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2024 Best Industrial Engineering Schools

94 Colleges in the United States
9,072 IE Degrees Awarded
$68,960 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in industrial engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #87 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.

College Factual looked at 94 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Industrial Engineering Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 9,072 degrees in industrial engineering to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Industrial Engineering School

Best Industrial Engineering Schools The ie program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Industrial Engineering rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for industrial 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.

Industrial Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in IE
Master's Degrees in IE
Doctor's Degrees in IE

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Industrial Engineering Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 Industrial Engineering in the United States

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the ie degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

14 Top Schools in IE

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
91 IE Degrees Awarded
$84,644 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in industrial engineering has to look into Northwestern University. 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 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 91 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Industrial Engineering degree recipients from Northwestern University receive an earnings boost of approximately $15,684 over the average earnings of industrial engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Northwestern University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NY
123 IE Degrees Awarded

Any student who is interested in industrial engineering has to check out Columbia University in the City of New York. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were roughly 123 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Columbia University in the City of New York

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
296 IE Degrees Awarded
7.8% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you want to pursue a degree in industrial engineering. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were about 296 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Industrial Engineering degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor receive an earnings boost of approximately $17,155 above the typical income of industrial engineering majors.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
430 IE Degrees Awarded
$82,148 Median Starting Salary

Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus is a great option for students interested in a degree in industrial engineering. Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #24 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.

There were approximately 430 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the industrial engineering degree program at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus make $13,187 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
402 IE Degrees Awarded
9.5% Growth in Graduates

Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of College Station. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were about 402 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent year we have data available. Those industrial engineering students who get their degree from Texas A&M University - College Station make $7,249 more than the average ie student.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
107 IE Degrees Awarded
12.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 107 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the ie program make an average of $70,709 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from University of Southern California

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
150 IE Degrees Awarded
$74,061 Median Starting Salary

UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 150 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Industrial Engineering degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,101 above the average earnings of industrial engineering majors.

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

8
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
243 IE Degrees Awarded
3.3% Growth in Graduates

Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg. This school ranks 2nd out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.

There were approximately 243 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the ie program make an average of $70,925 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Virginia Tech

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
369 IE Degrees Awarded
$70,780 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were about 369 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the ie program earn about $70,780 in the first couple years of their career.

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

10
Clemson crest
Clemson University
Clemson, SC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
235 IE Degrees Awarded
$84,329 Median Starting Salary

Clemson is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Clemson. This university ranks 1st out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.

There were roughly 235 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Clemson in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the industrial engineering program at Clemson University get $15,369 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Clemson University

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
110 IE Degrees Awarded
22.7% Growth in Graduates

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

There were about 110 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the ie program earn about $68,901 in their early career salary.

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

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
149 IE Degrees Awarded
$83,103 Median Starting Salary

Iowa State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ames. This university ranks 1st out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 149 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent year we have data available. Those industrial engineering students who get their degree from Iowa State University make $14,143 more than the typical ie graduate.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Iowa State University

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
116 IE Degrees Awarded
9.5% Growth in Graduates

UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis. This university ranks 1st out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were approximately 116 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the ie program make about $67,765 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
162 IE Degrees Awarded
11.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 96 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were approximately 162 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the ie program state that they receive average early career income of $70,911.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Ohio State University - Main Campus

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 Industrial Engineering Schools award.

Rank College Location
15 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA
16 Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA
17 Northeastern University Boston, MA
18 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
19 Auburn University Auburn, AL
20 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
21 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
22 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
23 Brown University Providence, RI

Industrial Engineering by Region

View the Best Industrial 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

View All Rankings >

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

IE Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Industrial Engineering 9,072

View All IE 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
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 8,001
Systems Engineering 3,904
Materials Engineering 3,415

View All IE Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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