If you pursue a degree in mechanical engineering, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #21 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 321 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 44,794 degrees in mechanical engineering to qualified students.
The me program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Mechanical Engineering rankings. We derive our Best Overall Mechanical 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.
The me school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Mechanical Engineering Schools.
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.
Best Schools for Mechanical 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 me 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.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #1 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means MIT is a great school overall.
There were approximately 308 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at MIT in the most recent year we have data available. Those mechanical engineering students who get their degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology receive $29,289 more than the typical me graduate.
Stanford University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in mechanical engineering. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.
There were about 197 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at Stanford University earn $45,385 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Any student who is interested in mechanical engineering has to take a look at Johns Hopkins University. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Baltimore. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were about 194 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at Johns Hopkins University get $38,565 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
Any student who is interested in mechanical engineering has to check out The University of Texas at Austin. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were approximately 390 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the mechanical engineering program at The University of Texas at Austin get $8,035 more than the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the large city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.
There were about 739 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent data year. Those mechanical engineering students who get their degree from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus make $6,235 more than the standard me graduate.
UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were approximately 508 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Mechanical Engineering degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley earn a boost of about $16,440 over the average earnings of mechanical engineering graduates.
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 461 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the mechanical engineering major at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor get $8,364 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
There were about 241 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent year we have data available. Those mechanical engineering students who get their degree from Cornell University earn $15,591 more than the average me student.
Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were roughly 120 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Mechanical Engineering degree recipients from Duke University get an earnings boost of approximately $13,915 above the average income of mechanical engineering majors.
Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population. This school ranks 2nd out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 379 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Those mechanical engineering students who get their degree from Virginia Tech receive $2,725 more than the standard me grad.
Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston. This university ranks 6th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were about 412 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northeastern in the most recent data year. Mechanical Engineering degree recipients from Northeastern University get an earnings boost of approximately $5,843 over the average income of mechanical engineering graduates.
Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the city of West Lafayette. This university ranks 3rd out of 41 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were about 648 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Those mechanical engineering students who get their degree from Purdue University - Main Campus make $7,937 more than the standard me graduate.
Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.
There were roughly 262 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent year we have data available. Mechanical Engineering degree recipients from Carnegie Mellon University get an earnings boost of approximately $8,390 over the average earnings of mechanical engineering graduates.
WPI is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Worcester. This school ranks 8th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were about 377 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at WPI in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the mechanical engineering major at Worcester Polytechnic Institute make $6,921 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 237 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Mechanical Engineering degree recipients from University of Southern California earn a boost of about $16,143 above the average earnings of mechanical engineering majors.
UMCP is a very large public university located in the suburb of College Park. This university ranks 2nd out of 35 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were about 425 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, me degree recipients generally earn an average of $76,485 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were approximately 193 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the mechanical engineering major at Columbia University in the City of New York make $7,377 more than the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the town of Storrs, UCONN is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 18 colleges for overall quality in the state of Connecticut.
There were approximately 189 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCONN in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, me degree recipients typically earn about $74,869 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were roughly 574 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at Texas A&M University - College Station make $4,593 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were about 259 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the me program state that they receive average early career earnings of $74,611.
Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were about 132 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Mechanical Engineering degree recipients from University of Notre Dame get an earnings boost of approximately $8,976 over the typical earnings of mechanical engineering graduates.
Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 125 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, me degree recipients usually make an average of $77,020 in their early careers.
Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 370 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Mechanical Engineering degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive an earnings boost of around $7,677 above the average income of mechanical engineering graduates.
Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 209 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, me degree recipients usually make an average of $75,344 in their early careers.
Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 56 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were approximately 315 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Mechanical Engineering degree recipients from Michigan State University earn a boost of about $4,236 above the typical income of mechanical engineering graduates.
This section represents the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Mechanical Engineering Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 321 different United States mechanical engineering schools we analyzed.
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 Schools award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
The me program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Mechanical Engineering rankings. We derive our Best Overall Mechanical Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
