by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 182 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for engineering students pursuing a doctor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 10,936 doctor's degrees in engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of engineering for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality engineering program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for engineering students working on their doctor's degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for engineering students seeking a a doctor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the best schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in engineering. MIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
It's hard to beat Harvard University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in engineering. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Harvard University
It is difficult to beat Dartmouth College if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in engineering. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Dartmouth College
Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in engineering needs to look into Duke University. Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Duke University
WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Washington University in St Louis
UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Pennsylvania
Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Northwestern University
Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Stanford University
Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Rice University
Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Notre Dame
Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Carnegie Mellon University
Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Southern California
Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of California - Berkeley
Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Atlanta.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus
Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Princeton University
Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Vanderbilt University
Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Providence.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Brown University
Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus
UT Austin is a very large public university located in the city of Austin.More information about a doctorate in engineering from The University of Texas at Austin
Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Columbia University in the City of New York
Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Cornell University
Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Virginia - Main Campus
UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a doctorate in engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison
Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the city of College Station.More information about a doctorate in engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD |
| 29 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 30 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 31 | Colorado School of Mines | Golden, CO |
| 32 | University of Florida | Gainesville, FL |
| 33 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
| 34 | University of Maryland - College Park | College Park, MD |
| 35 | George Washington University | Washington, DC |
| 36 | Tufts University | Medford, MA |
| 36 | Villanova University | Villanova, PA |
View the Best Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Electrical Engineering | 2,179 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 1,634 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 1,096 |
| Chemical Engineering | 1,087 |
| Civil Engineering | 1,086 |
| Materials Engineering | 712 |
| General Engineering | 477 |
| Computer Engineering | 386 |
| Industrial Engineering | 370 |
| Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering | 361 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 7,594 |
| Physical Sciences | 5,726 |
| Agriculture & Agriculture Operations | 4,273 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 1,961 |
| Natural Resources & Conservation | 610 |
| Architecture & Related Services | 255 |
| Engineering Technologies | 203 |
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