Do you dream of building driverless cars or a space elevator? You should check out the best engineering schools in the US! But with so many different engineering schools out there and intense competition for the top programs, how can you figure out where should you apply? To help you decide, we've compiled a list of the best engineering schools in the US. We'll explain a little bit about each school on the list as well as provide rankings within specific subfields of engineering. Engineering schools are colleges with a majority of majors and courses in applied sciences and mathematics. Rather than providing students with a broad liberal arts experience (of which science and math are just a small part), engineering programs center around taking the scientific and mathematical knowledge we have and applying it to real-world problems. There's also a difference between schools of engineering (which exclusively focus on engineering fields like mechanical and computer engineering) and larger universities that have strong engineering programs within them (like Cornell University's College of Engineering). We've considered both types of schools in our rankings. In deciding which schools to include in our rankings, we focused only on the quality of undergraduate engineering programs. We did this by aggregating and comparing rankings from several different sources, including the US News & World Reports (weighted 2x the others because of their dominance), Niche (a student satisfaction-heavy ranking), and College Factual. These rankings take into account factors like students' salaries (both immediately after graduating and projected gains in the future), how popular that degree is at that school, student satisfaction, and how peers in the field view the program (mainly professors from other schools). And now (drumroll please), our list of the best engineering schools in the US. Note: All acceptance rates listed are for the school as a whole and are meant to give you a general idea of the schools' selectivity. For more details on admissions for a specific program, you should contact the school directly.What Is an Engineering School?
How We Ranked the Best Engineering Schools
The Top 25 Engineering Schools in the US
Rank School Name (Nickname) Location Admissions Rate 1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, MA 7% 2 Stanford University Stanford, CA 4% 3 Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (Olin) Needham, MA 16% 4 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Pasadena, CA 7% 5 Princeton University Princeton, NJ 6% 6 Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA 14% 7 Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Atlanta, GA 21% 8 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15% 9 University of California—Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Berkeley, CA 16% 10 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD 11% 11 Cornell University Ithaca, NY 11% 12 University of Michigan—Ann Arbor (UMich) Ann Arbor, MI 23% 13 Northwestern University Evanston, IL 9% 14 Rice University Houston, TX 8% 15 Duke University Durham, NC 8% 16 University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 32% 17 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 8% 18 Columbia University New York, NY 6% 19 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN 68% 20 Harvard University Cambridge, MA 5% 21 University of California—Los Angeles (UCLA) Los Angeles, CA 12% 22 Purdue University—West Lafayette West Lafayette, IN 60% 23 University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL 60% 24 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 11% 25 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 16%
Best Specialized Engineering Programs
While all of the schools on our list are highly ranked overall, certain specialties are stronger at certain schools. We've chosen the gold, silver, and bronze medalists for six different subfields:
- Aerospace engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Computer engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Mechanical engineering
The rankings here are based on specialty rankings from US News & World Report and College Factual, again for undergraduate programs only (not including the quality of masters or doctorate programs at the school).
You'll notice some overlap over different fields (for instance, MIT, Georgia Tech, and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology rank for most of them), but there are still clear differences in which schools are best for which specialty.
Best Aerospace Engineering Schools in the US
Aerospace engineering is the field you go into if you're interested in studying flight of any kind (whether that's aircraft or spacecraft). The best aerospace engineering programs can be found in the following four schools:
Gold medal: MIT
Silver medal: CalTech
Bronze medal: Stanford
Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the US
Chemical engineering is at the intersection of chemistry, biology, math, and even some physics. The following three programs all do an outstanding job at turning out graduates skilled in chemical engineering.
Gold medal: MIT
Silver medal: Stanford
Bronze medal: Northwestern
Best Civil Engineering Schools in the US
Students in civil engineering programs learn about designing, building, and maintaining physical structures like bridges, buildings, and roads. The following four schools have leading programs in civil engineering for undergraduates.
Gold medal: Stanford
Silver medal: MIT, Notre Dame, and Harvey Mudd (tied)
Bronze medal: UC Berkeley
Best Computer Engineering Schools in the US
Computer engineering programs focus on teaching students computer science and electrical engineering. The three schools we've listed below have the best undergraduate computer engineering programs in the US (if you're looking for top information technology programs, check out this article instead).
