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Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

74 Colleges
$71,318 Avg Salary
$24,852 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, mechanical engineering was ranked #21 in the country. In fact 46,178 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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 Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 74 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Mechanical Engineering program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for ME majors pursuing a .

#1

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Our 2023 rankings named Purdue University - Main Campus the most popular school in the Great Lakes Region for mechanical engineering students. Purdue is a fairly large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.

While working on their degree, ME majors at Purdue accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $572, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University - Main Campus

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. U-M is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.

The average amount in student loans that ME majors at U-M take out is $19,375. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $434.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Michigan Technological University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the town of Houghton, Michigan Tech is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

ME majors at Michigan Tech take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $271, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Technological University Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a great place for mechanical engineering students. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

On average, ME graduates from UC take out $25,999 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $231.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Report

Out of the 74 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Ohio State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Columbus.

The average amount in student loans that ME majors at Ohio State take out is $21,654. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $287, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

#6

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

With a ranking of #6, Michigan State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for mechanical engineering students. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, ME majors at Michigan State accumulate an average of around $22,500 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $441.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University

With a ranking of #7, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for mechanical engineering students. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

The average amount in student loans that ME majors at UIUC take out is $18,420. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $500.

Read More…

University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular mechanical engineering programs. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the large city of Madison.

On average, ME graduates from UW - Madison take out $22,752 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

#9

Kettering University

Flint, MI

Kettering University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the small city of Flint, Kettering is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, ME graduates from Kettering carry an average student debt load of $28,042. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $313.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Kettering University Report

Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. IUPUI is a very large public school located in the city of Indianapolis.

While working on their degree, ME majors at IUPUI accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $175, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Report

#11

University of Dayton

Dayton, OH

With a ranking of #11, University of Dayton did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for mechanical engineering students. UDayton is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Dayton.

ME majors at UDayton take out an average of $23,250 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $487.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
12 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
12 Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI
14 University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best mechanical engineering schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 2,498
Ohio 2,106
Illinois 1,183
Indiana 1,336
Wisconsin 855

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

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.

  • 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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