University of Arizona

Arizona would never have been founded in 1885 without the help of two gamblers and a saloon keeper who stepped in at the last minute to donate the land necessary to build the college. It is a good bet that the 36,805 students currently enrolled at the Tucson-based institute will all raise a glass to this intervention as the university now enjoys a fine reputation in areas such as astronomy, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology and architecture.

Nearly 72 per cent of the current intake of students hail from Arizona, one in ten come from California and there is also a significant student presence from Texas, Washington and New York. Roughly six per cent of UA undergraduates and graduates are international students. One of the university's main attractions is its Student Union building, which was rebuilt between 2000 and 2003. It has 14 restaurants, a two-level bookstore, eight lounge areas and 22 meeting rooms. The creator of children's programme Sesame Street once attended UA.