2023 Best Chemical Engineering Schools
Finding the Best Chemical Engineering School for You
Chemical Engineering is the #72 most popular major in the country with 12,917 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Chemical Engineering Schools ranking. This report analyzed 159 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for chem eng majors pursuing a .
Top 15% Best Chemical Engineering Schools
Our analysis found Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be the best school for chemical engineering students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
The average amount in student loans that chem eng majors at MIT take out is $13,266.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Rice University is a great place for chemical engineering students. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.
While working on their degree, chem eng majors at Rice accumulate an average of around $14,000 in student debt.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Notre Dame. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Chemical Engineering Schools list. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.
While working on their degree, chem eng majors at Notre Dame accumulate an average of around $19,000 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $498.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Carnegie Mellon University is a great place for chemical engineering students. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
On average, chem eng graduates from Carnegie Mellon take out $25,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Chemical Engineering Schools list. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
On average, chem eng graduates from Northwestern take out $16,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #6 on the list. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.
While working on their degree, chem eng majors at UT Austin accumulate an average of around $18,000 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $316.
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With a ranking of #7, Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s best schools for chemical engineering students. Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Terre Haute.
Chem Eng majors at Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology take out an average of $26,591 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $919, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Princeton University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Chemical Engineering Schools list. Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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Vanderbilt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #9 on the list. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.
After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from Vanderbilt carry an average student debtload of $20,085.
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With a ranking of #10, Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for chemical engineering students. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public college with a fairly large student population.
On average, chem eng graduates from Georgia Tech take out $27,125 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $553.
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Cornell University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best chemical engineering programs. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.
While working on their degree, chem eng majors at Cornell accumulate an average of around $17,155 in student debt.
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Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best chemical engineering programs. Located in the medium-sized city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from Texas A&M College Station carry an average student debtload of $19,500. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $350.
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Bucknell University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best chemical engineering programs. Located in the distant town of Lewisburg, Bucknell is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Chem Eng majors at Bucknell take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
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With a ranking of #14, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s best schools for chemical engineering students. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.
The average amount in student loans that chem eng majors at U-M take out is $20,000.
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Washington University in St Louis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Chem Eng majors at WUSTL take out an average of $17,500 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #16 on the list. Purdue is a very large public school located in the city of West Lafayette.
The average amount in student loans that chem eng majors at Purdue take out is $19,500. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $435.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Chemical Engineering Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Chem Eng majors at University of Virginia take out an average of $19,250 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Virginia Tech did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public college with a fairly large student population.
On average, chem eng graduates from Virginia Tech take out $22,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #19 on this year’s Best Chemical Engineering Schools list. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Madison.
On average, chem eng graduates from UW - Madison take out $26,950 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #20, Kettering University did quite well on this year’s best schools for chemical engineering students. Located in the city of Flint, Kettering is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from Kettering carry an average student debtload of $30,000.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best chemical engineering programs. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.
The average amount in student loans that chem eng majors at UIUC take out is $21,470. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $547.
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North Carolina State University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Chemical Engineering Schools ranking. NC State is a very large public school located in the city of Raleigh.
While working on their degree, chem eng majors at NC State accumulate an average of around $24,250 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #23, Lehigh University did quite well on this year’s best schools for chemical engineering students. Lehigh is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Bethlehem.
While working on their degree, chem eng majors at Lehigh accumulate an average of around $26,655 in student debt.
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Here are some additional great schools for Chemical Engineering students that almost earned our Best Chemical Engineering Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Lafayette College | Easton, PA |
| 25 | Colorado School of Mines | Golden, CO |
| 26 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA |
| 27 | Michigan Technological University | Houghton, MI |
| 28 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 29 | Auburn University | Auburn, AL |
| 30 | University of Florida | Gainesville, FL |
| 31 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | Baton Rouge, LA |
Chemical Engineering by Region
View the Best Chemical Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Chemical Engineering Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Chem Eng
Chemical Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering | 46,178 |
| Electrical Engineering | 28,844 |
| Civil Engineering | 21,388 |
| Computer Engineering | 17,987 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 12,811 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Mikulova.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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