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2024 Best Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

62 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
32,891 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$69,005 Avg Early-Career Salary
Engineering is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #7 most popular degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 62 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of engineering. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 32,891 degrees in engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Engineering School

Best Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Engineering School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Engineering
Bachelor's Degrees in Engineering
Master's Degrees in Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Engineering

The engineering school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

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.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

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 engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
813 Engineering Degrees Awarded
1.1% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a degree in engineering. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 813 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the engineering major at Northwestern University get $11,359 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in engineering from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,789 Engineering Degrees Awarded
8.0% Growth in Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a good decision for students interested in a degree in engineering. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were approximately 2789 engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the engineering major at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor make $11,343 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,573 Engineering Degrees Awarded
0.4% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in engineering has to take a look at University of Wisconsin - Madison. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 1573 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Engineering degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn a boost of approximately $2,660 over the typical earnings of engineering majors.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
492 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$74,653 Median Starting Salary

University of Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in engineering. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were roughly 492 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year. Those engineering students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame receive $5,649 more than the standard engineering student.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Notre Dame

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3,177 Engineering Degrees Awarded
0.9% Growth in Graduates

Purdue is a very large public university located in the city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were about 3177 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Engineering degree recipients from Purdue University - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of about $5,205 over the average earnings of engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,695 Engineering Degrees Awarded
4.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 2695 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, engineering degree recipients typically earn an average of $70,551 at the beginning of their careers.

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

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
615 Engineering Degrees Awarded
5.2% Growth in Graduates

Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cleveland. A Best Colleges rank of #63 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Case Western is a great university overall.

There were roughly 615 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Case Western in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, engineering degree recipients typically earn an average of $67,836 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in engineering from Case Western Reserve University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
372 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$70,522 Median Starting Salary

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

There were roughly 372 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the engineering program report average early career earnings of $70,522.

More information about a degree in engineering from Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,359 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$67,481 Median Starting Salary

Ohio State is a very large public university located in the city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 2359 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the engineering program state that they receive average early career earnings of $67,481.

More information about a degree in engineering from Ohio State University - Main Campus

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,047 Engineering Degrees Awarded
4.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the remote town of Houghton, Michigan Tech is a public university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #112 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Michigan Tech is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1047 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Michigan Tech in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the engineering program state that they receive average early career earnings of $68,293.

More information about a degree in engineering from Michigan Technological University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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 Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
12 University of Dayton Dayton, OH
13 Kettering University Flint, MI
14 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
15 Hope College Holland, MI

Best Engineering Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Indiana 38 5,328
Michigan 38 8,498
Ohio 38 8,341
Illinois 38 6,581
Wisconsin 37 3,379

View All Rankings >

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 7,978
Electrical Engineering 4,524
Computer Engineering 3,259
Civil Engineering 2,925
Chemical Engineering 2,284
Biomedical Engineering 1,932
Industrial Engineering 1,927
General Engineering 1,712
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,238
Materials Engineering 740

View All Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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