AAU
Association of American Universities — a consortium of 71 leading US and Canadian research universities, including all Ivy League schools.
The Association of American Universities (AAU) is a prestigious consortium of 71 leading research universities in the US and Canada (65 American and 6 Canadian members). Founded in 1900, AAU membership is by invitation only and signifies an institution's commitment to research excellence. All eight Ivy League schools are members, along with major public research universities like UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, and University of Texas at Austin. AAU universities receive the majority of federal research funding and produce a large proportion of US doctoral degrees. Loss of AAU membership — as happened to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2011 — is considered a significant blow to institutional prestige.