by our College Data Analytics TeamCollege Factual reviewed 318 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of mechanical engineering. Combined, these schools handed out 33,840 bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of mechanical engineering for getting your bachelor'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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor's degree.
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 Bachelor's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.
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.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It's hard to beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.
Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology earn $13,432 more than the standard me student.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Georgia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Atlanta.
Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus make $8,337 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering has to check out University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.
Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $12,298 more than the typical me grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
The University of Texas at Austin is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. UT Austin is a very large public university located in the city of Austin.
Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin earn $11,702 more than the standard me student.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin
Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.
Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Berkeley make $17,972 more than the typical me student.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of California - Berkeley
Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.
Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering major at Virginia Tech earn $7,755 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Virginia TechLocated in the medium-sized city of Worcester, WPI is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Worcester Polytechnic Institute get an earnings boost of approximately $7,657 over the typical income of mechanical engineering majors. Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Northeastern University receive $9,730 more than the standard me graduate. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Cornell University get an earnings boost of about $14,915 above the typical earnings of mechanical engineering majors. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Stanford University7
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Annual Graduates$85,440
Median Starting Salary10
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Annual Graduates
Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham.
Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering major at Duke University earn $19,413 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Duke UniversityCarnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Carnegie Mellon University receive an earnings boost of around $5,998 over the typical earnings of mechanical engineering graduates. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Purdue University - Main Campus get an earnings boost of about $9,849 above the typical income of mechanical engineering graduates. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison. Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at University of Wisconsin - Madison get $4,086 above the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the midsize city of College Station. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Texas A&M University - College Station receive an earnings boost of around $7,260 over the typical earnings of mechanical engineering graduates.12
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Annual Graduates$74,611
Median Starting Salary15
Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a very large student population.
Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Maryland - College Park receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,960 above the average income of mechanical engineering majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Maryland - College ParkNotre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Notre Dame get an earnings boost of about $14,474 over the typical income of mechanical engineering graduates. UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Davis. Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at University of California - Davis get $4,706 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce. UCONN is a fairly large public university located in the town of Storrs. Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering major at University of Connecticut get $4,344 more than the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn a boost of around $9,662 above the average earnings of mechanical engineering majors.17
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Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduation, me bachelor's recipients usually earn around $67,633 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of California - IrvineLocated in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California make $12,831 more than the average me grad. Michigan State is a very large public university located in the city of East Lansing. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Michigan State University earn a boost of about $9,734 over the typical earnings of mechanical engineering graduates. Located in the suburb of Hoboken, Stevens is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population. Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Stevens Institute of Technology earn $7,400 more than the standard me student. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Northwestern University receive $4,728 more than the average me student.22
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Annual Graduates$75,253
Median Starting Salary
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This list represents the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 318 different United States mechanical engineering schools we analyzed.Rank College Location 51 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY 52 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO 53 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ 54 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ 55 Iowa State University Ames, IA 56 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 57 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN 58 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 59 University of Dayton Dayton, OH 60 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA 61 Rice University Houston, TX 62 Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY 63 New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ
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 Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
Mechanical Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Mechanical Engineering | 33,840 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Electrical Engineering | 15,613 |
| Civil Engineering | 14,335 |
| Computer Engineering | 12,141 |
| Chemical Engineering | 8,935 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 8,820 |
| Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering | 6,195 |
| Industrial Engineering | 5,205 |
| General Engineering | 2,697 |
| Environmental Engineering | 1,910 |
| Materials Engineering | 1,305 |
