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2024 Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

21 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,927 IE Degrees Awarded
$68,118 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in industrial engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #87 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 21 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,927 degrees in industrial engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Industrial Engineering School

Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region 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. We derive our Best Overall Industrial Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

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

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 Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Industrial 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 ie degree levels they offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in IE

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

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

There were roughly 91 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Industrial Engineering degree recipients from Northwestern University earn a boost of about $16,526 over the typical income of industrial engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
296 IE Degrees Awarded
7.8% Growth in Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a good decision for students interested in a degree in industrial engineering. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very 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 approximately 296 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the industrial engineering degree program at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $17,997 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
150 IE Degrees Awarded
$74,061 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat University of Wisconsin - Madison if you want to pursue a degree in industrial engineering. 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 about 150 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Industrial Engineering degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn a boost of approximately $5,943 over the average earnings of industrial engineering majors.

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

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
369 IE Degrees Awarded
$70,780 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat Purdue University - Main Campus if you want to pursue a degree in industrial engineering. 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 approximately 369 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Those industrial engineering students who get their degree from Purdue University - Main Campus receive $2,662 more than the standard ie student.

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

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
110 IE Degrees Awarded
22.7% Growth in Graduates

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

There were approximately 110 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. After graduating, ie degree recipients generally earn around $68,901 in their early careers.

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

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
162 IE Degrees Awarded
11.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 162 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the industrial engineering major at Ohio State University - Main Campus earn $2,793 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 IE Degrees Awarded
23.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were about 67 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, ie degree recipients generally earn around $69,412 in their early careers.

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

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MI
75 IE Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Dearborn, UM Dearborn is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 17th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 75 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at UM Dearborn in the most recent year we have data available.

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

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In MI
8.0% Growth in Graduates

Kettering is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Flint. A Best Colleges rank of #174 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Kettering is a great university overall.

There were approximately 25 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Kettering in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in industrial engineering from Kettering University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MI
69 IE Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Detroit, Wayne State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 69 industrial engineering students who graduated with this degree at Wayne State in the most recent data year.

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

Best Industrial Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best industrial engineering schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 579
Ohio 314 256
Illinois 304 408
Indiana 294 382
Wisconsin 273 252

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 1,927

View All IE 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
General Engineering 1,712
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,238
Materials Engineering 740
Other Engineering 536

View All IE Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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