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Best Colleges for Mechanical Engineering

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

⚡Quick answer

For Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $131,967. 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	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$131,967	$11,507	142	94.5
2	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$119,371	$13,000	189	91.1
3	Duke University Durham, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$120,991	$10,000	79	89.6
4	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Master's Degree	$147,475	—	278	88.8
5	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	Master's Degree	$123,205	$20,500	261	88.3
6	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$138,803	$20,500	82	88.1
7	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	Master's Degree	$133,021	—	144	85.3
8	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$139,101	—	102	85.2
9	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$112,212	$15,500	132	84.9
10	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	Master's Degree	$132,861	—	124	84.8
11	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	Master's Degree	$137,970	—	108	84.8
12	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Master's Degree	$128,130	$21,805	86	84.8
13	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$122,111	$19,000	52	84.7
14	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Master's Degree	$127,908	$20,500	55	84.4
15	Stanford University Stanford, CA	Doctoral Degree	$218,808	—	54	84.4
16	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	Doctoral Degree	$167,643	—	54	84
17	California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$126,395	$19,690	42	83.7
18	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Doctoral Degree	$147,335	—	58	83.6
19	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$111,491	$10,057	61	83.6
20	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$108,875	$16,500	162	83.4
21	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$114,492	$12,910	43	83.3
22	Northeastern University Boston, MA	Master's Degree	$124,007	—	124	82.6
23	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Master's Degree	$142,294	—	47	82.4
24	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	First Professional Degree	$140,788	$24,250	—	81.9
25	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$110,210	$10,750	51	81.9
26	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Master's Degree	$128,129	—	70	81.5
27	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Doctoral Degree	$165,864	—	28	81.3
28	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Master's Degree	$170,120	—	23	81.3
29	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	Master's Degree	$138,833	—	35	80.8
30	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	Master's Degree	$107,325	$14,524	82	80.7
31	Rice University Houston, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$108,970	$15,375	60	80.7
32	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Master's Degree	$127,773	—	57	80.5
33	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI	Master's Degree	$130,141	—	48	80.5
34	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	Master's Degree	$138,465	—	29	80
35	Duke University Durham, NC	Master's Degree	$139,868	—	18	79.6
36	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$104,649	$14,250	119	79.5
37	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$104,523	$18,500	266	79.3
38	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	Master's Degree	$117,441	—	96	79.2
39	Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO	Master's Degree	$135,171	—	22	79.1
40	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	Master's Degree	$126,887	—	44	78.9
41	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$106,750	$20,500	272	78.7
42	Villanova University Villanova, PA	Master's Degree	$128,221	—	28	78.5
43	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$102,161	$13,867	166	78.4
44	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	Doctoral Degree	$119,547	—	71	78.4
45	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	Master's Degree	$129,073	—	23	78.2
46	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	Master's Degree	$119,847	—	53	77.9
47	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$112,360	—	166	77.8
48	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$105,888	$20,500	275	77.7
49	University of Houston Houston, TX	Master's Degree	$125,271	—	34	77.7
50	University of Michigan-Dearborn Dearborn, MI	Master's Degree	$119,691	—	53	77.4

🔍 Filter Mechanical Engineering by state & degree level →

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Hidden Gems for Mechanical Engineering

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

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$126,395	95%	83.7
2	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$138,833	95%	80.8
3	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$130,141	88%	80.5
4	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$117,441	60%	79.2
5	Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$135,171	73%	79.1
6	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$121,560	79%	76.4
7	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$117,288	83%	75.9
8	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$116,951	58%	74.3
9	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$102,078	91%	74.1
10	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$119,847	63%	73.9
11	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$109,087	67%	73
12	Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI Strong Mechanical Engineering outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$108,453	92%	72.9

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 Mechanical Engineering field (CIP 14.19) 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 Mechanical 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 Mechanical Engineering program?+

By our outcome score, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts) ranks #1 for Mechanical Engineering, with median graduate earnings of $131,967.

How are these Mechanical 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 Mechanical 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.