The University of California Berkeley, envisioned as a "City of Learning" when it was chartered in 1868, rose a spot from last year to clock in at No. 8. The university is home to about 36,000 students, more than 10,000 of them pursuing graduate studies. In 2008, the Association of Research Libraries ranked UC Berkeley's University Library as the No. 1 public research university library in North America.

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Members of the University of California at Berkeley marching band play the national anthem prior to the first half of an NCAA college football game between Northwestern and California on Aug. 31, 2013, in Berkeley, Calif.