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Best universities for engineering degrees in the US 2024

Explore the best universities for engineering degrees in the US using data from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings

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December 1 2023
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Top 10 universities for engineering in the US 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities for engineering in the US

US engineering rank 2024  Engineering rank 2024  University State
1  1  Harvard University Massachusetts
2  2  Stanford University California
3  3  Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts
4  6  University of California, Berkeley California
5  7  California Institute of Technology California
6  8  Princeton University New Jersey
7  12  Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia
8  17  University of California, Los Angeles California
9  18  Yale University Connecticut
10  19  University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan

Through the US college system, undergraduate students can study a number of different subjects before deciding on a major.

For prospective engineering students, however, it’s worth having an idea of which field of engineering you’d like to specialise in for your major when you apply. This is because you’ll often need to have completed a specific set of foundational classes in mathematics, physics and materials science in order to pursue your chosen engineering specialism.

There are many different branches of engineering in which students can specialise, including civil engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering and more. Many students will choose to stay for a postgraduate course in order to further develop their speciality before entering the world of work.

These are the top universities in the US for engineering degrees.

5. California Institute of Technology

California Institute of Technology offers programmes for undergraduates, graduates and postdoctoral candidates through their division of chemistry and chemical engineering.

Admission to Caltech is competitive with the college accepting 230 new students each year and 10 to 15 upperclassmen, allowing class sizes to remain small.

Students will undergo broad and detailed training in chemical engineering, balancing classroom lectures with laboratory experience. Students will learn about the societal impact of chemical engineering within the courses. 

At the California Institute of Technology engineering students will be given the opportunity to choose one of four divisions of chemical engineering in which to specialise, choosing from biomolecular, environmental, materials or process systems. Students will then have the opportunity to pursue independent research for their thesis in their second and third years.

4. University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley College of Engineering has nine undergraduate engineering programmes: chemical; civil; computer; electrical; environmental; industrial; materials; mechanical; and bioengineering.

Students at the College of Engineering must take at least six courses to satisfy their humanities and social sciences requirement, as well as maintaining a minimum overall grade point average of 2.00.

Undergraduate students may apply directly to an engineering programme of their choice or remain undeclared if they wish first to explore different areas of engineering.

The master of engineering focuses on business and engineering management within your chosen engineering discipline. The university also offers an MBA/MEng programme that enables students to earn two master’s degrees in the time it takes to complete one. Students in this programme will take both business and engineering courses.

Berkeley students have access to many teaching and research facilities, including the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, which offers practical design and prototyping experience. There is also the Sutardja Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology, aiding students in launching new companies. The Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership is an educational facility on campus that encourages innovation.

About a quarter of engineering students at Berkeley are international.


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3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Engineering is the largest of MIT’s five schools.

When students join MIT, they take courses across all five schools and then choose their major from whichever school they wish. About 70 per cent of undergraduates declare engineering as their major, according to the university.

The school has nine engineering departments covering the following areas: aeronautics and astronautics; biological; chemical; civil and environmental; electrical and computer science; medical engineering and science; materials science; mechanical; and nuclear science.

The engineering master’s programme at MIT runs for two years and is available across a range of courses, including mechanical engineering and aeronautics and astronautics. Students may also be awarded the engineer’s degree at a postgraduate level. This programme provides a higher level of professional competence than is required by the master’s degree, but there is less emphasis on research than in the doctoral programme.

Engineering students at MIT have a range of opportunities to access during their studies, including study-abroad options, entrepreneurship support, research experiences and hands-on practical learning.

2. Stanford University

Stanford University’s engineering department offers 16 undergraduate majors for engineering students, including: aeronautics, bioengineering, environmental systems, materials science, mechanical engineering, engineering physics and product design among others.

The master of science in engineering is available across all nine departments of engineering and combines academic course work with research.

Stanford undergraduates may also apply to master’s programmes as coterminal students, which means that they are classified as both undergraduate and postgraduate students and may take courses across both curricula.

Undergraduate students also have the opportunity to take part in the research experience for undergraduates (REU), providing the chance to work with faculty members on advanced research topics. The top 30 students of each undergraduate class are presented with the Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering Scholastic Award, named after the fourth dean of the school.

Stanford University has a range of facilities accessible to students, from the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, to the Aerospace Robotics Lab and the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

1. Harvard University

Harvard University offers several engineering undergraduate programmes: materials science and mechanical engineering; environmental science and engineering; electrical engineering; computer science; bioengineering; and applied mathematics.

The engineering faculty also offers a broad range of graduate and professional programmes for postgraduate students.

For most of Harvard’s engineering programmes, students will start their first year learning the foundational concepts, including mathematics and physics.

Engineering students at Harvard can get involved in a number of extracurricular clubs, from the Climate Governance Initiative to the Harvard College Engineering Society. These student-run organisations allow like-minded students to come together and develop their interests.

The engineering campus is split between two areas, one in Cambridge near Harvard Yard, and the other on Western Avenue in Allston. The Cambridge campus is home to classrooms and laboratories, while the Allston campus houses the Science and Engineering Complex, as well as the Engineering Yard and Harvard Innovation Lab.


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Top universities in the US for engineering degrees 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results. 

