"Public Ivy" is an informal term that refers to public universities in the United States that are perceived to provide a collegiate experience on the level of Ivy League universities. There is no trademark for the term, and the list of schools associated with the classification has changed over time.
The term was coined in 1985 by Yale University admissions officer Richard Moll, who published Public Ivies: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities. That initial list included eight universities and nine runners-up. which included 30 schools. whether raising tuition at Public Ivies has "gentrified" the schools; whether states should be subsidizing higher education in the first place; and whether out-of-state tuition is too high.
History
The term first appeared in the Public Ivies: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities, published in 1985. He traveled the nation examining higher education institutions, and selected eight that were comparable to the Ivy League.
Moll's original ranking methodology included factors such as academic rigor, quality of faculty, and cost of tuition, as well as assessments of campus facilities, available resources, age, and major cultural traditions celebrated at each institution.
Original list published in 1985
- College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia)
- Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)
- University of California (applies to the campuses as of 1985: Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine, Davis, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Riverside)
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Vermont (Burlington)
- University of Virginia (Charlottesville)
Runners-up
As part of the initial 1985 publication, Moll also selected nine "worthy runner-up" universities:<!-- Listed alphabetically with names as they appeared in Moll's book. -->
- University of Colorado Boulder
- Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta)
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
- New College of Florida (formerly New College of the University of South Florida, it became an independent part of Florida's State University System in 2001)
- Pennsylvania State University (University Park)
- University of Pittsburgh
- State University of New York at Binghamton (also known as Binghamton University)
- University of Washington (Seattle)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison
Notable updates
Greenes' Guides list (2001)
The list of "public Ivy" institutions has gone through several revisions over the years, much like other university rankings and conferences. A notable update was published in 2001, when Howard and Matthew Greene included the following 30 colleges and universities in The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities.</small>
! rowspan="2" | Endowment<br />
! colspan="2" | Ranking
! rowspan="2" | Admit rate
! colspan="2" | Athletics
! class="unsortable" rowspan="2" | Colors
|-
! <small>USNWR Public</small>
! <small>USNWR National</small>
! Affiliation
! Nickname
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Tucson, Arizona
| 1885
| 53,001
| data-sort-value="1290" | $1.29 billion
| 52
| 109
| 86%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big 12</small>
| Wildcats
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Vestal, New York
| 1946
| 18,456
| data-sort-value="182" | $182.7 million
| 34 <small>(tie)</small>
| 73 <small>(tie)</small>
| 38%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>America East</small>
| Bearcats
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em" | Berkeley, California
| 1868
| 45,699
| data-sort-value="2910" | $2.91 billion
| 2
| 17
| 12%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>ACC</small>
| Golden Bears
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em" | Davis, California
| 1905
| 39,707
| data-sort-value="678" | $678.0 million
| 9 <small>(tie)</small>
| 33 <small>(tie)</small>
| 42%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big West</small>
| Aggies
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:11em" |
| style="min-width:8em" | Irvine, California
| 1965
| 36,582
| data-sort-value="795" | $795.9 million
| 9 <small>(tie)</small>
| 33 <small>(tie)</small>
| 26%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big West</small>
| Anteaters
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:11em" |
| style="min-width:8em" | Los Angeles, California
| 1919
| 46,678
| data-sort-value="3870" | $3.87 billion
| 1
| 15
| 9%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Bruins
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:11em" |
| style="min-width:8em" | La Jolla, California
| 1960
| 42,376
| data-sort-value="1360" | $1.36 billion
| 6
| 29
| 25%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big West</small>
| Tritons
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:11em" |
| style="min-width:8em" | Santa Barbara, California
| 1891
| 26,068
| data-sort-value="578" | $578.8 million
| 13 <small>(tie)</small>
| 39 <small>(tie)</small>
| 28%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big West</small>
| Gauchos
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Boulder, Colorado
| 1876
| 41,432
| data-sort-value="2100" | $2.10 billion<br /><small>(system-wide)</small>
| 46 <small>(tie)</small>
| 98 <small>(tie)</small>
| 83%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big 12</small>
| Buffaloes
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em" | Storrs, Connecticut
| 1881
| 27,364
| data-sort-value="577" | $577.3 million
| 32
| 70
| 54%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big East</small>
| Huskies
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Newark, Delaware
| 1743
| 24,221
| data-sort-value="1820" | $1.82 billion
| 44
| 86
| 65%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>CAA</small>
| Fightin' Blue Hens
