The Southern Ivies: A Complete Guide

When exploring top U.S. universities, you may come across the term ‘Southern Ivies’. This informal label refers to a group of elite universities in the southern United States that are known for academic excellence, selective admissions, and strong national reputations – often offering an Ivy League–calibre education in the South.

Compared to the Ivy League, Southern Ivies tend to place greater emphasis on cohesive campus communities, undergraduate life, and a more traditional residential experience. While their global name recognition as a collective may not quite match that of the official Ivies, their academic standards are similarly demanding, and their standing within the United States is, in many cases, firmly elite.

History of the term

The term ‘Southern Ivies’ was, of course, formed in response to the existence of the Ivy League – a term which first began to be used in 1933 and was formalised into an athletic league in 1954.

The Southern Ivies too have an athletic history. After the Second World War, smaller private universities began to struggle to compete against larger public universities in American football. In the 1950s, the chancellor of Vanderbilt University, Harvie Branscomb, tried to form an athletic league of private colleges in the South which would have been an equivalent to the Ivy League in the Northeast. He referred to his proposed conference as either the ‘Southern Ivy League’ or the ‘Magnolia Conference’, and tried to enlist schools such as Duke, Rice, the University of Virginia, and Tulane to join Vanderbilt in the new league.

Although the conference was never established, the term ‘Southern Ivies’ stuck – especially as the Ivies took on an ever greater reputation for prestige, exclusivity, and academic quality, and students sought to find similarly strong universities outside of the Ivy League. Because Branscomb’s initiative was unsuccessful, there is no official list of Southern Ivies – though, taking many of his league’s proposed members as a starting point, various unofficial groupings have been suggested, including various academically strong and prestigious universities in the South.

What are the Southern Ivies?

As mentioned, there is no formal list of Southern Ivies. However, the universities below are widely accepted as members of the unofficial group.

Duke University

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Type: Private

Duke University is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in the southern United States and is often grouped with Emory, Rice, and Vanderbilt at the very top of the Southern Ivies. Founded in 1838 and substantially expanded following the benefaction of James B. Duke in the early 20th century, Duke’s history is complemented by its large modern resources. Its gothic West Campus is among the most recognisable university settings in the U.S.

Academically, Duke is a liberal arts university, known for particular strengths in medicine, law, public policy, economics, and engineering. It has a reputation for ambitious, high-achieving students and a culture that balances intellectual seriousness with strong school spirit, particularly around athletics. Duke’s research output and global reputation place it firmly alongside many of the Ivy League schools in international rankings and employer perceptions.

Emory University

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Type: Private

Emory University is one of the South’s leading private research universities and is consistently counted among the most prestigious of the group. Founded in 1836, Emory has developed a distinctive academic profile shaped by its close association with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its highly ranked medical and public health schools. Its leafy campus in Atlanta offers the advantages of a major global city while retaining a collegiate atmosphere.

Emory is particularly respected for programmes in medicine, public health, law, business, and the humanities. It attracts students seeking a rigorous academic environment with a strong ethical and global focus, reinforced by its Methodist heritage. The university’s emphasis on interdisciplinary study and civic engagement has helped it build a reputation for producing graduates who go on to leadership roles across academia, healthcare, law, and public service.

Vanderbilt University

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Type: Private

Founded in 1873 with funding from Cornelius Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt University has long been regarded as one of the most elite universities in the South and is frequently named among the very top Southern Ivies. Its campus blends historic architecture with cutting-edge research facilities, while its location in Nashville places students at the centre of a fast-growing cultural and economic hub.

Vanderbilt is especially well known for education, law, medicine, economics, and the social sciences, alongside strong offerings in engineering and the arts. The university has a highly selective admissions process and a relatively small undergraduate population. Compared to larger universities or public schools, Vanderbilt students tend to know the teaching faculty well.

Rice University

Location: Houston, Texas

Type: Private

Rice University is often cited as the most prestigious private university in Texas and a core member of the Southern Ivies. Founded in 1912, Rice is known for its small size, highly selective admissions, and unusually strong undergraduate focus within a major research institution. Its residential college system, inspired by Oxford and Cambridge, plays a central role in student life and academic identity.

Rice excels in engineering, natural sciences, architecture, economics, and music, benefiting from close ties to Houston’s energy, medical, and aerospace sectors. Despite its modest scale, Rice punches well above its weight in research output and the reputation of its faculty. Its combination of academic intensity, collaborative culture, and generous financial aid makes it particularly attractive to students seeking depth of study without the scale of a large university.

University of Virginia

Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

Type: Public

The University of Virginia (UVA) is the most frequently cited example of a “public Ivy” in the South. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, UVA is distinctive for its Enlightenment-inspired academic philosophy and its UNESCO-listed Lawn, which remains the symbolic heart of the university.

