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Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

22 Colleges
$68,118 Avg Salary
$26,481 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Industrial Engineering School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, industrial engineering was ranked #87 in the country. In fact 9,072 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the IE programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Industrial Engineering Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

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

The average amount in student loans that IE majors at Northwestern take out is $17,831.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a great place for industrial engineering students. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.

IE majors at U-M take out an average of $20,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#3

Kettering University

Flint, MI

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Kettering University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Flint, Kettering is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

On average, IE graduates from Kettering take out $31,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.

While working on their degree, IE majors at UW - Madison accumulate an average of around $20,500 in student debt.

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#5

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 #5 on this year’s Best Industrial 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, IE graduates from Purdue carry an average student debtload of $19,750. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $367, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

The average amount in student loans that IE majors at UIUC take out is $19,000.

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With a ranking of #7, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for industrial engineering students. Ohio State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Columbus.

On average, IE graduates from Ohio State take out $23,921 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $254, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Industrial Engineering at Ohio State University - Main Campus Report

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Lawrence Technological University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the small city of Southfield, Lawrence Tech is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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University of Wisconsin - Platteville ranked #9 on this year’s Best Industrial Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Platteville is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Platteville.

While working on their degree, IE majors at UW - Platteville accumulate an average of around $29,218 in student debt.

Full Industrial Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Platteville Report

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Milwaukee School of Engineering landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best industrial engineering programs. MSOE is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Milwaukee.

While working on their degree, IE majors at MSOE accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

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Best Industrial Engineering Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 579
Ohio 256
Illinois 408
Indiana 416
Wisconsin 252

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

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 22 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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