There are lots of engineering schools out there that claim to provide the best education; which is why choosing the best school can be quite challenging.
Students Makor have compared school rankings provided by several resources, including Times Higher Education, Niche, US News & World Reports, and College Factual, and finally assembled a list of the best engineering schools in the US.
Remember picking a school might not be enough. They still need to approve your admission. So start early with your application processes and have more than one option by applying to more than one school.
This list does not provide details on a specific engineering program; instead, it provides a general idea for selecting an engineering school as a whole and even though we provide accurate information, some information may change over time, so always check the school you wish to apply too to get accurate and updated information.
List Of The Best Engineering Schools In The US
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT is a private college situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the Boston area. The MIT School of Engineering is the largest of the total of five institutes at MIT. MIT is actually one of the best schools you could go to for your engineering education. MIT has since played a vital role in the progress of modern technology and science and has been ranked among the best academic institutions in the world.
MIT acceptance rate is 7%, which means that only 70 out of 1000 applicants are selected. Currently, about 2800 students are enrolled at MIT School of Engineering. The campus has over 20 research centers that encourage students to explore variable areas, including soldier nanotechnologies, ocean engineering, and cancer research.
The school has a 93% graduation rate and MIT alumni can get a starting salary of $82,200. Students at MIT have many opportunities – even an Entrepreneurship Competition that offers $100,000 of start-up capital to the winners.
2. Stanford University
Stanford University is a private school that has students from all over the world. Located in Stanford, California, Stanford’s School of Engineering is among one of the largest schools in the US and also ranked amongst the top schools in the world. The school has over 17,000 students enrolled. And boasts of a 94% graduation rate.
Since its inception, Stanford has been the vanguard in the field of technology and innovation. The school focuses on several research areas, including network security, bioengineering, information technology, computation, materials and matter, and data analysis.
Stanford’s acceptance rate is 4%, which means that only 40 out of 1000 applicants are selected.
Stanford has 272 staff in the engineering department. They also have a maximum capacity of 3,524 engineering students and are close to the desirable Silicon Valley. Many of the biggest companies in the world such as Apple, Facebook, Google have their headquarters in this area. A summer internship on or off-campus might get you the connection you need to get a job at one of these prestigious companies.
3. California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology is a private university based in Pasadena, California. It’s a small institute with 948 undergraduate students enrolled. Caltech was ranked at 4th position on QS ranking 2020 for chemical engineering.
Caltech’s acceptance rate is 6%, which means that only 60 out of 1000 applicants are selected. Also, their selection procedure is rigorous.
The school has a 93% graduation rate and Caltech alumni can get a starting salary of $54,500 after program completion. Students can partake in ongoing research in research centers such as the Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering and the Center for Science and Engineering.
Electrical engineering is one of the popular majors of the school. They also offer the more common alternates of engineering such as civil, mechanical, electrical, and even aeronautical engineering.
4. Princeton University
Princeton University is a private school established in 1746 and located in Princeton, New Jersey. The university has 5,422 enrolled undergraduate students. Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine colonial colleges commissioned before the American Revolution. Princeton was ranked at 5th position based on QS World University Rankings 2020 for chemical engineering.
With an acceptance rate of 6%, getting admission to Princeton University is very competitive.
Chemical engineering and hardware engineering are among the popular majors of the university.
The school has a 98% graduation rate and its alumni can start earning a $60,800 salary after graduation. Through teaching and research, the school educates students who will contribute to society and develop knowledge that will make a difference in the world.
5. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
University of California, Berkeley is a public university established in 1931, located in Berkeley, California. The institute has 29,570 enrolled undergraduate students. It is the state’s first university and the first campus of the broader University of California system. Over 23% of all freshmen on campus are from the first generation of their families to join the school.
The school also offers a master’s degree program in eight areas and has about 40 research centers and institutes. It is a renowned institute for its civil engineering program. Other engineering areas include mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, and nuclear engineering.
The school acceptance rate is 16% with a 92% graduation rate.
6. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is a public university situated in Atlanta, Georgia. The school is very large and has an enrollment of 14,318 undergraduate students.