UVA is particularly renowned for law, business, politics, economics, and the humanities, alongside strong scientific and engineering programmes. It combines the resources of a flagship public university with the traditions and academic culture more commonly associated with elite private institutions. Admission is highly competitive, especially for out-of-state students, and the university enjoys an strong reputation among employers.

Tulane University

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Type: Private

Tulane University stands out among the Southern Ivies for its distinctive location and civic ethos. Founded in 1834, Tulane has built a strong reputation as a private research university with a particular emphasis on public service, a focus that intensified following Hurricane Katrina and reshaped much of the institution’s mission.

Academically, Tulane is known for strengths in public health, medicine, law, business, and the social sciences. Its integration of service learning into the undergraduate curriculum is relatively unusual among elite universities and gives Tulane an ethos that places academic ambition alongside community engagement. Set amidst the cultural richness of New Orleans, Tulane’s offering is unique.

Wake Forest University

Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Type: Private

Wake Forest University is a smaller Southern Ivy that places a strong emphasis on undergraduate teaching alongside research. Founded in 1834, Wake Forest is known for its low student-to-faculty ratio and its commitment to close academic mentorship, which is central to its identity.

The university is particularly well regarded for business, economics, psychology, politics, and pre-medical pathways. Its motto, Pro Humanitate, reflects a focus on ethical leadership and service-oriented education. Wake Forest’s intimate academic environment and selective admissions make it appealing to students who value personalised teaching within an academically demanding setting.

College of William & Mary

Location: Williamsburg, Virginia

Type: Public

The College of William & Mary is the second-oldest college in the United States, founded in 1693, with only Harvard predating it. This history gives William & Mary a distinctive place among American universities and a prestige rooted in tradition, particularly in politics, law, and public service. Luke UVA, it is often described as a public Ivy.

William & Mary is especially strong in government, international relations, history, economics, and the humanities. Despite being a public institution, it maintains relatively small class sizes and a strong liberal arts focus. Its alumni include four of the first ten U.S. presidents, as well as multiple Supreme Court justices, which has contributed to its long-standing reputation as a training ground for national leadership.

Southern Methodist University

Location: Dallas, Texas

Type: Private

Southern Methodist University (SMU) is sometimes included in extended lists of Southern Ivies due to its academic profile, wealth, and influence within the South and Southwest. Founded in 1911, SMU is known for its well-funded campus, strong alumni network, and close connections to business and finance in Dallas and beyond.

SMU is particularly respected for business, law, engineering, and the arts, including one of the leading music schools in the region. Its smaller size and private status allow for a more tailored undergraduate experience than many large public universities. While its academic offering may be less broad or rigorous than some other Southern Ivies, its connections to local employers and regional prestige secure its place in the conversation.

Other possible Southern Ivies

These nine are the colleges most often included in the group, but others sometimes mentioned include:

• Davidson College
• Georgia Tech
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• University of Richmond
• University of Texas at Austin
• Washington and Lee University

Remember that the Southern Ivy League isn’t an objective list of the ‘best universities in the south’. For instance, Washington University in St. Louis ranks far higher than some members of the group but is not usually included in the list. This is because the group has arisen by convention, not as an objective ranking (even if objectively ranking universities were possible, which it isn’t, really).

What do they have in common?

As we’ve mentioned, the Southern Ivies are not a fixed or defined group – and in some ways they’re quite a heterogeneous mix. Some universities often included in the group are public, though most are private; the oldest was founded in the 17^th century while the newest were founded well into the 20^th; the highest-ranking is in the top 10 in the country while the lowest rank nearer to 100; and they have campuses as far apart as New Mexico and Virginia.

So what connects the Southern Ivies?

Location

All the Southern Ivies are located in the South – unlike the Ivy League schools, which are in the Northeast. While SMU does have a satellite campus in New Mexico, all of the Southern Ivies have their main campus in what is traditionally regarded as the South.

If you’re from the South and don’t wish to travel too far from home, or simply prefer the idea of South Carolina sun to a freezing Harvard winter, then they may be worth including on your college list.

Proposed athletic conference

Most of the commonly acknowledged members of the group were proposed members of the athletic conference which Vanderbilt chancellor Harvie Branscomb tried to set up in the 50s. These include:

• Duke
• Rice
• Tulane
• University of Virginia
• Southern Methodist University

Branscomb also tried to enlist two universities which are less commonly included in the Southern Ivy grouping:

• Washington University in St. Louis
• Georgia Tech

High academic standards

All of the colleges proposed as Southern Ivies are academically strong and offer a good education. There may be some variation in just how strong – from ‘one of the very best in the country’ to ‘one of the top 100’, but academic strength still clearly unites them.