Gold medal: MIT
Silver medal: Carnegie Mellon
Bronze medal: Stanford, Notre Dame, and UC Berkeley (tied)
Bonus: Want a preview of what sorts of tools you'll be using as a computer engineer? Read our article on the JavaScript TypeOf function here.
Best Electrical Engineering Schools in the US
Programs with a focus in electrical engineering equip students to work (gloves-on-)hands-on with electricity and electronic-related structures, including circuitry and telecommunications (including mobile/cellular/satellite). Depending on the school, electrical engineering can also be a broader program that encompasses other engineering fields like aerospace, computer, or sound engineering. The following three schools are the best in the US when it comes to electrical engineering undergraduate programs:
Gold medal: Stanford
Silver medal: MIT
Bronze medal:
Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the US
Mechanical engineering programs teach students the theory and practicalities behind machine design, construction, and use. Of all the top engineering schools, the following three are known for their strong mechanical engineering programs.
Gold medal: MIT
Silver medal: Georgia Tech (tied)
Bronze medal: Olin and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (tied)
3 Top Tips for Applying to Engineering Schools
Now that you know what the best engineering schools in the US are, the next step is to make sure your high school transcript and application show that you're a strong engineering candidate.
We'll go over three useful tips for planning your standardized testing, coursework, and extracurriculars to have the best chance of getting into top engineering schools.
#1: Ace SAT/ACT Math
If you want to get into a top engineering school, you need to get a perfect or near-perfect score on SAT or ACT Math. Getting an 800 or a 36 is best, especially for schools like MIT where only 25% of students got below a 790 or a 35 on the SAT or ACT Math sections.
For engineering schools in general, it's way better to get 800 on SAT Math and 550 on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (for a total SAT score of 1350) than it would be to get a 700 on Math and 700 on EBRW (total of 1400). Extremely high math scores (and mediocre reading/writing scores) are always, always preferred over medium-high math scores and medium-high reading/writing scores.
At a minimum, you'll need to get at least a 700 on SAT Math or a 30 on ACT Math to have a chance of getting into a good engineering school.
If you take any SAT Subject Tests, it's important to take and get a perfect 800 on a SAT Math Subject Test (preferably Math 2) to show you're strong in Math beyond what's covered on the SAT or ACT. Getting a perfect or high score on SAT II Physics or any other science Subject Test as well isn't required, but it also will help your application.
#2: Take Lots of Science and Math
If you want to get into top engineering schools, it's less important to be well rounded than to show that you have a solid foundation in math.
Showing that you're strong in science, too, is a nice bonus, particularly if your strength is in a field closely related to the type of engineering you're interested in (e.g. bio or chem for chemical engineering).
Demonstrate your strengths to colleges by taking (and excelling) in advanced math and science classes. This means taking honors-level, AP, or IB courses and putting as much effort as you can into getting top grades in them, even if it means you end up with relatively lower grades in other subjects.
#3: Excel in Math and Science Extracurriculars
As PrepScholar co-founder Allen Cheng discusses in his guide to getting into Harvard and the Ivy League, the key to getting accepted to the most selective institutions is to build up a "spike" in a certain area. For engineering schools, this area is (you guessed it) math and/or science.
Taking part and scoring highly on Math or Science Olympiads and participating in competitions like Intel or Siemens Westinghouse are crucial to building your engineering extracurricular creds. PrepScholar co-founder Fred Zhang particularly recommends going to the RSI science and math camp and scoring highly on the AIME to boost your chances of acceptance to top engineering schools in the US.
What's Next?
Where can you get the most money to study engineering? Find out with our compilation of the best engineering scholarships.
Not sure if engineering is the right subject for you? We go into what some of the other highest-paying college majors are in this article.
Liked this list of schools? Check out some of our other best-of-specialty-school lists, including the best film schools, best video game design schools, best journalism schools, and best creative writing schools.
Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:
Laura Staffaroni
About the Author
Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.
