According to research conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a staggering 141,000 new jobs will be added to the industry between 2016 and 2026. With no shortage in demand, the best colleges for engineering is a hot topic. Because a post-secondary education is critical to developing the skills needed to succeed, whether as a business major or an engineer, the choice is one that should not be taken lightly. Whichever option is chosen, rest assured that the program and its abilities to prepare students for a career in the field will be analyzed thoroughly by potential future employers.
Before enrolling in any college program, it is essential for the potential student to ensure that they are well informed about everything from the program itself to the future career path. When pursuing a career in engineering, there are myriad options in terms of specialties. For example, there are civil engineers, computer engineers, aerospace engineers, and automotive engineers; along with a host of other highly specialized branches of engineering. A student who is in the process of finding the best colleges for engineering should begin by identifying the subsets of the field that they are most interested in.
After a specific niche of engineering is selected, it becomes much easier to locate the college curriculum that is best suited for a student’s unique goals and interests. It also helps in terms of future employment if one has familiarity with multiple disciplines in the field, so be sure that the college offers a number of options for elective courses throughout your educational endeavors.
From there, students can further narrow down their options of the best colleges for engineering by personal preference. For example, some courses are offered in-person only, while others may offer remote learning or a hybrid mix. This is crucial as some students’ learning styles require a more hands-on approach and may not be effective if only offered remotely. Other considerations like financial aid or scholarship availability, location, and program accreditations should be thoroughly examined.
That being said, it helps to have expert advice on the best colleges for engineering before narrowing down choices further. StudyFinds eliminates the hard work of conducting in-depth research and navigating through sponsored ads to provide readers with unbiased, accurate results from the experts themselves. To compile this list, we visited 10 expert websites and collected the best colleges for engineering to attend in 2023. Have your own suggestions on the best colleges for engineering? Comment with your preferences or thoughts below.
The List: Best Colleges for Engineering Most Recommended By Experts
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) consistently ranks in the top spot on expert lists of the best colleges for engineering. There are a variety of majors for engineering students, although the school is one of the most elite and admission is limited.
More specifically, Niche.com reports, “Admissions is extremely competitive as the MIT acceptance rate is only 7%. Popular majors include Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Mathematics.” Further solidifying the small scale and elite nature of MIT, U.S. News and World Report shares, “About 45 percent of all graduate students at MIT, roughly 2,800 students, are enrolled in the School of Engineering, and about a third of all faculty members teach at the School. Graduate students have 15 areas in which to earn degrees, most of which are highly ranked.”
For those dreaming of an acceptance letter from MIT, Prep Scholar offers the following advice: “If you want to get into a top engineering school, you need to get a perfect or near-perfect score on SAT or ACT Math. Getting an 800 or a 36 is best, especially for schools like MIT where only 25% of students got below a 790 or a 35 on the SAT or ACT Math sections.”
2. Stanford University
As one of the top and most elite universities in the world, students majoring in engineering at Stanford can expect to secure a job after graduation that yields a higher salary than average.
According to a study conducted by Niche.com, “89% of students attending Stanford University feel confident they will find a job in their field after graduation.”
Top Universities shares more on their 2nd place ranking of Stanford University: “Of the 500 ranked mechanical, aeronautical and mechanical engineering universities in the world, 91 are in the US. MIT is in the top position in the world, closely followed by Stanford University in second place.”
“Engineering degree recipients from Stanford University earn a boost of around $28,725 over the typical income of engineering majors,” College Factual experts report.
3. University of California, Berkeley
The University of California Berkeley offers accelerated programs and advanced degrees in engineering. “The University of California, Berkeley, a public research university, is regarded as one of the most prestigious state universities in the US. Part of the University of California System, it was founded in 1868,” writes Times Higher Education.
The opportunities at UC Berkeley are unparalleled, according to the U.S. News and World Report, “Graduate students at the UC—Berkeley College of Engineering can complete an advanced degree in eight areas, including Industrial Engineering & Operations Research and Applied Science & Technology. Earning a master’s in engineering typically takes two years at Berkeley, but students can also opt for the accelerated Berkeley Engineering Professional Master’s Program, which graduates students in just one year.”
Research conducted by the Graduate’s Hotline reveals, “For mechanical engineering, most successful applicants last year had GPAs above 3.7 and GRE quantitative scores above 90%. For Fall 2010 we had approximately 940 applicants for about 75 admission slots.”
4. Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a competitive, private University that offers engineering students the opportunity to pursue many different interdisciplinary majors in the field.
“Carnegie Mellon University is a private not-for-profit university based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is an institution with an enrollment of over 1,676 bachelor’s degree candidates,” Prepler reports.
There are plenty of unique opportunities for students, according to U.S. News and World Report, “Students have about 10 interdisciplinary majors to choose from, each completed in conjunction with other departments at Carnegie Mellon, including the highly ranked Tepper School of Business. Engineering students can pursue course-based or research-based master’s degrees, and Ph.D. programs are offered in most departments.”
College Vine notes that it can be difficult to get into, “CMU is a very competitive school with acceptance rates of only 14%.”
5. Georgia Institute of Technology
As a top research university, Georgia Institute of Technology offers all of the opportunities of other leading universities for a fraction of their yearly tuition costs.
“Students at the Georgia Tech College of Engineering have extensive degree options. There are close to 20 areas to specialize in, from medical physics to aerospace engineering. Among many well-regarded programs at Tech Engineering, the industrial engineering and biomedical engineering programs are especially highly ranked,” U.S. News and World Report advises.
Niche.com rates the college an A+ and lists it as one of the “Top Public Universities in America, ranking #3 of 601.”
As a total investment, Money.com ranks the Georgia Institute of Technology in position number one, noting, “The school has a graduation rate of 88%, and students go on to earn median salaries of more than $88,000, according to the federal College Scorecard. These impressive numbers are no accident. Georgia Tech only accepts about a quarter of applicants, and its courses are rigorous.”
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Sources:
- US News & World Report
- Niche
- Money
- Prep Scholar
- Top Universities
- Graduates Hotline
- College Factual
- Times Higher Education
- Prepler
- College Vine
Note: This article was not paid for nor sponsored. StudyFinds is not connected to nor partnered with any of the brands mentioned and receives no compensation for its recommendations.
Columbia University is better than all but MIT and Stanford.