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2024 Best Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region

36 Colleges in the Southwest Region
23,446 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$69,300 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #7 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 36 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for engineering students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 23,446 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 Southwest Region Your choice of engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Engineering in the Southwest Region

The schools below may not offer all types of engineering degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Engineering

1
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
355 Engineering Degrees Awarded
11.5% Growth in Graduates

Rice University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in engineering. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Houston. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Rice is a great university overall.

There were approximately 355 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Rice in the most recent data year. Engineering degree recipients from Rice University get an earnings boost of approximately $5,300 over the average earnings of engineering majors.

More information about a degree in engineering from Rice University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,960 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$81,344 Median Starting Salary

The University of Texas at Austin is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in engineering. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were roughly 1960 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available. Engineering degree recipients from The University of Texas at Austin receive an earnings boost of around $12,043 above the typical income of engineering majors.

More information about a degree in engineering from The University of Texas at Austin

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3,306 Engineering Degrees Awarded
0.6% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Texas A&M University - College Station if you want to pursue a degree in engineering. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were approximately 3306 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Engineering degree recipients from Texas A&M University - College Station receive an earnings boost of around $7,412 above the typical income of engineering majors.

More information about a degree in engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
365 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$90,617 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat Southern Methodist University if you wish to pursue a degree in engineering. Located in the large suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SMU is a great university overall.

There were about 365 engineering students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent data year. Engineering degree recipients from Southern Methodist University receive an earnings boost of around $21,317 above the typical income of engineering majors.

More information about a degree in engineering from Southern Methodist University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,566 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$73,751 Median Starting Salary

ASU - Tempe is a very large public university located in the city of Tempe. A Best Colleges rank of #119 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were approximately 2566 engineering students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent data year. Engineering degree recipients from Arizona State University - Tempe earn a boost of around $4,450 above the typical income of engineering majors.

More information about a degree in engineering from Arizona State University - Tempe

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
944 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$74,624 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Houston, UH is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #211 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UH is a great university overall.

There were approximately 944 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UH in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the engineering major at University of Houston earn $5,323 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Houston

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,031 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$78,122 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Richardson, UT Dallas is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #216 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Dallas is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1031 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Dallas in the most recent year we have data available. Engineering degree recipients from The University of Texas at Dallas get an earnings boost of around $8,821 over the typical income of engineering majors.

More information about a degree in engineering from The University of Texas at Dallas

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,020 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$70,613 Median Starting Salary

Texas Tech is a fairly large public university located in the city of Lubbock. A Best Colleges rank of #168 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Texas Tech is a great university overall.

There were about 1020 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the engineering program state that they receive average early career income of $70,613.

More information about a degree in engineering from Texas Tech University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
797 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$71,212 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #133 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means University of Arizona is a great university overall.

There were approximately 797 engineering students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the engineering program make about $71,212 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Arizona

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
189 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$68,769 Median Starting Salary

University of Tulsa is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Tulsa. This university ranks 3rd out of 32 colleges for overall quality in the state of Oklahoma.

There were about 189 engineering students who graduated with this degree at University of Tulsa in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, engineering degree recipients usually make an average of $68,769 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Tulsa

Best Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best engineering schools for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Arizona 38 4,378
Texas 38 15,104
New Mexico 38 1,105
Oklahoma 38 2,059

View All Rankings >

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 5,420
Electrical Engineering 3,662
Civil Engineering 2,298
General Engineering 1,837
Computer Engineering 1,801
Chemical Engineering 1,506
Industrial Engineering 1,352
Biomedical Engineering 1,324
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,000
Petroleum Engineering 629

View All Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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