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FAQs
What is the #1 ranked engineering university in the United States? ›
Top 10 universities for the Engineering and Technology subject area in the US Based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020 | ||
---|---|---|
US Ranking | World Ranking | Institution |
1 | 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
2 | 2 | Stanford University |
3 | 5 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) |
- Industrial Engineering.
- General Engineering.
- Computer Engineering.
- Environmental Engineering.
- Civil Engineering.
- Mechanical Engineering.
- Biomedical Engineering.
- Electrical Engineering.
...
Estimate a School's Average Engineering Score:
General Admission SAT | Estimated Engineering SAT Admission |
---|---|
1090 | 1260 |
1100 | 1270 |
1110 | 1270 |
1120 | 1280 |
Ranked by Citations | ||
---|---|---|
Rank | Field | Citations Per Paper |
1 | USA | 5.52 |
2 | JAPAN | 3.55 |
3 | GERMANY | 4.96 |
- Systems Engineer. ...
- Electrical Engineer. ...
- Chemical Engineer. ...
- Big Data Engineer. ...
- Nuclear Engineer. ...
- Aerospace Engineer. ...
- Computer Hardware Engineer. ...
- Petroleum Engineer.
Structural engineering
As the chart below shows, of the engineers highlighted in this report, a petroleum engineer not only makes the most money both early and through their mid-career, but they also have the highest satisfaction rate.
- Structural Engineering.
- Applied Engineering.
- Chemical engineering.
- Mechanical Engineering.
- Software Engineering.
- Civil Engineering.
- Computer Engineering.
- Biomedical Engineering.
As such, civil engineering is likely to be in demand for the foreseeable future. There are various branches of civil engineering, which make it a great field to be in. The main civil engineering fields include structural engineering, environmental engineering, road/highway engineering and transportation engineering.
What state is best for engineering? ›...
3. Massachusetts.
Total Engineer Jobs: | 9,976 |
---|---|
Average Annual Salary: | $94,651 |
Lowest 10 Percent Earn: | $68,000 |
Highest 10 Percent Earn: | $131,000 |
What is a Tier 1 engineering college? ›
Tier 1- All top 7 IITs,including iit Hyderabad,iit indore. NITTrichy,Warangal,Calicut,Surathkal,Alahabad. IIIT-Hyderabad,Bengaluru. Jadavpur University,IIT-BHU,BITS Pilani Campus,DTU.
What SAT does MIT want? ›This tells us that it is possible to be admitted to MIT with a composite SAT score in the range of 1300-1380, although most students are within the 1510-1580 range. We do recommend, however, that you strongly consider retaking the SAT if your composite score is beneath 1550.
What SAT does MIT require? ›MIT SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)
There's no absolute SAT requirement at MIT, but they really want to see at least a 1500 to have a chance at being considered. If you live in an MIT suburb such as Belmont, you may want to consult a directory of best tutors to boost your score a bit.
To have the best shot of getting in, you should aim for the 75th percentile, with a 1570 SAT or a 36 ACT. You should also have a 4.17 GPA or higher. If your GPA is lower than this, you need to compensate with a higher SAT/ACT score.
How many hours do engineering students study? ›totally depends on the institution are in... in my university I studied before exams for like 10-12 hours and it was enough for me to score what you asked. The same might not be same for every institute... but seriously "no.
Which countries respect engineers the most? ›...
Countries No. of Engineering Graduates (approx)
Russian Federation | 454,436 |
---|---|
United States | 237,826 |
Iran | 233,695 |
Japan | 168,214 |
South Korea | 147,858 |
1. Nikola Tesla. Arguably at the top of the list of greatest engineers is Nikola Tesla. He was Serbian, and moved to America at the age of 28 to work with Thomas Edison.
What nation has the best engineers? ›According to the list below, China is at top in providing the quality engineers for the country with score index 100.In addition, Russia is at second position in producing the quality engineers for the country with score index 99.9. ...
What type of engineer is Elon Musk? ›Elon Musk has no formal engineering degree, but he clearly is industrial engineer by profession. His approach to business and problem solving is typical industrial engineering approach. His actual degrees (BS in both economics and physics) have good overlap with undergraduate curriculum in IE.
Do engineers earn more than doctors? ›...
Doctor vs Engineer: Quick Facts.
