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Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

8 Colleges
$64,776 Avg Salary
$23,989 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 1,183 degrees and certificates were awarded to mechanical engineering students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #31 most popular major in the state.

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.

The Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in Illinois to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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.

2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Northwestern University the best school in Illinois for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $500.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

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#3

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Out of the 8 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Bradley University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Peoria.

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Illinois Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best mechanical engineering schools in Illinois. Illinois Tech is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, ME graduates from Illinois Tech carry an average student debtload of $24,824.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, ME graduates from NIU carry an average student debtload of $27,219. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $192, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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University of Illinois at Chicago 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 #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, ME majors at UIC accumulate an average of around $21,638 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $207, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public college with a large student population.

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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 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 #8 on the list. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a large student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, ME majors at SIUE accumulate an average of around $22,299 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $231.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

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Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 2,498
Ohio 2,106
Indiana 1,336
Wisconsin 855

Mechanical Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to ME

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 8 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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