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2023 Best Industrial Engineering Schools

105 Colleges
$68,960 Avg Salary
$24,268 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Industrial Engineering School for You

In 2020-2021, 9,072 people earned a degree or certificate in industrial engineering, making the major the #87 most popular in the United States.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Industrial Engineering Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 105 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for IE majors pursuing a .

Top 15% Best Industrial Engineering Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best school for industrial engineering students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

On average, IE graduates from Northwestern take out $17,831 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

Out of the 105 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, IE majors at Georgia Tech accumulate an average of around $23,500 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $373, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

The excellent programs at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best industrial engineering schools in the United States. U-M is a very large public school located in the city of Ann Arbor.

While working on their degree, IE majors at U-M accumulate an average of around $20,000 in student debt.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#4

Kettering University

Flint, MI

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kettering University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Industrial Engineering Schools list. Located in the city of Flint, Kettering is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

IE majors at Kettering take out an average of $31,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Kettering University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Industrial Engineering Schools list. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.

After completing their degree, IE graduates from UW - Madison carry an average student debtload of $20,500.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Madison

#6

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for industrial engineering students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, IE graduates from Virginia Tech carry an average student debtload of $24,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $504, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

#7

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA

Lehigh University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for industrial engineering students. It came in at #7 on the list. Lehigh is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Bethlehem.

On average, IE graduates from Lehigh take out $22,115 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Lehigh University

The University of Texas at Austin landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best industrial engineering programs. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Austin.

Full Industrial Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin Report

#9

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Best Industrial Engineering Schools list. Purdue is a very large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.

The average amount in student loans that IE majors at Purdue take out is $19,750. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $367.

Full Industrial Engineering at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Industrial Engineering Schools ranking. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

While working on their degree, IE majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo accumulate an average of around $21,846 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $498, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Industrial Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best industrial engineering programs. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that IE majors at UW Seattle take out is $18,138.

Full Industrial Engineering at University of Washington - Seattle Campus Report

With a ranking of #12, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on this year’s best schools for industrial engineering students. Located in the medium-sized city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that IE majors at Texas A&M College Station take out is $20,500. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $328, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Texas A&M University - College Station

University of Southern California landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best industrial engineering programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

IE majors at USC take out an average of $21,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best industrial engineering programs. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Industrial Engineering at Columbia University in the City of New York Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best industrial engineering programs. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

On average, IE graduates from UIUC take out $19,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Industrial Engineering Schools award.

Rank College Location
16 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
17 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
18 Clemson University Clemson, SC
19 Iowa State University Ames, IA
20 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
21 Auburn University Auburn, AL

Industrial Engineering by Region

View the Best Industrial Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 40 majors within the area of study, industrial engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to IE

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917

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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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