Parameters | Doctor | Engineer |
---|---|---|
Average salary | INR 14,00,000 – 41,00,000 per year | INR 14,00,000 – 30,00,000 per year |
Which engineering can make you a millionaire? ›
You wanna be a millionaire? Study engineering! Carlos Slim, once the world's richest men, studied civil engineering and has a worth of $55 billion. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, has a bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University and is worth $72.8 billion.
Who are engineers most likely to marry? ›Female civil engineers are most likely to marry female hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists. Male civil engineers are most likely to marry female or male elementary- and middle-school teachers.
What is the #1 Happiest job? ›Engineers have the happiest job in the world, closely followed by teachers and nurses, according to analysis carried out by the Guardian.
Which type of engineer is most popular? ›Mechanical Engineering (ME)
The most popular engineering degree is mechanical engineering. With almost 50,000 undergraduate degrees awarded annually, mechanical engineering is almost twice as popular as the second field on this list. Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering branches.
- Environmental Engineering. ...
- Aerospace Engineering and Space Travel. ...
- Healthcare. ...
- Robotics. ...
- 3D Printing. ...
- Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.
Computer Science and Engineering
A Computer Science Engineer can earn the highest salary is around ₹37 LPA and more in India.
- Computer engineer. National average salary: $80,729 per year. ...
- Chemical engineer. National average salary: $81,068 per year. ...
- Biomedical engineer. National average salary: $81,492 per year. ...
- Nuclear engineer. ...
- Petroleum engineer. ...
- Environmental engineer. ...
- Aeronautical engineer. ...
- Electrical engineer.
- #1 Engineering Manager. Median Salary: $144,830. ...
- #2 Computer Hardware Engineer. Median Salary: $117,220. ...
- #3 Aerospace Engineer. Median Salary: $116,500. ...
- #4 Nuclear Engineer. ...
- #5 Chemical Engineer. ...
- #6 Electrical & Electronics Engineer. ...
- #7 Construction Manager. ...
- #8 Materials Engineer.
Engineers Get Top Pay
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) engineers have a median annual wage of $100,640 and the engineering field projects to have employment growth of 6 percent from 2020 to 2030—nearly 146,000 new jobs over the next decade.
Delhi. The capital city of India is one of the biggest engineering hubs of the country, with prestigious institutes like IIT, and Delhi Technological University, Jamia Millia Islamia University, and Indraprastha Engineering College calling the city its home.
What city in the US has the most engineers? ›
Nowhere is this more true than in America's top engineering hub, San Jose/Silicon Valley. The Valley's ratio of 45 engineers per 1,000 employees is twice as high as any other big metro area.
Where should I live as an engineer? ›- Kennewick, Washington. ...
- Seattle, Washington. ...
- Boston, Massachusetts. ...
- Huntsville, Alabama. ...
- New Orleans, Louisiana. ...
- Palm Bay and Melbourne, Florida.
In layman's terms, tier 1 companies are the big guns, and the tier 3 ones are the more modest firms. Over time, companies can move up the tiers if they fit the criteria. Now, let's explore the different tiers a little more. Tier 1 firms are the largest, wealthiest, and most experienced in the industry.
Is MIT a Tier 1 school? ›Tier 1 is comprised of major private research universities, including MIT, UChicago, Stanford, John Hopkins, Northwestern, California Institute of Technology, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Rice (amongst many others).
Is MIT a Tier 1 college? ›Is MIT a Tier 2 College? Vit Vellore and MIT Manipal come under tier 2 college, Tier 1- IITs, nits, Bits, and some other good colleges IISC etc.
Is 1500 SAT enough for MIT? ›You must at least have an SAT score of 1500 to have a chance of being considered for admission to MIT. If we investigate the data of previously admitted students to MIT, the lowest SAT math score was in the 700-740 range. The lowest SAT ERW score in the 600–640 range was obtained by 1% of the accepted students.
Is 1450 a good SAT score for MIT? ›For MIT, the average SAT score is between 1500–1570. Nationally, the average composite score is 1000. For Math, MIT accepted students averaged a score of 770–800; nationally the average score was 511.
