College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools

201 Colleges in the United States
7,218 Master's Degrees
$83,900 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a master's degree in mechanical engineering, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #29 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 201 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for mechanical engineering students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 7,218 master's degrees in mechanical engineering to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Mechanical Engineering School for Your Master's Degree

Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools Your choice of mechanical engineering for getting your master's degree school matters. 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 master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More ME Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Mechanical Engineering in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for mechanical engineering students seeking a a master's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in ME

1

It's difficult to beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology if you wish to pursue a master's degree in mechanical engineering. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.

Master's recipients from the mechanical engineering major at Massachusetts Institute of Technology earn $51,366 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA

It's difficult to beat Stanford University if you want to pursue a master's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their master's degree from Stanford University make $21,426 more than the standard me graduate.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Stanford University

3

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Mechanical Engineering master's degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of about $8,627 above the average earnings of mechanical engineering majors.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from University of Southern California

4

Johns Hopkins University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a master's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their master's degree from Johns Hopkins University make $8,444 more than the average me graduate.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University

5
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
76 Annual Graduates

UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from University of Pennsylvania

6

Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.

Mechanical Engineering master's degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor get an earnings boost of approximately $9,058 over the average earnings of mechanical engineering majors.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

7

Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Students who graduate with their master's from the me program report average early career earnings of $85,039.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University

8

Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the me program make around $78,476 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Columbia University in the City of New York

9

UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their master's degree from University of California - Los Angeles receive $11,692 more than the average me graduate.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from University of California - Los Angeles

10

Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Mechanical Engineering master's degree recipients from Cornell University get an earnings boost of about $7,564 above the typical income of mechanical engineering majors.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Cornell University

11

Georgia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Atlanta.

Students who graduate with their master's from the me program state that they receive average early career income of $85,001.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

12

Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

After graduating, me master's recipients generally make around $84,295 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University

13

WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their master's degree from Washington University in St Louis earn $3,342 more than the standard me grad.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Washington University in St Louis

14

Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the mechanical engineering major at University of California - Berkeley earn $11,700 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from University of California - Berkeley

15

Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at Purdue University - Main Campus earn $7,140 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus

16
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
12 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Rice University

17
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.

Master's recipients from the mechanical engineering program at Santa Clara University earn $15,166 more than the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Santa Clara University

18
63 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison

19

UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin.

Mechanical Engineering master's degree recipients from The University of Texas at Austin receive an earnings boost of about $4,704 above the average earnings of mechanical engineering graduates.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin

20
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
7 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University

21

UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the city of Seattle.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their master's degree from University of Washington - Seattle Campus receive $10,455 more than the typical me grad.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

22
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
34 Annual Graduates

Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham.More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Duke University

23
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
11 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Princeton University

24
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

UF is a very large public university located in the city of Gainesville.

Soon after graduation, me master's recipients generally make about $79,279 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from University of Florida

25

Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of College Station.

After graduation, me master's recipients usually make about $81,783 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station

Rest of the Top Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools

26
27
28
29
30

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 Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
31 Tufts University Medford, MA
32 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN
33 University of California - Davis Davis, CA
34 Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI
35 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
36 Villanova University Villanova, PA
37 Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ
38 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
39 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
40 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA

Mechanical Engineering by Region

View the Best Mechanical Engineering Master'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

View All Rankings >

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

ME Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Mechanical Engineering 7,218

Majors Similar to ME

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 8,658
Computer Engineering 5,020
Civil Engineering 4,884
Biomedical Engineering 3,089
General Engineering 2,969
Industrial Engineering 2,483
Systems Engineering 2,186
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,880
Chemical Engineering 1,558
Other Engineering 1,409

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options