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Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools

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2023 Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools

177 Colleges
$111,936 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Engineering Doctor's Degree School for You

With 198,468 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, engineering is the #7 most popular major in the United States.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 177 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs 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 Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States

Check out the engineering doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Engineering

Our analysis found Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be the best school for engineering students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.

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#2

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Harvard University is a great place for engineering students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Engineering at Harvard University Report

#3

Rice University

Houston, TX

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Rice University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best engineering schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Engineering at Rice University

#4

Duke University

Durham, NC

Out of the 177 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Duke University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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#5

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Princeton University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Princeton.

Read full report on Engineering at Princeton University

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Engineering at Northwestern University

#7

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

With a ranking of #7, University of Notre Dame did quite well on this year’s best schools for engineering students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#8

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Full Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University Report

#9

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.

Read full report on Engineering at Brown University

#10

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #10 on this year’s Best Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.

Full Engineering at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report

#11

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Full Engineering at University of Pennsylvania Report

#12

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Engineering at Vanderbilt University Report

The University of Texas at Austin landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree engineering programs. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a very large student population.

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Washington University in St Louis came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.

Read full report on Engineering at Washington University in St Louis

Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Georgia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Atlanta.

Full Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Report

University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

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#17

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

With a ranking of #17, Santa Clara University did quite well on this year’s best schools for engineering students working on their doctor’s degree. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.

Read full report on Engineering at Santa Clara University

#18

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

With a ranking of #18, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for engineering students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Full Engineering at Cornell University Report

#19

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree engineering programs. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Engineering at Purdue University - Main Campus

With a ranking of #20, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s best schools for engineering students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.

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University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Madison

Colorado School of Mines came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Golden, Mines is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Engineering at Colorado School of Mines

Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public school located in the city of College Station.

Full Engineering at Texas A&M University - College Station Report

#24

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.

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#25

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA

Lehigh University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the small city of Bethlehem, Lehigh is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Engineering at Lehigh University Report

Rest of the Top Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Engineering students that almost earned our Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
27 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
28 Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI
29 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
30 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
31 Stanford University Stanford, CA
32 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
33 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
34 Iowa State University Ames, IA
35 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA

Engineering by Region

View the Best Engineering Doctor'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

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811
General Engineering 11,796
Industrial Engineering 9,072
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 8,001
Systems Engineering 3,904
Materials Engineering 3,415
Other Engineering 2,760
Environmental Engineering 2,759
Operations Research 1,698
Agricultural Engineering 1,472
Engineering Science 1,454
Electrical and Computer Engineering. 1,378
Petroleum Engineering 1,256
Robotics Engineering 1,243
Architectural Engineering 1,012
Engineering Physics 994
Manufacturing Engineering 947
Construction Engineering 878
Nuclear Engineering 864
Marine Engineering 445
Biological Engineering 410
Polymer & Plastics Engineering 360
Geoscience Engineering 325
Mining Engineering 314
Textile Engineering 310
Ocean Engineering 285
Engineering Mechanics 272
Metallurgical Engineering 179
Energy Systems Engineering 138
Biochemical Engineering 109
Ceramic Engineering 94
Surveying Engineering 73
Electromechanical Engineering 45
Forest Engineering 41
Paper Science & Engineering 27
Engineering Chemistry 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer & Information Sciences 254,454
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 177,778
Engineering Technologies 85,188
Mathematics & Statistics 52,396
Physical Sciences 50,306

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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