avian biology, veterinary medicine, and forest resources. Each program practices academic excellence and has affordable undergraduate tuition.
Tuition is dependent on different factors, such as the state of a student’s residency, degree program, and enrollment. Applicants are required to submit their transcripts, GRE, or GMAT scores along with letters of recommendation and supplemental materials. If you want an innovative college experience, try this school.
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836. Emory University has nine academic divisions: Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Oxford College, Goizueta Business School, Laney Graduate School, School of Law, School of Medicine, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Rollins School of Public Health, and the Candler School of Theology. Emory University students come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, five territories of the United States, and over 100 foreign countries.
Emory University is the leading coordinator of the U.S. Health Department's National Ebola Training and Education Center. The university is one of four institutions involved in the NIAID's Tuberculosis Research Units Program. The International Association of National Public Health Institutes is headquartered at the university.
Emory University has the 15th-largest endowment among U.S. colleges and universities. The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is cited for high scientific performance and citation impact in the CWTS Leiden Ranking. The National Science Foundation ranked the university 36th among academic institutions in the United States for research and development (R&D) expenditures. In 1995 Emory University was elected to the Association of American Universities, an association of the 65 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.
Emory faculty and alumni include 2 Prime Ministers, 9 university presidents, 11 members of the United States Congress, 2 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, a Vice President of the United States, a United States Speaker of the House, and a United States Supreme Court Justice. Other notable alumni include 21 Rhodes Scholars and 6 Pulitzer Prize winners, as well as Emmy Award winners, MacArthur Fellows, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, heads of state and other leaders in foreign governments. Emory has more than 149,000 alumni, with 75 alumni clubs established worldwide in 20 countries.
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university in the state of Georgia with two campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in Kennesaw and the other in Marietta on a combined 581 acres (235 ha) of land. The school was founded in 1963 by the Georgia Board of Regents using local bonds and a federal space-grant during a time of major Georgia economic expansion after World War II. KSU also holds classes at the Cobb Galleria Centre, Dalton State College, and in Paulding County (Dallas). The total enrollment exceeds 43,000 students making KSU the second-largest university by enrollment in Georgia while also having the largest freshman class in the state as well.
KSU is part of the University System of Georgia and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The university has academic programs in business, education, engineering, nursing, physical sciences, information technology, criminal justice, and sports management. Kennesaw State's athletic teams are an NCAA Division I member of the ASUN Conference. They will join Conference USA in 2024.
Clayton State University
Clayton State University is a public university in Morrow, Georgia. It serves Metro Atlanta and is a selective Senior Unit of the University System of Georgia.
The main campus includes 192 acres (0.78 km2) of wooded grounds, featuring five lakes and a park-like atmosphere. Located in the north-central part of Clayton County in suburban south metro Atlanta, the main campus is a fifteen-minute drive from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and about twenty minutes from downtown Atlanta. Clayton State also maintains a separate Fayette County instructional site in Peachtree City and offers additional instruction at locations in Jonesboro in Clayton County and McDonough in Henry County.
Upon opening in 1991, Clayton State's Spivey Hall began presenting jazz, classical music and other musical entertainment. It has since developed into one of the premiere chamber music venues in the Atlanta metropolitan area and offers more than 400 performances per year. These performances air frequently on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Clayton State basketball, soccer, cross-country, tennis, golf, and track & field programs are a part of Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), competing in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC). In 2011, the Clayton State women's basketball team won the NCAA Division II national championship.
Wesleyan College
Wesleyan College is a private all-female college with about 700 students. Undergraduate areas of study include environmental studies, applied data analysis, neuroscience, and international business. The college offers graduate degrees in addition to undergraduate programs. Graduate admission varies between different programs, but first-year applicants must submit transcripts.
Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University (GSU, Southern, or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah (Armstrong Campus) and Hinesville (Liberty Campus). Founded in 1906, Georgia Southern is the fifth-largest institution in the University System of Georgia. GSU offers over 140 different academic majors at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels. The university has a combined enrollment of approximately 27,000 students from all 50 states and over 80 countries. Georgia Southern is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity"[10] and a comprehensive university by the University System of Georgia.
Columbus State University
The university was first called Columbus College when it opened as a junior college in a hosiery mill in 1958. The college was staffed by fifteen faculty and staff and almost three hundred students attended courses in the first year.
Columbus College relocated to the midtown area in 1963, building a campus defined by modern architecture on what was previously a dairy farm. The school was granted four-year status in 1965 with offerings of bachelor's and master's degrees. The first four-year class graduated in 1970.
In 1996 the school was renamed Columbus State University as part of a program to restructure four-year institutions within the state's university system. The school now offers undergraduate and graduate programs in more than ninety academic disciplines. As of the 2010 academic year, the university enrolled more than 8,200 students. In early 2007, the art and theater departments moved to the university's newly built RiverPark Campus in downtown Columbus. The complex was designed to provide students of the fine arts with a tightly-knit living community and larger studios, laboratories, and galleries. The Schwob School of Music is housed in the adjacent RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.
Spelman College
Spelman College is a private institution that was founded in 1881. It is an all-female school that started as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary. Spelman College is part of the Women’s College Coalition and gains recognition as a historically Black college . The Atlanta campus has fantastic faculty and caring staff to help you through the college selection process.
Undergraduate students can earn a degree in over 30 areas of study, including dance performance, comparative women’s studies, photography, documentary, filmmaking, and choreography. The school also offers minors in Japanese studies, African diaspora studies, and food studies. First-year applicants must submit transcripts, two letters of support, and an essay.
Georgia College & State University
Georgia College was chartered in 1889 as Georgia Normal and Industrial College. Its emphasis at the time was largely vocational, and its major task was to prepare young women for teaching or industrial careers. In 1917, in keeping with economic and cultural changes in the state, Georgia Normal and Industrial College was authorized to grant 4-year degrees, the first of which was awarded in 1921. In 1922, the institution's name was changed to Georgia State College for Women.
The university has been a unit of the University System of Georgia since the system's founding in 1932. Mary "Flannery" O'Connor entered as a freshman in 1942. Active in student publications, she graduated three years later and became one of the South's most noted writers.
The name was changed to Woman's College of Georgia in 1961, and, when the institution became coeducational in 1967, it became Georgia College at Milledgeville. The name was shortened to Georgia College in 1971. In August 1996, the Board of Regents approved a change of name to Georgia College & State University, and a new mission as Georgia's Public Liberal Arts University.
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