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Gainesville, Florida
| 1853
| 54,814
| data-sort-value="2340" | $2.34 billion
| 7 <small>(tie)</small>
| 30 <small>(tie)</small>
| 24%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>SEC</small>
| Gators
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Athens, Georgia
| 1785
| 41,615
| data-sort-value="1810" | $1.81 billion
| 18 <small>(tie)</small>
| 46 <small>(tie)</small>
| 37%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>SEC</small>
| Bulldogs
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:9em"| Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
| 1867
| 56,563
| data-sort-value="3380" | $3.38 billion<br /><small>(system-wide)</small>
| 9 <small>(tie)</small>
| 33 <small>(tie)</small>
| 44%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Fighting Illini
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Bloomington, Indiana
| 1820
| 47,527
| data-sort-value="3560" | $3.56 billion<br /><small>(system-wide)</small>
| 34 <small>(tie)</small>
| 73 <small>(tie)</small>
| 80%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Hoosiers
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Iowa City, Iowa
| 1847
| 30,042
| data-sort-value="3560" | $3.26 billion
| 46 <small>(tie)</small>
| 98 <small>(tie)</small>
| 85%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Hawkeyes
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| College Park, Maryland
| 1856
| 40,813
| data-sort-value="2100" | $2.10 billion<br /><small>(system-wide)</small>
| 17
| 44
| 45%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Terrapins
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Oxford, Ohio
| 1809
| 18,618
| data-sort-value="741" | $741.2 million
| 69
| 136
| 82%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>MAC</small>
| RedHawks
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Ann Arbor, Michigan
| 1817
| 52,065
| data-sort-value="17880" | $17.88 billion
| 3
| 21
| 18%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Wolverines
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| East Lansing, Michigan
| 1855
| 51,316
| data-sort-value="4500" | $4.50 billion
| 30 <small>(tie)</small>
| 63 <small>(tie)</small>
| 84%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Spartans
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Minneapolis–St Paul, Minnesota
| 1851
| 54,890
| data-sort-value="5500" | $5.50 billion<br /><small>(system-wide)</small>
| 23 <small>(tie)</small>
| 54 <small>(tie)</small>
| 77%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Golden Gophers
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Chapel Hill, <br /> North Carolina
| 1789
| 32,234
| data-sort-value="5200" | $5.20 billion
| 5
| 27
| 19%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>ACC</small>
| Tar Heels
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Columbus, Ohio
| 1870
| 60,046
| data-sort-value="7380" | $7.38 billion
| 15 <small>(tie)</small>
| 41 <small>(tie)</small>
| 51%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Buckeyes
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| University Park, Pennsylvania
| 1855
| 50,399
| data-sort-value="4440" | $4.44 billion
| 30 <small>(tie)</small>
| 63 <small>(tie)</small>
| 54%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Nittany Lions
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| New Brunswick, New Jersey
| 1766
| 50,617
| data-sort-value="1990" | $1.99 billion<br /><small>(system-wide)</small>
| 15 <small>(tie)</small>
| 41 <small>(tie)</small>
| 65%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Scarlet Knights
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Austin, Texas
| 1883
| 53,082
| data-sort-value="44970" | $44.97 billion<br /><small>(system-wide)</small>
| 7 <small>(tie)</small>
| 30 <small>(tie)</small>
| 29%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>SEC</small>
| Longhorns
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Charlottesville, Virginia
| 1819
| 25,924
| data-sort-value="9800" | $9.80 billion
| 4
| 24
| 17%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>ACC</small>
| Cavaliers
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Seattle, Washington
| 1861
| 55,620
| data-sort-value="4940" | $4.94 billion
| 18 <small>(tie)</small>
| 46 <small>(tie)</small>
| 43%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Huskies
| style="min-width:7em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Williamsburg, Virginia
| 1693
| 9,762
| data-sort-value="1360" | $1.36 billion
| 23 <small>(tie)</small>
| 54 <small>(tie)</small>
| 33%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>CAA</small>
| Tribe
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
| style="border-style: solid solid solid none; text-align:left; min-width:10em" |
| style="min-width:8em"| Madison, Wisconsin
| 1848
| 49,605
| data-sort-value="3840" | $3.84 billion
| 13 <small>(tie)</small>
| 39 <small>(tie)</small>
| 43.3%
| NCAA Div I<br /><small>Big Ten</small>
| Badgers
| style="min-width:5em"|
|-
|}
</div>
Forbes 2025 "New Ivies"
In March 2025, Forbes published a list titled "The New Ivies: 20 Great Colleges Employers Love," naming 10 public and 10 private U.S. institutions considered by surveyed employers to produce graduates who are especially in demand in the workforce.
The ranking was based on a survey of more than 380 employers, including C-suite executives and hiring managers, as well as admissions metrics such as test scores and selectivity.
Criticism and observations
Commentators have noted that the list’s reliance on standardized test reporting may disadvantage universities that have adopted test-optional or test-free admissions policies. Others view the ranking as evidence of shifting priorities in higher education, with employers placing greater emphasis on workforce readiness and skills rather than institutional prestige alone.