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Best Colleges for Industrial Engineering

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

⚡Quick answer

For Industrial Engineering, Northwestern University (Illinois) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $138,720. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$138,720	$18,000	55	94.1
2	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$128,003	$19,791	382	92.9
3	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$117,930	$19,750	170	89.9
4	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	Master's Degree	$164,427	—	65	87.6
5	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	Master's Degree	$118,191	$20,564	46	86.3
6	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$112,797	$19,691	72	85
7	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$112,150	$17,704	57	85
8	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Master's Degree	$130,693	—	64	84.7
9	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$116,641	$22,625	191	84.6
10	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Master's Degree	$125,414	—	78	84.1
11	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Master's Degree	$168,188	—	23	83.3
12	Clemson University Clemson, SC	Master's Degree	$136,058	—	38	82.7
13	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$121,498	$23,834	39	81.8
14	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$107,031	$18,357	262	79.9
15	Iowa State University Ames, IA	Master's Degree	$139,590	—	10	79.7
16	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$109,575	$16,743	43	78.2
17	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM	Master's Degree	$113,691	—	39	76.8
18	Auburn University Auburn, AL	Master's Degree	$113,866	—	34	76.6
19	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	Master's Degree	$120,033	—	17	76.6
20	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	Master's Degree	$117,338	—	25	76.2
21	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	Bachelor's Degree	$106,932	$21,000	156	75.8
22	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	Bachelor's Degree	$110,711	$23,481	118	75
23	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	Master's Degree	$150,903	$31,248	32	73.6
24	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	Master's Degree	$113,070	—	19	73.1
25	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	Bachelor's Degree	$111,672	$24,889	47	73
26	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	Master's Degree	$112,213	—	28	72.9
27	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	Bachelor's Degree	$107,093	$21,500	43	72.3
28	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	Bachelor's Degree	$102,439	$19,189	77	72.1
29	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ	Master's Degree	$113,070	—	6	71.5
30	Northeastern University Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$111,430	$25,000	84	70.9
31	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$103,143	$21,299	79	70.4
32	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	Master's Degree	$109,684	—	42	69.2
33	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$104,758	$24,250	154	68.6
34	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	Bachelor's Degree	$111,672	$24,889	0	66.8
35	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	Bachelor's Degree	$111,672	$24,889	0	66.8
36	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	Bachelor's Degree	$111,672	$24,889	0	66.8
37	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	Bachelor's Degree	$111,672	$24,889	0	66.8
38	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)	$105,825	—	—	64.8
39	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$100,172	$21,096	102	64.4
40	University of Louisville Louisville, KY	Bachelor's Degree	$104,538	$23,000	28	64
41	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	Bachelor's Degree	$101,653	$21,899	43	63.5
42	University of Louisville Louisville, KY	Master's Degree	$106,836	—	6	61.5
43	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College Erie, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$104,758	$24,250	18	61.5
44	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$101,990	$21,126	16	61.3
45	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$99,068	$15,110	45	60.9
46	Auburn University Auburn, AL	Bachelor's Degree	$99,441	$23,250	96	60.5
47	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	Master's Degree	$102,080	—	38	60.3
48	Florida International University Miami, FL	Master's Degree	$109,744	$34,091	—	58.8
49	SUNY Maritime College Throggs Neck, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$102,563	$24,989	23	58.1
50	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR	Bachelor's Degree	$101,653	$21,899	1	57.8

🔍 Filter Industrial Engineering by state & degree level →

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Hidden Gems for Industrial Engineering

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

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	Iowa State University Ames, IA Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$139,590	89%	79.7
2	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$113,691	89%	76.8
3	Wayne State University Detroit, MI Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$112,213	81%	72.9
4	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$109,684	67%	69.2
5	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$111,672	87%	66.8
6	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$111,672	88%	66.8
7	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$111,672	83%	66.8
8	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$111,672	88%	66.8
9	University of Louisville Louisville, KY Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$104,538	79%	64
10	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College Erie, PA Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$104,758	97%	61.5
11	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$102,080	74%	60.3
12	SUNY Maritime College Throggs Neck, NY Strong Industrial Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$102,563	72%	58.1

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 Industrial Engineering field (CIP 14.35) 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 Industrial 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 Industrial Engineering program?+

By our outcome score, Northwestern University (Illinois) ranks #1 for Industrial Engineering, with median graduate earnings of $138,720.

How are these Industrial 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 Industrial 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).

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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. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.