What is the lowest GPA to get into MIT? ›Aim high. Even though there are no official MIT GPA requirements, you should aim for a 4.17 weighted GPA. If you're already a junior or senior figuring out how to get into MIT and your GPA is lower than 4.17, know that scores close to the average MIT SAT scores or ACT scores can counterbalance a lower GPA.
Is 1580 a good SAT score for MIT? ›Conclusion: A score of 1580 or above on the SAT means that you are highly competitive for the top schools in the country, while a score of 1450 or below likely shuts you out of most of the Ivy League Plus schools. >
Is 1520 SAT enough for MIT? ›Since the MIT Class of 2024 had a 50% percentile range of 1520-1580, you want to aim for meeting the 1520 threshold at a minimum and aim for the middle 1550 a goal. If you are at 1550 or above, there is no point in trying to improve upon that score.
Can I get into MIT with a 1200 SAT? ›
SAT exam is an entrance test to get into colleges and universities in the United States. To get admission to top colleges like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford, one needs to score at least 1500. But there are more than 430 colleges that accept an SAT score of 1200 or 75th percentile score.
Is SAT 2 required for MIT? ›The SAT exam for MIT is conducted by the College Board. MIT SAT helps the Institute judge the readiness of the applicants for their advanced coursework. The MIT SAT subject tests have been permanently discontinued since 2020. This means that SAT subject tests are no longer required for admissions.
Can a normal person go to MIT? ›To get into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), you will need to have a near-perfect high school GPA, top scores on your ACT or SAT and the types of extracurricular activities that allow you to demonstrate your commitment and leadership abilities.
Do normal students get into MIT? ›Currently, MIT's acceptance rate is 4.1%, which means it only accepts around 4 applicants for every 100 people that apply. A 4.1% acceptance rate means that MIT is extremely competitive to get into. You'll need excellent grades, test scores, essays, and letters of recommendation to even be considered.
What is a Tier 1 engineering college? ›Tier 1- All top 7 IITs,including iit Hyderabad,iit indore. NITTrichy,Warangal,Calicut,Surathkal,Alahabad. IIIT-Hyderabad,Bengaluru. Jadavpur University,IIT-BHU,BITS Pilani Campus,DTU.
Is MIT Number 1 in the world? ›...
Top 100 Universities in the World According to the QS World University Rankings 2023 | ||
---|---|---|
Rank | University | Location |
1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | United States |
2 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom |
3 | Stanford University | United States |
Cornell University is often considered the best Ivy League school for engineering, and it's also the easiest to get into. However, any Ivy League school is a great place to earn your undergraduate degree.
What are the top 5 branches in engineering? ›According to the number of undergraduates pursuing them, Computer Science Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Engineering in Information Technology, Mechanical Engineering, and Civil Engineering are now the top branches.
Is Tier 1 or 3 better? ›In layman's terms, tier 1 companies are the big guns, and the tier 3 ones are the more modest firms. Over time, companies can move up the tiers if they fit the criteria. Now, let's explore the different tiers a little more. Tier 1 firms are the largest, wealthiest, and most experienced in the industry.
Is MIT a Tier 1 school? ›Tier 1 is comprised of major private research universities, including MIT, UChicago, Stanford, John Hopkins, Northwestern, California Institute of Technology, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Rice (amongst many others).
Is MIT a Tier 1 college? ›
Is MIT a Tier 2 College? Vit Vellore and MIT Manipal come under tier 2 college, Tier 1- IITs, nits, Bits, and some other good colleges IISC etc.
Why is MIT so highly ranked? ›Thanks to its prestigious Sloan School of Management, MIT also has a strong international reputation for social sciences and business-related courses. These strengths are reflected in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021, which is based upon academic reputation, employer reputation and research citations.
Which degree MIT is famous for? ›The most popular majors at Massachusetts Institute of Technology include: Computer Science; Mechanical Engineering; Mathematics, General; Physics, General; Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General; Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering; Econometrics and Quantitative Economics; ...
Is MIT ranked higher than Harvard? ›At present, Harvard beats out MIT just barely on most lists. Obviously, rankings fluctuate slightly from year to year, so expect Harvard to beat MIT some years and MIT to come out on top other years.