Georgia tech acceptance rate is 21%. Students with a graduation rate of 86%.
The students have over 20 options to pick from for specialization, including medical physics and aerospace engineering. Mechanical engineering is one of the popular majors of the university.
Industrial engineering, Electrical and electronic engineering, biomedical engineering, Civil and structural engineering are also among the institute’s highly ranked programs.
Georgia Institute of Technology has a $75 application fee for U.S. residents and an $85 fee for international students. The tuition costs $13,788 per year (in-state) and $28,568 per year for out-of-state students, and 564 staff members.
Some of their degrees also have a dual program with universities abroad. You can continue your studies as you study abroad at partner universities.
7. Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private-sector research university established in 1900 and situated in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
Carnegie Mellon University has an acceptance rate of 15%, with 7022 enrolled students. The graduation rate is 90%.
Students can pick from 10 interdisciplinary majors. The school also offers the opportunity of a course-based or research-based graduate program. There are 30 research centers on the campus.
The college is also ranked among the top institutes for engineering and technology. And is also famous for its friendly faculty.
Carnegie Mellon University offers an application fee of $75 and the annual tuition fee is $47,300 for full-time students. Carnegie Mellon University also has a part-time studying option in which each credit costs $1,971.
8. Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the star campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after businessman John Purdue bequeathed land and money to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture in his name. The first classes were held on September 16, 1874, with six instructors and 39 students.
The school now offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in more than a dozen disciplines. It’s well noting that Purdue’s engineering program has educated 24 of America’s astronauts, including Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan who were the first and last astronauts to have walked on the Moon, respectively, and Gus Grissom, a member of the Mercury Seven.
Several of Purdue’s engineering disciplines are recognized as top-ten programs in the U.S. The college as a whole is currently ranked 4th in the U.S. of all doctorate-granting engineering schools by U.S. News & World Report.
Prude University has an acceptance rate of 60%, with a graduation rate of 76%.
9. University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1817 in Detroit, the university is Michigan’s oldest university.
As of October 2019, fifty-three MacArthur “genius award” winners, twenty-six Nobel Prize winners, six Turing Award winners, one Fields Medalist, and one Mitchell Scholar have been affiliated with the university. Its alumni include eight heads of state; forty-two cabinet-level officials; and twenty-six living billionaires.
The University of Michigan Engineering department has curriculums for masters, doctoral and interdisciplinary programs, and classes that accentuate project-based learning. Potential students can get a feel for the school at the annual Engineering Graduate Symposium, held each November. For current students, it is a chance to present research projects, find faculty advisers and hear from featured speakers.
The University of Michigan has an acceptance rate of 60%, with a graduation rate of 91%.
10. University of Illinois
The University of Illinois is a public research university located in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana, Illinois. It is the star institution of the University of Illinois system and was founded in 1867. The school has enrolled over 56,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the nation.
The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is constantly ranked one of the best engineering colleges in the US and the world.
Illinois engineers have largely contributed to the spread and usability of the Internet. Most notably, engineering alumni produced internet broadband (DSL), the first web browsers (Mosaic and Netscape), and the “programming language of the web” (JavaScript). The engineering school has produced founders of several modern tech giants such as Tesla, YouTube, Oracle, Mozilla, AMD, PayPal, Yelp, Malwarebytes, and Optimizely.
The University of Illinois has an acceptance rate of 59%, with a graduation rate of 85%.
FAQ on Best Engineering Schools in the US
How hard is it to get into a top U.S. university?
It’s pretty hard. You have to have great academic records and outstanding extracurricular records such as work experience, and skill levels.
Why does Stanford University reject 96% of applicants?
Standard demand and supply. The number of students that apply is larger than the space Stanford has.
Which Ivy League university is the easiest to get into?
Cornell University. Its acceptance rate for 2020 is 14.1%.
How do I get into a US university?
Write to Several Schools. After you have selected the schools you want to attend, contact each school for an application form and provide the required information.
Does legacy play a big part at Stanford?
Not really. But philanthropy does play a role though.
