2021 Best General Engineering Schools
Finding the Best General Engineering School for You
In 2018-2019, 11,739 people earned a degree or certificate in general engineering, making the major the #91 most popular in the United States.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best General Engineering Schools ranking. This report analyzed 153 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2021 Best General Engineering Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for engineering majors pursuing a .
Top 15% Best General Engineering Schools
Our analysis found Harvey Mudd College to be the best school for general engineering students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Harvey Mudd College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Claremont.
On average, engineering graduates from Harvey Mudd College take out $22,034 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $229.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Olin College. It ranked #2 on our 2021 Best General Engineering Schools list. Olin College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Needham.
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Out of the 153 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Dartmouth College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
On average, engineering graduates from Dartmouth take out $7,500 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $78.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brown University. It ranked #4 on our 2021 Best General Engineering Schools list. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.
On average, engineering graduates from Brown take out $14,500 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $150, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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The excellent programs at Cornell University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best general engineering schools in the United States. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Northwestern University ranked #6 on this year’s Best General Engineering Schools list. Northwestern U is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
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With a ranking of #7, University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well on this year’s best schools for general engineering students. Located in the large city of Madison, Wisconsin is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general engineering students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general engineering students. It came in at #9 on the list. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
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University of Georgia came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best General Engineering Schools ranking. UGA is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Athens.
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Villanova University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best General Engineering Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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The University of Texas at Austin came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best General Engineering Schools ranking. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a very large student population.
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With a ranking of #13, Santa Clara University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general engineering students. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara.
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University of Maryland - College Park ranked #14 on this year’s Best General Engineering Schools list. UMCP is a very large public school located in the large suburb of College Park.
The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at UMCP take out is $26,000. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $303.
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Lafayette College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best General Engineering Schools ranking. Lafayette is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Easton.
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University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general engineering students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.
After completing their degree, engineering graduates from UIUC carry an average student debtload of $26,046. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $270, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general engineering students. It came in at #17 on the list. Texas A&M is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of College Station.
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University of Wisconsin - Platteville did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general engineering students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the distant town of Platteville, UW - Platteville is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
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University of California - Berkeley landed the #19 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best general engineering programs. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.
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With a ranking of #20, Tufts University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general engineering students. Tufts is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Medford.
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University of Connecticut did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general engineering students. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the suburb of Storrs, UCONN is a public school with a very large student population.
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Case Western Reserve University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best General Engineering Schools ranking. Case Western is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Cleveland.
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Here are some additional great schools for General Engineering students that almost earned our Best General Engineering Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA |
| 24 | University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder, CO |
| 25 | University of California - Davis | Davis, CA |
| 26 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI |
| 27 | Saint Louis University | Saint Louis, MO |
| 28 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 29 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE |
| 30 | Pennsylvania State University - University Park | University Park, PA |
General Engineering by Region
View the Best General Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
Rankings in Majors Related to Engineering
General Engineering is one of 38 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Engineering
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering | 47,405 |
| Electrical Engineering | 31,384 |
| Civil Engineering | 21,938 |
| Computer Engineering | 15,891 |
| Chemical Engineering | 14,406 |
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 Rémi Kaupp.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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