The Ivy League is the official name for the intercollegiate sports conference that includes Harvard and Yale.
The Ivy League is officially an intercollegiate sports conference that began in 1954. The eight private northeastern U.S. universities in the conference consistently rank among the top universities worldwide in publications such as U.S. News and World Report. The phrase "Ivy League" has moved out of the sports world and now refers to the universities themselves, with connotations of tradition, exclusivity and academic excellence.
Brown University
Brown, 39th on U.S. News and World Report's 2010 ranking of the world's top universities, dates to 1764. Located in Providence, R.I., the university is known for its devotion to "liberal learning," which gives undergraduates the opportunity to develop their own core curricula.
Columbia University
The oldest university in New York state, Columbia is located on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It came in 11th on U.S. News' 2010 rankings, standing out for its commitment to research in the medical and social sciences. Its three undergraduate schools draw students to New York City from all over the world.
Cornell University
Founded in 1865 in Ithaca, New York, Cornell University is the youngest of the Ivies. It calls itself the most diverse of the Ivy League schools, and was home to the first colleges of hotel administration, industrial and labor relations and veterinary medicine in the U.S. Cornell ranked 16th on the 2010 list of the world's best universities.
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth, founded in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1769, was the first U.S. college to have professional schools of engineering and management. Ranked at 90th among the world' top 400 colleges, Dartmouth is known for its student involvement in sports and Greek life. It is also No. 1 among the Ivies for students involved in study-abroad programs.
Harvard University
Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard is the oldest university in the U.S. Founded in 1636, Harvard was ranked the top university in the country and No. 2 in the world by U.S. News and World Report. The school boasts 18,000 degree candidates in 10 principal academic units, and its life and social sciences departments are considered the world's best.
Princeton University
Originally known as the College of New Jersey, the Princeton, New Jersey, university is ranked 10th in the world. Princeton is known as an outstanding research university and is also committed to the undergraduate experience; nearly all undergrads live on campus and over half participate in intercollegiate or intramural sports and activities.
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania, which U.S. News ranked at 12th in the world, was founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin. Located in Philadelphia, the university is known for its top-ranked schools of business, nursing and communication, as well as innovative interdisciplinary programs.
Yale University
Yale, the third-best university in the world according to 2010 rankings, was founded in 1701 in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale's claims to fame include its medical and divinity schools. In the 1930s, the university adopted a residential-college approach, dividing the undergraduate community into 12 colleges with under 500 students each, based on the traditional structure of English universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.
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