They are all selective, with most having acceptance rates below 20%, and all have good reputation with employers – whether it’s leading regional employers or any company in the world.

What is the best Southern Ivy?

Which of the Southern Ivies is the best is a subjective decision for each student which depends on various factors – including your preference for a large or small student body, location in a city or a small town, your academic and extra-curricular interests, and how well you fit with each college’s unique character and ethos.

However, rankings of colleges do exist and can be a useful as a rough guide to a university’s reputation, the standing of their faculty, research output, and academic standards.

Here’s how the Southern Ivies compare according to two league tables – USA Today’s ranking of all US universities, and the QS World University Rankings.

College	QS World Ranking	USA Today Ranking
Duke University	62	7
Vanderbilt University	250	17
Rice University	119	17
Emory University	182	24
University of Virginia	275	26
Wake Forest University	791-800	51
College of William & Mary	1001-1200	51
Tulane University	597	69
Southern Methodist University	1001-1200	88

We can see from this table that Duke comes out as the best of the group according to both the QS and USA Today rankings, followed by Vanderbilt, Rice, and Emory.

Which are the easiest and hardest to get into?

As with which is the ‘best’, how easy or hard a university is to get into often depends on the individual student. If you’re good at testing but have a thinner profile elsewhere, a college which relies heavily on test scores might be easier for you to get into – but harder for another student with strong extra-curriculars or essays but weaker test scores.

In our guide to which Ivy League school is the easiest to get into, we discuss why acceptance rates alone are not a very reliable indicator of difficulty of gaining admission. However, they are one data point to bear in mind before applying:

College	Acceptance Rate
Vanderbilt University	4.7%
Duke University	4.8%
Rice University	8.0%
Emory University	10.6%
Tulane University	14.0%
University of Virginia	15.4%
Wake Forest University	21.7%
College of William & Mary	34.1%
Southern Methodist University	63.0%

The top four highest ranked Southern Ivies are also those with the lowest acceptance rates – Vanderbilt, Duke, Rice, and Emory. All have competitive acceptance rates from around 10% to below 5% for Duke and Vanderbilt. Most Southern Ivies are highly selective, the obvious exception being SMU, with an acceptance rate north of 60%.

How do the Southern Ivies compare to the Ivy League?

Many students start to explore the Southern Ivies as an alternative to the Ivy League – seeking the same prestige and quality of education but in a different part of the country, or perhaps without the ultra-low acceptance rates. So how do these universities compare to the Ivy League?

Rankings

All eight Ivy Leagues are ranked in the top 15 in USA Today’s league table. Some of the Southern Ivies are on a par with this:

• Duke comes in 7^th place, ahead of Dartmouth, Cornell, Brown, Penn, and Columbia
• Vanderbilt, Rice, and Emory are all inside the top 25, so just behind the Ivy League according to USA Today

The remaining Southern Ivies rank lower, though – between 26^th and 88^th in USA Today’s table. That’s still very good – there are thousands of colleges in the US – but not quite as elite as the Ivies.

Acceptance rates

Vanderbilt and Duke, at below 5%, have acceptance rates that are comparable to the Ivy League schools. Rice and Emory, at around 8-11%, have slightly higher acceptance rates than most of the Ivies, while the rest of the Southern Ivies are lower still.

Campus life

Campus life at the Southern Ivies tends to be more cohesive and community-oriented than at many Ivy League institutions. Most Southern Ivies are located on self-contained campuses – often suburban or small-city environments – which encourages a strong sense of shared identity. Residential systems at places such as Duke, Rice, and Vanderbilt play a central role in student life, with sport, societies, and campus traditions acting as major social anchors.

By contrast, many Ivy League universities are embedded within dense urban settings or closely connected to them, which can lead to a more fragmented student experience. Social life at the Ivies is often shaped by proximity to cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, offering wider external opportunities but sometimes less of a single, unified campus culture. Broadly speaking, Southern Ivies are known for warmer social environments, more visible school spirit, and a greater emphasis on undergraduate life beyond the classroom.

Prestige

In terms of prestige, the Ivy League retains a clear advantage globally due to its long-established brand, historical exclusivity, and concentration of world-famous institutions. Names such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton still carry unmatched recognition internationally, particularly in Europe and Asia, and continue to dominate perceptions among employers and postgraduate selectors.

That said, the leading Southern Ivies – especially Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, and Rice – are academically comparable to lower- and mid-ranked Ivy League universities in many disciplines. Within the United States, these institutions are regarded as elite, highly selective, and intellectually demanding. While they may not yet match the Ivy League’s international cachet as a group, the top Southern Ivies increasingly compete on faculty quality, research output, student outcomes, and employer reputation, making the gap narrower than it is often assumed to be.environment that might suit you even better.

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