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Computer science, business/economics, psychology, and pre-med have been many high schoolers’ intended majors in recent years. However, the one program that remains popular throughout decades is engineering. From mechanical to nuclear, chemical to aerospace, engineering has been regarded as applied science by many who seek professional training prior to landing a job in the science and tech industry. Here’s a list of some of the best schools in the U.S. with a strong undergraduate engineering program, as well as some, though without a graduate level engineering program, remain popular because of their strong undergraduate program.
US News Best Undergraduate Engineering Schools (with Ph.D)
| Engineering ranking | School Name | Acceptance Rate (all) | State |
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 7% | MA |
| 2 | Stanford | 5% | CA |
| 3 | UC Berkeley | 15% | CA |
| 4 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | 8% | CA |
| 4 | Georgia Tech | 23% | GA |
| 6 | Carnegie Mellon University | 22% | PA |
| 6 | University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) | 62% | IL |
| 6 | University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | 27% | MI |
| 9 | Cornell University | 13% | NY |
| 10 | Purdue University | 57% | IN |
| 11 | University of Texas—Austin | 36% | TX |
| 12 | Princeton | 6% | NJ |
| 13 | Virginia Tech | 70% | VA |
| 14 | Johns Hopkins | 12% | MD |
| 14 | Northwestern | 9% | IL |
| 14 | Texas A&M University | 70% | TX |
| 17 | University of Wisconsin—Madison | 54% | WI |
| 18 | Columbia | 6% | NY |
| 18 | Duke | 8% | NC |
| 18 | Rice University | 16% | TX |
| 18 | UCLA | 17% | CA |
| 18 | UCSD | 30% | CA |
| 18 | University of Washington | 45% | WA |
US News Best Undergraduate Engineering Schools (no Ph.D)
| Engineering ranking | School Name | Acceptance Rate (all) | State |
| 1 | Harvey Mudd College | 15% | CA |
| 1 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 61% | IN |
| 3 | Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | 13% | MA |
| 4 | United States Military Academy (West Point) | 10% | NY |
| 4 | United States Naval Academy | 9% | MD |
| 6 | Bucknell University | 31% | PA |
| 6 | United States Air Force Academy | 17% | CO |
| 8 | California Poly–San Luis Obispo | 35% | CA |
| 9 | Cooper Union | 15% | NY |
| 10 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 63% | WI |
| 11 | California Poly–Pomona | 39% | CA |
| 11 | Lafayette College | 28% | PA |
| 11 | United States Coast Guard Academy | 21% | CT |
| 11 | University of San Diego | 50% | CA |
| 15 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University–Prescott | 77% | AZ |
| 15 | Kettering University | 70% | MI |
| 15 | Smith College | 32% | MA |
*Source: US News
Before You Apply…
For most schools, incoming freshmen are admitted without a specific major. Even if you’re not sure which engineering major you plan to study, you might have to indicate “engineering” or “engineering undecided” on your application. That way, once admitted, you will automatically be considered an engineering major and may start taking prerequisite courses asap!
