Ranked by graduate earnings

Best colleges for Civil Engineering

50 Civil Engineering programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion - from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

Quick answer

For Civil Engineering, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $108,548. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion - not reputation or cost - across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#SchoolCredentialMedian earningsMedian debtCompletersScore
1Bachelor's Degree$108,548$14,34210694.6
2Master's Degree$108,826$12,1684192
3Bachelor's Degree$106,308$8,1253489.6
4Master's Degree$112,223$20,5005789
5Master's Degree$106,004$15,5644588.7
6Master's Degree$106,894$19,5917488
7Bachelor's Degree$97,790$16,50027786.6
8Master's Degree$107,621-24885.3
9Master's Degree$120,234-4485.2
10Bachelor's Degree$101,072$20,42413085.1
11Master's Degree$114,115-4785
12Master's Degree$130,675-3785
13Master's Degree$103,685$20,5009084.9
14Master's Degree$99,698$19,0508984.9
15Bachelor's Degree$95,854$13,27412484.8
16Master's Degree$111,544-5784.8
17Bachelor's Degree$95,939$16,00012784.4
18Bachelor's Degree$97,092$17,5298783.9
19Bachelor's Degree$96,354$17,81612383.6
20Bachelor's Degree$106,415-10183.6
21Master's Degree$110,863-3882.9
22
Riverdale, NY
Master's Degree$119,967-2582.8
23Master's Degree$111,986-2782.4
24Master's Degree$108,638-3481.8
25Bachelor's Degree$95,865$19,83222781.3
26Doctoral Degree$110,992-2481.3
27Master's Degree$120,651-1381.1
28Bachelor's Degree$97,123$19,8347581.1
29Master's Degree$99,226$21,0446579.9
30Master's Degree$108,449-2479.7
31Master's Degree$103,586$20,5002679.7
32Bachelor's Degree$105,199-3478.8
33Bachelor's Degree$108,466-1878.7
34Bachelor's Degree$93,973$18,00014578.6
35
Mississippi State, MS
Master's Degree$110,821-1178.6
36Master's Degree$112,118$34,03013778.5
37Master's Degree$100,767-6478.4
38Master's Degree$108,995-1178.4
39Bachelor's Degree$94,760$16,5007378.3
40Bachelor's Degree$95,271$19,87514378.3
41Bachelor's Degree$108,246-1878.1
42Master's Degree$95,761$20,5008577.4
43Bachelor's Degree$94,960$19,3188177.3
44Bachelor's Degree$100,613$24,7508977
45
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree$105,594-2076.9
46Master's Degree$108,274$28,78016276.9
47Master's Degree$111,924$32,6858476.8
48Master's Degree$103,656$26,50012376.7
49Master's Degree$108,193-576.4
50Master's Degree$105,565-1876.2

Hidden Gems for Civil Engineering

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Civil Engineering - the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#SchoolMedian earningsAdmit rateScore
1
Riverdale, NY
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus
$119,96779%82.8
2
Los Angeles, CA
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$120,65191%81.1
3
Mississippi State, MS
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$110,82178%78.6
4
Detroit, MI
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$108,99581%78.4
5
Lawrence, KS
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$105,56593%76.2
6
Pittsburgh, PA
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$103,78858%75.6
7
Newark, NJ
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$107,68265%74.8
8
Troy, NY
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$100,13363%74
9
Anchorage, AK
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$103,07067%72.8
10
Athens, OH
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$97,55285%70.7
11
Golden, CO
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$94,22861%70.1
12
Bend, OR
Strong Civil Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus
$98,70563%69.9

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0-100 within the Civil Engineering field (CIP 14.08) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Civil Engineering programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded - never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Civil Engineering program?+

By our outcome score, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 for Civil Engineering, with median graduate earnings of $108,548.

How are these Civil Engineering programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0-100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Civil Engineering programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

Keep exploring

Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “-” and never estimated. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.