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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

22 Ranked Colleges
314 Degrees Awarded
$34,200 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 46,178 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering, making the major the 21st most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $69,007 and had an average of $23,944 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 7,978 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,318 and $24,852 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 314 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,305 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 22 colleges that offered a degree in mechanical engineering. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in mechanical engineering.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college decision.

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Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region”.

Top 22 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

1

Out of the 22 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan Technological University landed the #1 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Houghton, Michigan, and it awarded 12 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Michigan Tech Mechanical Engineering Report

2
Purdue crest
Purdue University - Main Campus
West Lafayette, Indiana

Out of the 22 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #2 spot on the list. Purdue University - Main Campus is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 69 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Purdue

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lawrence Technological University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Lawrence Technological University is a small school located in Southfield, Michigan that handed out 3 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Lawrence Tech Mechanical Engineering Report

4

Out of the 22 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Akron Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Akron, Ohio, and it awarded 14 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at University of Akron Main Campus

5
Notre Dame crest
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana

Out of the 22 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Notre Dame landed the #5 spot on the list. Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit institution located in Notre Dame, Indiana. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 14 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Notre Dame Mechanical Engineering Report

6

With a ranking of #6, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large public school situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It awarded 36 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

7
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

With a ranking of #7, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s ME degrees to 21 students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Northwestern Mechanical Engineering Report

8

University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 18 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at University of Illinois at Chicago

9

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s ME degrees to 29 students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full UIUC Mechanical Engineering Report

10

Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a large school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 24 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Ohio State University - Main Campus Mechanical Engineering Report

11
UDayton crest
University of Dayton
Dayton, Ohio

University of Dayton did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #11. This fairly large school is located in Dayton, Ohio, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UDayton

12
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

With a ranking of #12, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan State University is a public institution located in East Lansing, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 19 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University

13

University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 22 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Madison

14

Illinois Institute of Technology came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Tech

15
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, Michigan

Oakland University ranked #15 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Oakland is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Oakland University Mechanical Engineering Report

16

With a ranking of #16, Case Western Reserve University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Case Western is located in Cleveland, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Case Western

17
Wayne State crest
Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan

Wayne State University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Wayne State is a large public school situated in Detroit, Michigan. It awarded 5 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Wayne State

18

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Cincinnati, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s ME degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at UC

19
Detroit Mercy crest
University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit, Michigan

University of Detroit Mercy ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Detroit, Michigan, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Detroit Mercy Mechanical Engineering Report

20
WMU crest
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Western Michigan University ranked #20 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Kalamazoo, Michigan is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s ME degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Western Michigan University

21
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

With a ranking of #21, Marquette University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Marquette is a private not-for-profit institution located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Marquette University

22

University of Michigan - Dearborn landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Michigan - Dearborn is a public institution located in Dearborn, Michigan. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 183 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at UM Dearborn

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