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Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois

10 Colleges
$71,610 Avg Salary
$22,426 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering 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 Most Popular Mechanical Engineering 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 10 schools in Illinois 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 following schools top our list of the Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the most popular school in Illinois for mechanical engineering students. UIUC is a very large public school located in the 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.

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

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Chicago is a great place for mechanical engineering students. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that ME majors at UIC take out is $20,390. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $207, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois list. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

On average, ME graduates from Illinois Tech take out $24,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for mechanical engineering students. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

The average amount in student loans that ME majors at Northwestern take out is $15,500.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that ME majors at NIU take out is $26,871. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $192, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

#6

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois list. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Peoria.

After completing their degree, ME graduates from Bradley carry an average student debt load of $26,978.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Bradley University Report

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for mechanical engineering students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a large student population.

After completing their degree, ME graduates from SIUE carry an average student debt load of $21,500. 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

With a ranking of #8, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for mechanical engineering students. Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public school with a large student population.

On average, ME graduates from SIUC take out $25,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

Western Illinois University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois list. WIU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Western Illinois University

#10

North Park University

Chicago, IL

North Park University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular mechanical engineering programs. North Park is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Read More…

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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 10 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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