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2024 Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools

69 Colleges in the United States
8,001 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$70,535 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #94 out of 395 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.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 69 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 8,001 degrees in aerospace & aeronautical engineering to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering School

Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools The aerospace engineering program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering rankings. For our Best Overall Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that 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.

Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools list to help you make the college decision. 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 Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of aerospace engineering degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top Schools in Aerospace Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
130 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
4.6% Growth in Graduates

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #1 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means MIT is a great school overall.

There were about 130 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at MIT in the most recent data year. Those aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who get their degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology make $20,724 more than the standard aerospace engineering student.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
93 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
4.3% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Stanford University if you want to pursue a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,238 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were about 93 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Those aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who get their degree from Stanford University receive $37,922 more than the typical aerospace engineering graduate.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from Stanford University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
167 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
15.6% Growth in Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 167 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the aerospace & aeronautical engineering major at University of Southern California get $18,337 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from University of Southern California

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
264 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
16.3% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you wish to pursue a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,238 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were about 264 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Those aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $8,612 more than the typical aerospace engineering student.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
338 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$79,003 Median Starting Salary

Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.

There were about 338 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the aerospace & aeronautical engineering major at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus make $8,468 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
2.3% Growth in Graduates

UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #25 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were approximately 87 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the aerospace & aeronautical engineering degree program at University of California - Los Angeles earn $13,676 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from University of California - Los Angeles

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
426 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
3.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were approximately 426 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the aerospace & aeronautical engineering major at Purdue University - Main Campus get $6,681 more than the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$68,525 Median Starting Salary
$21,000 Median Student Debt

Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,238 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were approximately 28 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, aerospace engineering degree recipients typically earn around $68,525 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from University of Notre Dame

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
85 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
22.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Worcester, WPI is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population. This school ranks 4th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 85 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at WPI in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the aerospace engineering program state that they receive average early career wages of $72,303.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
167 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$65,874 Median Starting Salary

UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin. This university ranks 2nd out of 116 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were about 167 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the aerospace engineering program make about $65,874 for their early career.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools award.

Rank College Location
11 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
12 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
13 University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA
14 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
15 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
16 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA
17 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL

Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering by Region

View the Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 41 majors within the Engineering area of study, Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Aerospace Engineering Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 7,996
Astronautical Engineering 5

View All Aerospace Engineering Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811
General Engineering 11,796
Industrial Engineering 9,072
Systems Engineering 3,904
Materials Engineering 3,415

View All Aerospace Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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