Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

39 Colleges
$62,958 Avg Salary
$25,172 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Civil Engineering School for You

Civil Engineering is the #50 most popular major in the country with 21,388 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 39 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Civil Engineering Colleges.

Top 10 Best Civil Engineering Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in the Great Lakes Region for civil engineering students. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Northwestern University

The excellent programs at Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best civil engineering schools in the Great Lakes Region . Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Terre Haute.

On average, civil eng graduates from Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology take out $24,833 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Civil Engineering at Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology Report

#3

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

The excellent programs at University of Notre Dame helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best civil engineering schools in the Great Lakes Region . Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

Civil Eng majors at Notre Dame take out an average of $20,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Civil Engineering at University of Notre Dame Report

#4

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Purdue University - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Purdue is a fairly large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.

After completing their degree, civil eng graduates from Purdue carry an average student debtload of $20,569.

Full Civil Engineering at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

#5

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Out of the 39 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, civil eng majors at Michigan State accumulate an average of around $27,915 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $479.

Full Civil Engineering at Michigan State University Report

University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #6 on this year’s Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.

Civil Eng majors at UW - Madison take out an average of $23,250 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Civil Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

With a ranking of #7, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s best schools for civil engineering students. U-M is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

Civil Eng majors at U-M take out an average of $17,068 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Civil Engineering at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for civil engineering students. It came in at #8 on the list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

Civil Eng majors at UIUC take out an average of $18,641 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $485.

Read More…

#9

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Marquette University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

While working on their degree, civil eng majors at Marquette accumulate an average of around $23,690 in student debt.

Read More…

#10

University of Dayton

Dayton, OH

University of Dayton landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best civil engineering programs. UDayton is a large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Dayton.

On average, civil eng graduates from UDayton take out $25,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Civil Engineering at University of Dayton Report

Best Civil Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best civil engineering colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 443
Ohio 746
Illinois 816
Indiana 487
Wisconsin 410

Civil Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
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 Master Sgt. Roger Parsons.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.