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2025 Best Materials Engineering Schools

64 Colleges in the United States
3,476 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded
$75,977 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in materials engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #154 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 64 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Materials Engineering Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 3,476 degrees in materials engineering to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Materials Engineering School

Best Materials Engineering Schools The materials engineering program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Materials Engineering rankings. For our Best Overall Materials 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.

Pick Your Materials Engineering Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Materials Engineering
Master's Degrees in Materials Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Materials Engineering

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Materials Engineering Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Materials Engineering in the United States

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the materials engineering degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

12 Top Schools in Materials Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
96 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat Stanford University if you wish to pursue a degree in materials engineering. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were roughly 96 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in materials engineering from Stanford University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
66 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a degree in materials 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 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 66 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in materials engineering from Northwestern University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded
22.4% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology if you want to pursue a degree in materials engineering. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #1 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means MIT is a great school overall.

There were roughly 76 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at MIT in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the materials engineering program earn about $65,919 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in materials engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In TX
109 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded

Texas A&M University - College Station is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in materials engineering. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the city of College Station. This university ranks 1st out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 109 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent year we have data available.

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

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NY
66 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded

Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.

There were approximately 66 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in materials engineering from Cornell University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MD
64 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.

There were about 64 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in materials engineering from Johns Hopkins University

7
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
140 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded
$79,200 Median Starting Salary

UF is a fairly large public university located in the city of Gainesville. This university ranks 1st out of 70 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.

There were roughly 140 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the materials engineering degree program at University of Florida make $3,223 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in materials engineering from University of Florida

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
123 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded
11.4% Growth in Graduates

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. This university ranks 3rd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 123 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. After graduating, materials engineering degree recipients usually make around $75,080 in their early careers.

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

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
120 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded
5.0% Growth in Graduates

Georgia Tech is a very large public school located in the large city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.

There were about 120 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent data year. After graduating, materials engineering degree recipients generally make about $76,488 at the beginning of their careers.

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

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded
14.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were approximately 114 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the materials engineering degree program at Purdue University - Main Campus earn $2,288 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

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

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded
$75,041 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were approximately 74 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the materials engineering program state that they receive average early career income of $75,041.

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

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In PA
84 Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded

UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were roughly 84 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in materials engineering from University of Pennsylvania

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Materials Engineering students that almost earned our Best Materials Engineering Schools award.

RankCollegeLocation
13University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA
14Colorado School of MinesGolden, CO
15University of California - Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA
16University of California - San DiegoLa Jolla, CA
17Boston UniversityBoston, MA
18University of Virginia - Main CampusCharlottesville, VA
19University of ConnecticutStorrs, CT
20Virginia TechBlacksburg, VA
21Ohio State University - Main CampusColumbus, OH

Materials Engineering by Region

View the Best Materials 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, Materials Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Materials Engineering Concentrations

MajorAnnual Graduates
General Materials Engineering3,476

View All Materials Engineering Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Materials Engineering

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering44,794
Electrical Engineering26,528
Civil Engineering20,655
Computer Engineering16,954
Biomedical Engineering13,222
Chemical Engineering12,248
General Engineering11,534
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering8,671
Industrial Engineering8,087
Systems Engineering3,802

View All Materials Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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