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. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 35,501 bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering during the 2021-2022 academic year.
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 quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different 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 complete 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 is difficult to beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. MIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize 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 graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus is a wonderful option for individuals 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 major at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus earn $8,337 above the standard 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 needs to check out University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor receive $12,298 more than the average me student.
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 finest schools in the United States 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 receive $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 city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Berkeley earn $17,972 more than the typical me graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of California - Berkeley
Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.
Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering major at Virginia Tech make $7,755 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Virginia TechLocated in the 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 average income of mechanical engineering graduates. Located in the 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 very large student population. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Cornell University receive an earnings boost of approximately $14,915 above the average 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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Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.
Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at Duke University earn $19,413 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Duke UniversityCarnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Carnegie Mellon University get an earnings boost of approximately $5,998 over the average 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 earn a boost of approximately $9,849 above the average earnings of mechanical engineering majors. UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison. Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at University of Wisconsin - Madison get $4,086 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the city of College Station. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Texas A&M University - College Station earn a boost of about $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 fairly large student population.
Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Maryland - College Park earn a boost of about $5,960 over the typical income of mechanical engineering graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Maryland - College ParkNotre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Notre Dame receive an earnings boost of about $14,474 over the typical earnings 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 major at University of California - Davis get $4,706 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation. UCONN is a fairly large public university located in the town of Storrs. Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering program at University of Connecticut make $4,344 above the average college grad in this field 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 get an earnings boost of about $9,662 over the average earnings of mechanical engineering graduates.17
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Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.
Soon after graduation, me bachelor's recipients usually earn about $67,633 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of California - IrvineLocated in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California make $12,831 more than the typical me student. Michigan State is a very large public university located in the small city of East Lansing. Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Michigan State University get an earnings boost of about $9,734 over the typical income of mechanical engineering graduates. Located in the suburb of Hoboken, Stevens is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population. Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Stevens Institute of Technology earn $7,400 more than the typical me grad. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Northwestern University earn $4,728 more than the standard me graduate.22
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Annual Graduates$75,253
Median Starting Salary
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This section shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the school 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 | 35,501 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Electrical Engineering | 16,470 |
| Civil Engineering | 14,747 |
| Computer Engineering | 12,226 |
| Chemical Engineering | 9,433 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 8,599 |
| Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering | 5,944 |
| Industrial Engineering | 5,551 |
| General Engineering | 2,706 |
| Environmental Engineering | 1,916 |
| Materials Engineering | 1,535 |
