College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools

182 Colleges in the United States
10,936 Doctor's Degrees
$111,936 Avg Early-Career Salary
Engineering is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #4 most popular doctor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 182 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for engineering students pursuing a doctor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 10,936 doctor's degrees in engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Engineering School for Your Doctor's Degree

Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools Your choice of engineering for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality engineering 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 take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

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 colleges for engineering students working on their doctor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Engineering Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Engineering Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Engineering in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for engineering students seeking a a doctor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
244 Annual Graduates

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the best schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in engineering. MIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
28 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Harvard University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in engineering. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Harvard University

3
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
18 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Dartmouth College if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in engineering. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Dartmouth College

4
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in engineering needs to look into Duke University. Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Duke University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
48 Annual Graduates

WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Washington University in St Louis

6
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
58 Annual Graduates

UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Pennsylvania

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
116 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Northwestern University

8
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
262 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Stanford University

9
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
65 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Rice University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
70 Annual Graduates

Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Notre Dame

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
144 Annual Graduates

Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Carnegie Mellon University

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
109 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Southern California

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
168 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of California - Berkeley

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
379 Annual Graduates

Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Atlanta.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

15
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Princeton University

16
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
45 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Vanderbilt University

17
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
23 Annual Graduates

Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Providence.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Brown University

18
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
255 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

19
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
365 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus

20
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
205 Annual Graduates

UT Austin is a very large public university located in the city of Austin.More information about a doctorate in engineering from The University of Texas at Austin

21
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Annual Graduates

Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Columbia University in the City of New York

22
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
118 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Cornell University

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
97 Annual Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Virginia - Main Campus

24
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
124 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison

25
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
257 Annual Graduates

Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the city of College Station.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station

Rest of the Top Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools

26
27

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
28 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
29 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
30 Iowa State University Ames, IA
31 Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO
32 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
33 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
34 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
35 George Washington University Washington, DC
36 Tufts University Medford, MA
36 Villanova University Villanova, PA

Engineering by Region

View the Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 2,179
Mechanical Engineering 1,634
Biomedical Engineering 1,096
Chemical Engineering 1,087
Civil Engineering 1,086
Materials Engineering 712
General Engineering 477
Computer Engineering 386
Industrial Engineering 370
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 361

Related Major Annual Graduates
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 7,594
Physical Sciences 5,726
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations 4,273
Mathematics & Statistics 1,961
Natural Resources & Conservation 610
Architecture & Related Services 255
Engineering Technologies 203

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options