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2024 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

54 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
6,256 Bachelor's Degrees
$67,121 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #17 in popularity, mechanical engineering is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. 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 54 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,256 bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The me bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality me program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.

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 Bachelor’s Students to Study Mechanical Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in ME

1
316 Annual Graduates
$75,414 Median Starting Salary
$21,750 Median Student Debt

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a great option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor.

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor get an earnings boost of about $8,293 above the average income of mechanical engineering graduates.

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

2
395 Annual Graduates
$73,563 Median Starting Salary
$19,937 Median Student Debt

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering has to check out Purdue University - Main Campus. Purdue is a very large public university located in the city of West Lafayette.

Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at Purdue University - Main Campus get $6,442 above the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

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

3
65 Annual Graduates
$70,936 Median Starting Salary
$15,334 Median Student Debt

Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.

Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at Northwestern University earn $3,815 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

4
114 Annual Graduates
$72,690 Median Starting Salary
$19,000 Median Student Debt

University of Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering major at University of Notre Dame make $5,569 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Notre Dame

5
210 Annual Graduates
$68,804 Median Starting Salary
$20,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the me program earn an average of $68,804 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

6
183 Annual Graduates
$70,199 Median Starting Salary
$20,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive $3,078 more than the typical me graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison

7
99 Annual Graduates
$67,335 Median Starting Salary
$24,855 Median Student Debt

Case Western is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Cleveland.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the me program make around $67,335 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University

8
134 Annual Graduates
$72,316 Median Starting Salary
$25,612 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Terre Haute, Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology receive an earnings boost of about $5,195 over the typical income of mechanical engineering graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology

9
263 Annual Graduates
$69,541 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the town of Houghton, Michigan Tech is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Michigan Technological University earn a boost of approximately $2,420 above the average earnings of mechanical engineering graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University

10
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
279 Annual Graduates
$71,321 Median Starting Salary
$24,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Michigan State University make $4,200 more than the standard me graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best mechanical engineering schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 1,905
Ohio 252 1,701
Illinois 241 837
Indiana 235 1,054
Wisconsin 213 759

View All Rankings >

One of 41 majors within the Engineering area of study, Mechanical Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

ME Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Mechanical Engineering 6,256

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 2,869
Computer Engineering 2,643
Civil Engineering 1,983
Chemical Engineering 1,772
Biomedical Engineering 1,368
Industrial Engineering 1,265
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 757
General Engineering 523
Agricultural Engineering 409
Materials Engineering 384

Notes and References

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