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2023 Best Engineering Master's Degree Schools

250 Colleges
$85,090 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Engineering Master's Degree School for You

With 61,791 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, engineering is the #4 most popular major in the United States.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Engineering Master's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 250 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

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

Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Engineering

Our 2023 rankings named Massachusetts Institute of Technology the best school in the United States for engineering students working on their master’s degree. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.

Read full report on Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

#2

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Dartmouth College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Engineering at Dartmouth College Report

#3

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best engineering schools in the United States. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

Read full report on Engineering at Stanford University

#4

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Harvard University is a great place for engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Engineering at Harvard University Report

#5

Rice University

Houston, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rice University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

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#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 master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Engineering at Northwestern University Report

#7

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Princeton University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Princeton.

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#8

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full Engineering at Duke University Report

#9

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree engineering programs. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Providence.

Full Engineering at Brown University Report

#10

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Clara.

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#11

Bucknell University

Lewisburg, PA

Bucknell University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Bucknell is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Lewisburg.

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#12

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.

Read full report on Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University

#13

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Engineering at Vanderbilt University Report

#14

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree engineering programs. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

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The University of Texas at Austin landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree engineering programs. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin

With a ranking of #16, Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s best schools for engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Terre Haute, Rose - Hulman Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#17

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

With a ranking of #17, Johns Hopkins University did quite well on this year’s best schools for engineering students working on their master’s degree. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.

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University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.

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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree engineering programs. 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 #20, Washington University in St Louis did quite well on this year’s best schools for engineering students working on their master’s degree. WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.

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#21

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Engineering at Villanova University Report

With a ranking of #22, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best schools for engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

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University of Southern California came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Full Engineering at University of Southern California Report

Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree engineering programs. 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 - Los Angeles came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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Rest of the Top Best Engineering Master's Degree Schools

#27

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY
#29

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA
#30

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN
#31

University of Dayton

Dayton, OH
#36

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA
#37

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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

Rank College Location
38 Tufts University Medford, MA
39 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
40 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
41 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
42 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
43 Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI
44 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
45 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
46 Auburn University Auburn, AL
47 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
48 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
49 Lawrence Technological University Southfield, MI
50 University of Rochester Rochester, NY

Engineering by Region

View the Best 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

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 11,021
Mechanical Engineering 9,007
Civil Engineering 6,042
Computer Engineering 5,557
Biomedical Engineering 4,252
General Engineering 3,548
Systems Engineering 3,068
Industrial Engineering 3,028
Chemical Engineering 2,662
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 2,375
Other Engineering 1,820
Materials Engineering 1,810
Operations Research 1,191
Electrical and Computer Engineering. 928
Environmental Engineering 919
Robotics Engineering 560
Engineering Science 451
Nuclear Engineering 437
Manufacturing Engineering 423
Petroleum Engineering 401
Agricultural Engineering 332
Construction Engineering 288
Engineering Physics 286
Architectural Engineering 243
Geoscience Engineering 173
Polymer & Plastics Engineering 167
Engineering Mechanics 144
Mining Engineering 132
Ocean Engineering 112
Textile Engineering 96
Biological Engineering 80
Energy Systems Engineering 79
Marine Engineering 44
Metallurgical Engineering 40
Biochemical Engineering 21
Ceramic Engineering 20
Electromechanical Engineering 16
Surveying Engineering 11
Paper Science & Engineering 7

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer & Information Sciences 60,971
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 28,851
Mathematics & Statistics 15,127
Physical Sciences 12,705
Engineering Technologies 7,672

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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