Top Engineering Schools in 2019

Discover the top engineering schools based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020.

The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019, released today, covers five different branches of engineering - chemical, civil and structural, electrical, mechanical and mineral and mining, based on a methodology which assesses employer and academic reputations, research impact and more.

So if you’d like to study engineering, read on for a look at best universities for each branch of this subject, starting with a look at the overall subject area top 10 table.

As you can see, MIT is the world leader once again in this year’s Engineering and Technology subject area table. The university has been associated with 89 Nobel Prize winners and also boasts a number of other successful alumni, such as Buzz Aldrin. Elsewhere, there are three UK universities in the top 10, led by the University of Cambridge in fourth place, while Singapore’s two premier institutions also feature. Overall, 500 institutions across the globe are featured in this subject area ranking – view the full results here.

Top universities for chemical engineering

The chemical engineering ranking currently features 300 universities, with the US claiming an impressive 70 spots, including 18 in the top 50. China is the next most-represented location with 26 entrants, including Tsinghua University, which just misses out on a top-10 spot at 11^th place.

The UK also fares well, with 19 top chemical engineering schools included, including five in the top 50, while half of South Korea’s 14 entrants are in the global top 100 for this subject, led by KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology in 22^nd place.

See the full chemical engineering ranking >

Top universities for civil and structural engineering

MIT also continues to take the lead in the civil engineering ranking, and the US has 36 more representatives featured out of a possible 200. This year’s table sees UCB climb four spots to now rank third for civil engineering. 10 more top civil engineering schools can be found in neighboring Canada, with the University of British Colombia climbing seven places to rank joint 30^th.

Elsewhere, Australia has 14 entrants in this ranking, including six in the top 50, with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) its highest ranked at 12^th. And both of Singapore’s two representatives are in the global top 10 for this subject, with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) climbing 11 places to rank 10^th.

View the full civil engineering ranking >

Top universities for electrical engineering

The electrical engineering ranking, extended to feature 500 universities this year, now includes 84 US institutions, including 16 in the top 50. The ranking also sees ETH Zurich climb eight places to rank third in the world for this subject, with fellow Swiss entry EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne joining it in the top 10 at joint ninth place (up from 16^th) alongside the National University of Singapore (NUS).

However, NUS is not the number one Asian institution for electrical engineering, with fellow Nanyang Technological University (NTU) taking this position, having climbed six places to rank sixth.

Elsewhere, other impressive jumps in this year’s electrical engineering ranking include Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology (up nine places to rank 19^th), Germany’s Technical University of Munich (up 17 places to rank joint 20^th), and Italy’s Politecnico di Milano (up 12 places to rank 23^rd).

View the full electrical engineering ranking >

Top universities for mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing engineering

Also extended to now feature 500 of the world’s top engineering schools, the mechanical engineering ranking is again dominated by the US, which has 90 entrants, including 13 in the top 50. Looking at the top 15, the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology climbed nine places to rank fourth this year, while Italy’s Politecnico di Milano went up 10 places to rank seventh and Switzerland’s ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology went up seven places to rank 13^th.

Elsewhere in the world, of the 23 Latin American institutions in the ranking, Brazil’s Universidade de São Paulo is the highest ranked, climbing from 101-150 to 51-100 this year. In Asia, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) comes top at 11^th (up three places from last year), while Australia has four institutions in the top 100 for mechanical engineering, including Monash University. 

View the full mechanical engineering ranking >

Top universities for mineral and mining engineering

The mineral and mining engineering table, included for the first time in 2016, is the smallest of the five engineering rankings (with only 50 universities featured) and continues to be led by the US’ Colorado School of Mines.

Australian universities perform very well in this ranking, with four spots in the top 10, with the University of Western Australia and the University of Queensland both improving their positions this year.

Elsewhere, the top 10 also includes a Latin American entrant, Universidad de Chile in eighth place, while the University of Witwatersrand is the strongest African representative, up two spots to rank 13^th for mining engineering this year. In Europe, the highest ranked entrant is the Camborne School of Mines at the University of Exeter, ranked joint 14^th alongside Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), which went up eight spots this year.

View the full mining engineering ranking >

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