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. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
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 2021 rankings named Harvey Mudd College the best school in the United States for general engineering students. Harvey Mudd College is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large 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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Out of the 153 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Olin College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Olin College is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Needham.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Dartmouth College is a great place for general engineering students. 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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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Brown University is a great place for general engineering students. Brown is a large private not-for-profit school located in the 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 city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #6, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general engineering students. Northwestern U is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #7 on this year’s Best General Engineering Schools list. Located in the city of Madison, Wisconsin is a public school with a very large student population.
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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #8 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best general engineering programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #9, Carnegie Mellon University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general engineering students. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.
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University of Georgia ranked #10 on this year’s Best General Engineering Schools list. UGA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Athens.
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Villanova University ranked #11 on this year’s Best General Engineering Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general engineering students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.
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Santa Clara University ranked #13 on this year’s Best General Engineering Schools list. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.
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University of Maryland - College Park came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best General Engineering Schools ranking. UMCP is a fairly large public school located in the 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 landed the #15 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best general engineering programs. 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 came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best General Engineering Schools ranking. Located in the 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 very large public school located in the medium-sized city of College Station.
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University of Wisconsin - Platteville came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best General Engineering Schools ranking. Located in the town of Platteville, UW - Platteville is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
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University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general engineering students. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly 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 fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Medford.
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With a ranking of #21, University of Connecticut did quite well on this year’s best schools for general engineering students. 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 landed the #22 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best general engineering programs. Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the 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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