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2024 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois

8 Colleges in Illinois
1,183 ME Degrees Awarded
$71,610 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #21 in popularity, mechanical engineering is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 8 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,183 degrees in mechanical engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Mechanical Engineering School

Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois Your choice of mechanical engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for mechanical engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Mechanical Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in ME
Master's Degrees in ME
Doctor's Degrees in ME

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 Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Mechanical Engineering in Illinois

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the me degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Illinois Schools in ME

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
142 ME Degrees Awarded
9.9% Growth in Graduates

Northwestern University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 142 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the mechanical engineering major at Northwestern University get $6,005 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
300 ME Degrees Awarded
$78,224 Median Starting Salary

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 300 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 $6,613 over the average income of mechanical engineering majors.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
157 ME Degrees Awarded
$70,332 Median Starting Salary

Illinois Institute of Technology is a good choice for students interested in a degree in mechanical engineering. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #246 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Illinois Tech is a great school overall.

There were approximately 157 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Tech in the most recent data year. After graduating, me degree recipients generally earn an average of $70,332 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
222 ME Degrees Awarded
$66,775 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat University of Illinois at Chicago if you wish to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were about 222 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the me program make around $66,775 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from University of Illinois at Chicago

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
83 ME Degrees Awarded
$66,802 Median Starting Salary

Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Peoria. This university ranks 14th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 83 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the me program report average early career earnings of $66,802.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Bradley University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 ME Degrees Awarded
$63,097 Median Starting Salary

SIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Carbondale. This university ranks 23rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 61 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the me program report average early career wages of $63,097.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
135 ME Degrees Awarded
$77,496 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 24th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 135 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent data year. Those mechanical engineering students who get their degree from Northern Illinois University make $5,886 more than the standard me grad.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Northern Illinois University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
72 ME Degrees Awarded
$60,153 Median Starting Salary

SIUE is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Edwardsville. This university ranks 31st out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 72 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, me degree recipients typically make an average of $60,153 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 2,496
Ohio 314 2,106
Indiana 294 1,329
Wisconsin 273 855

View All Rankings >

Mechanical Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

ME Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Mechanical Engineering 1,183

View All ME Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to ME

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 1,029
Civil Engineering 816
Computer Engineering 742
Chemical Engineering 442
General Engineering 427
Industrial Engineering 408
Biomedical Engineering 369
Materials Engineering 203
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 185
Other Engineering 140

View All ME Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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