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2024 Best Engineering Schools in Illinois

11 Colleges in Illinois
6,585 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$68,398 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #7 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 11 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Engineering Schools in Illinois ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 6,585 degrees in engineering to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Engineering School

Best Engineering Schools in Illinois The engineering program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Engineering rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Engineering Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Engineering
Bachelor's Degrees in Engineering
Master's Degrees in Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Engineering

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Engineering Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Engineering in Illinois

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the engineering degree levels they offer.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
813 Engineering Degrees Awarded
1.1% Growth in Graduates

Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in engineering. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 813 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the engineering degree program at Northwestern University get $11,965 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in engineering from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,695 Engineering Degrees Awarded
4.4% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in engineering needs to take a look at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 2695 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the engineering program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get $2,153 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
606 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$66,039 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in engineering needs to check out Illinois Institute of Technology. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. This school ranks 9th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 606 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, engineering degree recipients typically earn around $66,039 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
877 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$63,967 Median Starting Salary

University of Illinois at Chicago is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in engineering. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 877 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, engineering degree recipients generally make an average of $63,967 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Illinois at Chicago

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
195 Engineering Degrees Awarded
1.0% Growth in Graduates

Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Peoria. This university ranks 14th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 195 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the engineering program earn around $66,731 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in engineering from Bradley University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
192 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$60,494 Median Starting Salary

SIUC is a large public university located in the small city of Carbondale. This university ranks 23rd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 192 engineering students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, engineering degree recipients usually earn around $60,494 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in engineering from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
298 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$70,812 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 24th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 298 engineering students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent data year. Engineering degree recipients from Northern Illinois University get an earnings boost of around $2,413 over the average income of engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in engineering from Northern Illinois University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$84,354 Median Starting Salary

Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 53 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the engineering major at Loyola University Chicago get $15,956 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in engineering from Loyola University Chicago

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
299 Engineering Degrees Awarded
12.7% Growth in Graduates

SIUE is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Edwardsville. This university ranks 31st out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 299 engineering students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the engineering program earn about $64,183 for their early career.

More information about a degree in engineering from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
48 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$61,282 Median Starting Salary

Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Bourbonnais. This university ranks 33rd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 48 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Olivet Nazarene in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the engineering program state that they receive average early career wages of $61,282.

More information about a degree in engineering from Olivet Nazarene University

Best Engineering Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Engineering Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Indiana 38 5,328
Michigan 38 8,498
Ohio 38 8,341
Wisconsin 37 3,379

View All Rankings >

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 1,183
Electrical Engineering 1,029
Civil Engineering 816
Computer Engineering 742
Chemical Engineering 442
General Engineering 427
Industrial Engineering 408
Biomedical Engineering 369
Materials Engineering 203
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 185

View All Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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