US engineering rank 2024  Engineering rank 2024  University State
1  1  Harvard University Massachusetts
2  2  Stanford University California
3  3  Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts
4  6  University of California, Berkeley California
5  7  California Institute of Technology California
6  8  Princeton University New Jersey
7  12  Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia
8  17  University of California, Los Angeles California
9  18  Yale University Connecticut
10  19  University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan
11  21  Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania
12  24  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois
13  25  Columbia University New York
14  27  Cornell University New York
15  28  University of Texas at Austin Texas
16  31  Northwestern University Illinois
17  32  Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana
18  36  University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
19  37  Johns Hopkins University Maryland
20  41  University of California, San Diego California
21  46  University of California, Santa Barbara California
22  50  University of Washington Washington
23  =54  Texas A&M University Texas
24  61  Duke University North Carolina
25  =73  University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin
26  82  Rice University Texas
27  86  Penn State (Main campus) Pennsylvania
28  87  Brown University Rhode Island
=29  =88  University of California, Davis California
=29  =88  University of Massachusetts Massachusetts
31  =92  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia
32  95  University of Southern California California
=33  101–125  University of California, Irvine California
=33  101–125  University of Colorado Boulder Colorado
=33  101–125  University of Maryland, College Park Maryland
=33  101–125  University of Minnesota Minnesota
=33  101–125  New York University New York
=33  101–125  North Carolina State University North Carolina
=33  101–125  Ohio State University (Main campus) Ohio
=40  126–150  Arizona State University (Tempe) Arizona
=40  126–150  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina
=40  126–150  The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee
=43  151–175  University of Arizona Arizona
=43  151–175  Boston University Massachusetts
=43  151–175  University of California, Riverside California
=43  151–175  University of Delaware Delaware
=43  151–175  University of Florida Florida
=43  151–175  Northeastern University, US Illinois
=43  151–175  University of Notre Dame Indiana
=50  176–200  Case Western Reserve University Ohio
=50  176–200  Drexel University Pennsylvania
=50  176–200  Michigan State University Michigan
=50  176–200  Vanderbilt University Tennessee
=54  201–250  University at Buffalo New York
=54  201–250  University of California, Santa Cruz California
=54  201–250  University of Central Florida Florida
=54  201–250  Dartmouth College New Hampshire
=54  201–250  University of Houston Texas
=54  201–250  University of Illinois Chicago Illinois
=54  201–250  University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska
=54  201–250  University of South Florida Florida
=54  201–250  Stony Brook University New York
=54  201–250  University of Texas at Dallas Texas
=54  201–250  University of Virginia (Main campus) Virginia
=54  201–250  Washington State University Washington
=54  201–250  Washington University in St Louis Missouri
=67  251–300  University of Connecticut Connecticut
=67  251–300  Florida International University Florida
=67  251–300  Florida State University Florida
=67  251–300  Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois
=67  251–300  University of Iowa Iowa
=67  251–300  Iowa State University Iowa
=67  251–300  University of Kentucky Kentucky
=67  251–300  Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri
=67  251–300  University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus Pennsylvania
=67  251–300  University of Rochester New York
=67  251–300  Rutgers University – New Brunswick New Jersey
=67  251–300  University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina
=67  251–300  SUNY Binghamton University New York
=67  251–300  University of Texas at Arlington Texas
=67  251–300  University of Utah Utah
=82  301–400  Auburn University Alabama
=82  301–400  Colorado State University, Fort Collins Colorado
=82  301–400  George Washington University Washington DC
=82  301–400  Indiana University Indiana
=82  301–400  University of Miami Florida
=82  301–400  Mississippi State University Mississippi
=82  301–400  New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey
=82  301–400  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute New York
=82  301–400  Stevens Institute of Technology New Jersey
=82  301–400  Temple University Pennsylvania
=82  301–400  The University of Texas at San Antonio Texas
=82  301–400  University of Toledo Ohio
=82  301–400  Tufts University Massachusetts
=82  301–400  The University of Tulsa Oklahoma
=96  401–500  University of Alabama Alabama
=96  401–500  University of Arkansas Arkansas
=96  401–500  University of California, Merced California
=96  401–500  Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Florida
=96  401–500  George Mason University Virginia
=96  401–500  University of Georgia Georgia
=96  401–500  University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Hawai'i
=96  401–500  Lehigh University Pennsylvania
=96  401–500  Louisiana State University Louisiana
=96  401–500  Mizzou - University of Missouri Missouri
=96  401–500  Syracuse University New York
=96  401–500  Texas Tech University Texas
=96  401–500  Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia
=96  401–500  Worcester Polytechnic Institute Massachusetts
=110  501–600  University of Kansas Kansas
=110  501–600  Marquette University Wisconsin
=110  501–600  University of Maryland, Baltimore County Maryland
=110  501–600  University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina
=110  501–600  Oklahoma State University Oklahoma
=110  501–600  University of Rhode Island Rhode Island
=110  501–600  University of Texas at El Paso Texas
=110  501–600  Wayne State University Michigan
=110  501–600  Western Michigan University Michigan
=110  501–600  University of Wyoming Wyoming
=120  601–800  Baylor University Texas
=120  601–800  Clarkson University New York
=120  601–800  University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Colorado
=120  601–800  Florida Atlantic University Florida
=120  601–800  Kansas State University Kansas
=120  601–800  University of Memphis Tennessee
=120  601–800  University of Nevada, Las Vegas Nevada
=120  601–800  New Mexico State University (Main campus) New Mexico
=120  601–800  Northern Illinois University Illinois
=120  601–800  Ohio University (Main campus) Ohio
=120  601–800  Rochester Institute of Technology New York
=120  601–800  San Diego State University California
=120  601–800  Texas State University Texas
=120  601–800  Wake Forest University North Carolina
=134  801–1000  Florida Institute of Technology Florida
=134  801–1000  Georgia Southern University Georgia
=134  801–1000  Montana State University Montana
=134  801–1000  Oakland University Michigan
=134  801–1000  Old Dominion University Virginia
=134  801–1000  Portland State University Oregon
=140  1001+  Rowan University New Jersey
=140  1001+  University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Texas

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