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2025 Best Chemical Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools

41 Colleges in the United States
1,186 Doctor's Degrees
$115,629 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a doctor's degree in chemical engineering, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #28 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 41 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Chemical Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,186 doctor's degrees in chemical engineering to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Chemical Engineering School for Your Doctor's Degree

Best Chemical Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools The chem eng doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of doctorate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their doctor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for chemical engineering students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Chemical Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Chemical Engineering in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in chemical engineering.

10 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Chem Eng

1

It's hard to beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in chemical engineering. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Doctorate recipients from the chemical engineering major at Massachusetts Institute of Technology get $22,763 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
23 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Stanford University if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in chemical engineering. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford.More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from Stanford University

3
17 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Northwestern University if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in chemical engineering. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from Northwestern University

4
29 Annual Graduates

Texas A&M University - College Station is a good choice for students interested in a doctor's degree in chemical engineering. Located in the midsize city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station

5
17 Annual Graduates

Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Ithaca.More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from Cornell University

6

U-M is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.

Soon after graduation, chem eng doctorate recipients typically make an average of $92,866 in their early careers.

More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

7
20 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from University of Notre Dame

8
10 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from Columbia University in the City of New York

9
24 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

10
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
12 Annual Graduates

Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Houston.More information about a doctorate in chemical engineering from Rice University

Chemical Engineering by Region

View the Best Chemical Engineering Doctor's Degree 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, Chemical Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Chem Eng Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Chemical Engineering 1,138
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering 48

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 2,212
Mechanical Engineering 1,883
Biomedical Engineering 1,265
Civil Engineering 1,230
Materials Engineering 770
General Engineering 514
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 442
Computer Engineering 424
Industrial Engineering 408
Other Engineering 185

Notes and References

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