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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

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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).

Keep exploring

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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.