Which Universities Produce the Most Nobel Laureates? Top 30 Rankings (1901‑2019)

For more than a century, the Nobel Prizes, especially those in the natural sciences, have been the most prestigious scientific honors worldwide.

The following list ranks the top thirty universities (including alumni and staff) that have produced the most Nobel laureates between 1901 and 2019, all of which are recognized as world‑class institutions.

1. Harvard University

Awardees: 160 (USA)

Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is renowned for its history, academic influence, and wealth, making it one of the most prestigious schools globally. Founded in 1636, it is the oldest higher‑education institution in the United States.

2. University of Cambridge

Awardees: 120 (UK)

Located in Cambridge, England, Cambridge University is the second‑oldest English‑language university and the fourth‑oldest surviving university worldwide. It originated from a group of Oxford scholars who relocated after conflicts with the citizens of Oxford.

3. University of California, Berkeley

Awardees: 107 (USA)

UC Berkeley, situated in Berkeley, California, is a world‑famous public research university whose many departments rank among the top ten globally, often regarded as the premier public university in the United States.

4. University of Chicago

Awardees: 100 (USA)

The University of Chicago, a private research university in Illinois, consistently ranks among the world’s top ten universities and is famed for the Chicago School of economics, law‑and‑economics, and for building the first nuclear reactor under Enrico Fermi.

5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Awardees: 97 (USA)

MIT, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is renowned for engineering and computer science, housing the MIT CSAIL, Lincoln Lab, and Media Lab, and has produced inventions such as the World Wide Web, GNU, Emacs, and RSA.

6. Columbia University

Awardees: 96 (USA)

Columbia University, located in New York City, is a private research university and a founding member of the Association of American Universities.

7. Stanford University

Awardees: 83 (USA)

Stanford, situated near Silicon Valley in California, is a private research university founded in 1885. It operates the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and has produced numerous Nobel laureates, Turing Award winners, and industry leaders.

8. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Awardees: 74 (USA)

Caltech, a private research university in Pasadena, California, excels in physics, chemistry, astronomy, and space science, and manages NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

9. University of Oxford

Awardees: 71 (UK)

Oxford, one of the world’s oldest universities, has a collegiate system and a long history of producing Nobel laureates across many disciplines.

10. Princeton University

Awardees: 68 (USA)

Princeton, a private Ivy League university in New Jersey, was founded in 1746 and has produced numerous Nobel laureates, Fields Medalists, and Turing Award winners.

11. Yale University

Awardees: 62 (USA)

Yale, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, is a founding member of the Ivy League and has produced many Nobel laureates, Fields Medalists, and Turing Award winners.

12. Cornell University

Awardees: 61 (USA)

Cornell, an Ivy League private research university in Ithaca, New York, was founded in 1865 and emphasizes equal educational opportunity.

13. Humboldt University of Berlin

Awardees: 55 (Germany)

Founded in 1810, Humboldt University is a historic German research university that pioneered the modern university model by integrating research and teaching.

14. University of Paris

Awardees: 50 (France)

One of Europe’s oldest universities, the University of Paris traces its teaching back to the mid‑12th century and has undergone several reorganizations, now known as Sorbonne University.

15. University of Göttingen

Awardees: 45 (Germany)

Founded in 1734, Göttingen is a leading German research university with strong programs in biophysics and space science.

16. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

Awardees: 42 (Germany)

Established in 1472, LMU Munich is a world‑class university known for its excellence across humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

17. University of Copenhagen

Awardees: 39 (Denmark)

The University of Copenhagen, Denmark’s oldest university founded in 1479, is a major research institution with six faculties and over 200 research centers.

18. Johns Hopkins University

Awardees: 37 (USA)

Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is a private research university renowned for its medical school, public health, and space science programs, and operates the Applied Physics Laboratory.

19. New York University (NYU)

Awardees: 37 (USA)

NYU, a private research university in New York City, is known for its global academic centers and strong programs in arts, law, business, and mathematics.

21. Rockefeller University

Awardees: 36 (USA)

Rockefeller University, a private biomedical research center in New York, was founded with funding from John D. Rockefeller and focuses exclusively on clinical research.

20. University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)

Awardees: 36 (USA)

UPenn, a private Ivy League university in Philadelphia founded in 1740, has contributed to many scientific breakthroughs, including the first general‑purpose computer (ENIAC) and several vaccines.

22. University College London (UCL)

Awardees: 33 (UK)

UCL, founded in 1826, is a leading public research university in London, known for its interdisciplinary strengths and notable alumni across science, technology, and the arts.

23. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich)

Awardees: 32 (Switzerland)

ETH Zurich is one of the world’s most prestigious technical universities, renowned for its low acceptance rate and high academic standards.

24. University of Illinois at Urbana‑Champaign

Awardees: 30 (USA)

UIUC, a public research university founded in 1867, is known for its engineering, computer science, and agricultural programs.

25. University of Minnesota

Awardees: 30 (USA)

The University of Minnesota system includes the flagship Twin Cities campus, a major public research university known for innovations such as the black box flight recorder and the pacemaker.

26. Heidelberg University

Awardees: 27 (Germany)

Founded in 1386, Heidelberg is Germany’s oldest university and a historic center of European scholarship.

27. University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

Awardees: 27 (USA)

UCSD, a public research university in La Jolla, California, is renowned for its strengths in biology, oceanography, earth sciences, and computer science.

28. University of Wisconsin‑Madison

Awardees: 25 (USA)

UW‑Madison, founded in 1848, is a leading public research university known for its contributions to science, engineering, and public policy.

29. University of Michigan

Awardees: 25 (USA)

The University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, is known as a “public Ivy” and has a strong tradition in athletics and research.

30. University of Manchester

Awardees: 25 (UK)

Manchester, a member of the UK’s Russell Group, is a leading research university founded in 1824.