Forbes Releases 2026 List of 20 New Ivies Colleges Amid AI Job Market Shifts

Forbes released its 2026 list of 20 colleges designated as the New Ivies, comprising 10 public and 10 private institutions. The selection was based on a survey of more than 100 C-suite and hiring executives who rated schools on their graduates' appeal to employers, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence impacts on the job market.

The list aims to identify schools that prepare students for current workforce needs. The private colleges on the list are Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Emory University, Georgetown University, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame, Rice University, Tufts University, Vanderbilt University, and Washington University in St.

Louis. The public institutions include the United States Air Force Academy, University of Florida, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, among others noted in the full ranking.

corporate actions illustrate AI-related changes in employment. In January, Amazon announced it would cut 16,000 corporate jobs, following a reduction of 14,000 staff months earlier. During the same month, UPS stated it would eliminate up to 30,000 white-collar positions in 2026.

Last week, Oracle initiated layoffs estimated at up to 30,000 positions, while investing tens of billions in artificial intelligence. Research from Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab indicated that employment for individuals aged 22 to 25 in AI-vulnerable jobs, such as software engineering and customer service, declined 16% through October of the previous year.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that as of December, the unemployment rate for new college graduates was 5.6%, compared to 4.2% for all U.S. workers. Nearly 25% of surveyed executives said AI would reduce their need for entry-level college graduates, and 60% indicated it would alter their staffing requirements.

“Artificial intelligence has entirely redefined the anatomy of the entry level role. Consequently, the baseline for new hires has skyrocketed and lessened our need for traditional entry level headcount," wrote one C-suite level executive. Purdue University, a public institution on the list, announced in December an AI working competency as a graduation requirement, marking it as the first U.S. college to do so. Stanford researchers noted in a November paper that while jobs automated by AI saw declines for young workers, employment grew in roles where AI augments human efforts. The New Ivies list was initiated by Forbes in 2024 to address employer views on Ivy League graduates versus those from state flagship universities and other private schools.”

the survey, 37% of respondents said they are less likely to hire Ivy League graduates than five years ago, with only 6% more likely. For public university graduates, 42% are more likely to hire them, and 6% less likely. The Ivy League consists of eight schools: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale.

Enrollment, acceptance rates, and median test scores for the listed schools are drawn from 2024 data by the National Center for Education Statistics. For example, Carnegie Mellon University has an undergraduate enrollment of 7,852, an acceptance rate of 12%, a median SAT score of 1540, and a median ACT score of 35.

The list reflects a shift toward valuing intellectual rigor and adaptability over prestige. One surveyed executive stated that promising talents emerge from institutions prioritizing such qualities, fostering traits like emotional intelligence, adaptability, and creativity to work with AI tools.

Colleges face pressure to justify tuition costs exceeding $90,000 annually and to produce graduates able to manage student debt. Employment growth in AI-augmented roles suggests a need for curricula emphasizing human skills alongside technical knowledge.