2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering Master'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.
The Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 215 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs 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 Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for ME majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Mechanical Engineering
Our analysis found Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be the best school for mechanical engineering students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. MIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Duke University is a great place for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Rice University is a great place for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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University of Pennsylvania came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #7, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Cornell University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Johns Hopkins University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.
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Carnegie Mellon University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
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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 master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.
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With a ranking of #12, Santa Clara University did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.
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Villanova University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. 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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With a ranking of #14, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a very large student population.
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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #16 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a very large student population.
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With a ranking of #17, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Atlanta.
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Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #20 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a very large student population.
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Princeton University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Princeton.
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University of Southern California did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
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Washington University in St Louis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.
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University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #24 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. UW Seattle is a very large public school located in the city of Seattle.
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University of Notre Dame ranked #25 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Mechanical Engineering students that almost earned our Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 34 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
| 35 | Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station, TX |
| 36 | University of California - San Diego | La Jolla, CA |
| 37 | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH |
| 38 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE |
| 39 | University of Dayton | Dayton, OH |
| 40 | Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles, CA |
| 41 | Auburn University | Auburn, AL |
| 42 | Colorado School of Mines | Golden, CO |
| 43 | Oakland University | Rochester Hills, MI |
Mechanical Engineering by Region
View the Best Mechanical Engineering Master'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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