2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 46,178 people earned a degree or certificate in mechanical engineering, making the major the #21 most popular in the United States.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 316 schools in the United States to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for ME majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Our 2023 rankings named Olin College the best school in the United States for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Olin College is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Needham.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.
The average amount in student loans that ME majors at MIT take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $12,739. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $535, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best mechanical engineering schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
On average, ME graduates from UPenn take out $14,982 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Notre Dame. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, ME majors at Notre Dame accumulate an average of around $20,362 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $643.
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Out of the 316 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Duke University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree mechanical engineering programs. Located in the small city of Terre Haute, Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $876.
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Harvard University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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California State University Maritime Academy came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Cal Maritime is a fairly small public school located in the medium-sized city of Vallejo.
The average amount in student loans that ME majors at Cal Maritime take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $29,280.
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Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Kettering University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree mechanical engineering programs. Kettering is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Flint.
The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $313, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Rice University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a fairly large student population.
ME majors at U-M take out an average of $18,590 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $434.
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With a ranking of #13, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that ME majors at UT Austin take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $19,278. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $367.
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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.
ME majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo take out an average of $19,650 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $418.
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With a ranking of #16, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a fairly large student population.
For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $572.
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Vanderbilt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
ME majors at Vanderbilt take out an average of $13,909 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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University of California - Berkeley ranked #18 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $392, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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With a ranking of #19, Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Atlanta.
The average amount in student loans that ME majors at Georgia Tech take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $24,076. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $404.
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Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.
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With a ranking of #21, Carnegie Mellon University did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.
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University of Wisconsin - Stout came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. UW - Stout is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Menomonie.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, ME majors at UW - Stout accumulate an average of around $27,238 in student debt.
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Lehigh University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Bethlehem, Lehigh is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $633, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Bucknell University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Bucknell is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Lewisburg.
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Lafayette College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Lafayette is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Easton.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Mechanical Engineering students that almost earned our Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 48 | Saint Louis University | Saint Louis, MO |
| 49 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | Rolla, MO |
| 50 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH |
| 51 | University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 52 | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH |
| 53 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 54 | Southern Methodist University | Dallas, TX |
| 55 | University of Dayton | Dayton, OH |
| 56 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 57 | Dunwoody College of Technology | Minneapolis, MN |
| 58 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI |
| 59 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus | Seattle, WA |
| 60 | Lawrence Technological University | Southfield, MI |
| 61 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
| 62 | Oakland University | Rochester Hills, MI |
| 63 | Clemson University | Clemson, SC |
Mechanical Engineering by Region
View the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Mechanical Engineering Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to ME
One of 40 majors within the area of study, mechanical engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Electrical Engineering | 28,844 |
| Civil Engineering | 21,388 |
| 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 Michel Villeneuve.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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