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2024 Best General Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

29 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,712 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$76,207 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in general engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #79 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.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 29 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for general engineering students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,712 degrees in general engineering to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Engineering School

Best General Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region The engineering program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Engineering rankings. We derive our Best Overall General Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your General 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 General Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region 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 General Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

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 Great Lakes Region Schools in Engineering

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
64 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$110,338 Median Starting Salary

University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in general engineering. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were about 64 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Those general engineering students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive $34,132 more than the standard engineering student.

More information about a degree in general engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IN
96 Engineering Degrees Awarded

Purdue University - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in general engineering. Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were approximately 96 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In OH

Case Western Reserve University is a great choice for students interested in a degree in general engineering. Case Western is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Cleveland. A Best Colleges rank of #63 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Case Western is a great university overall.

There were approximately 13 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Case Western in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general engineering from Case Western Reserve University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
20th Most Popular In IL
16.7% Growth in Graduates

Northwestern University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in general engineering. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 6 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general engineering from Northwestern University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In IL

Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 14 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year.

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

6
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
152 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$94,330 Median Starting Salary

OHIO Athens is a fairly large public university located in the town of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #239 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means OHIO Athens is a great university overall.

There were approximately 152 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at OHIO Athens in the most recent data year. General Engineering degree recipients from Ohio University - Athens Campus get an earnings boost of around $18,124 over the average income of general engineering majors.

More information about a degree in general engineering from Ohio University - Athens Campus

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In MI
75.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the remote town of Houghton, Michigan Tech is a public university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #112 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Michigan Tech is a great university overall.

There were roughly 16 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Michigan Tech in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general engineering from Michigan Technological University

8
Hope crest
Hope College
Holland, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$62,322 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Holland, Hope is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 8th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 53 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Hope in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, engineering degree recipients generally make around $62,322 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in general engineering from Hope College

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$95,585 Median Starting Salary

UW - Platteville is a moderately-sized public university located in the town of Platteville. This university ranks 17th out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were about 47 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at UW - Platteville in the most recent year we have data available. Those general engineering students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - Platteville receive $19,379 more than the typical engineering graduate.

More information about a degree in general engineering from University of Wisconsin - Platteville

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In IN

Located in the small city of Terre Haute, Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

There were roughly 1 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general engineering from Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology

Best General Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best general engineering colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 456
Ohio 314 239
Illinois 304 427
Indiana 294 254
Wisconsin 273 202

View All Rankings >

General Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

Engineering Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Engineering 1,414
Applied Engineering 161
Pre-Engineering 137

View All Engineering Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 7,978
Electrical Engineering 4,524
Computer Engineering 3,259
Civil Engineering 2,925
Chemical Engineering 2,284
Biomedical Engineering 1,932
Industrial Engineering 1,927
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,238
Materials Engineering 740
Other Engineering 536

View All Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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