University of California, Berkeley

Vitamin E was identified here, a lost Scarlatti opera found, the flu virus identified and America's first no-fault divorce law drafted. A gold-rush by-product, the university by San Francisco Bay was chartered in 1868. To date, more than 20 faculty members have become Nobel laureates. Today's student body consists of about 36,000 members, more than 10,000 of them postgraduates.