Top Engineering Schools in the US

The recent QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023 covers the best universities for 54 different subjects, including 533 top engineering and technology schools around the world – 82 of which are in the US. 

The ranking covers five different branches of engineering – chemical, civil and structural, electrical, mechanical, mineral and mining. 

The rankings are compiled using five indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper, international research network and the H-index (a way of measuring the productivity and impact of published work).  You can find out more about the methodology used here. 

MIT maintains its top position in the world for engineering and technology, with a perfect score for academic reputation. 

Of the 91 engineering and technology schools in the US, 15 appear in the world top 50. One particularly notable entrant is University of California, San Diego (UCSD), rising 16 places in this year’s ranking to reach 45th position.  
Texas A&M University and Columbia University have both moved slightly down in the global rankings, with Texas A&M dropping two positions to 52nd place, and Columbia University dropping four positions to 54th place. 

See the full engineering and technology subject ranking here. 

Top universities for chemical engineering 

The chemical engineering rankings features 420 universities overall, with an impressive 84 of these located in the US. 

In the US (and worldwide), MIT once again comes out on top, earning a perfect score in the academic reputation and employer reputation indicators. 20 of the US universities in the ranking are included in the world top 50. Of these, big movers in the rankings this year include Purdue University (rising seven places to 28th), and the 
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (falling six places to 23rd). 

View the full chemical engineering ranking here. 

Top universities for civil and structural engineering 

In the civil and structural engineering rankings this year, there are 230 universities featured, with 42 of these in the US. Again, MIT comes out on top worldwide and there are 11 universities featured in the world top 50. 

Stanford University maintains its strong performance this year, securing eighth position. Purdue University has made remarkable progress by climbing seven places to reach 17th spot. Additionally, Texas A&M University has moved up an impressive fifteen places to be ranked 29th in the US while securing a place within the top 30.  

See the full civil and structural engineering ranking here.  

Top universities for electrical engineering 

The electrical engineering subject rankings feature the most universities of any other engineering subject ranking, with 521 universities, including 78 in the US. MIT claims the top position for electrical engineering in the world. 

Of the other 16 US entries in the world top 50, Princeton University has climbed up by five places this year to be ranked 21st in the country. Meanwhile, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor experienced a slight decline, moving down four places to 26th position, yet it remains within the top 30.  

See the full electrical engineering ranking here. 

Top universities for mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing engineering 

Of the 520 ranked mechanical, aeronautical and mechanical engineering universities in the world, 92 are in the US. MIT is in the top position in the world, closely followed by Stanford University in second place. Texas A&M University has achieved a remarkable ascent this year, climbing sixteen places to secure 30th position in the United States. 

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has dropped six places to 35th, and Northwestern University has fallen nine places to 44th in the national rankings while securing their spots in the top 50. Cornell University, however, has slipped seven places, now ranking 52nd, which means it's no longer in the top 50 this year. 

See this full mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing engineering rankings here. 

Top universities for mineral and mining engineering 

The smallest of the engineering rankings, with only 71 universities featured (including fourteen in the US), the mineral and mining engineering ranking was first published in 2016. 

Colorado School of Mines has taken the lead in the mineral and mining subject rankings, securing the top position both in the United States and globally. Furthermore, this year's rankings feature a notable presence of 10 US universities within the top 50 for mineral and mining engineering. Missouri University of Science and Technology has shown remarkable progress, advancing from a ranking between 51-60 to 44th place in the field. 

See the full mineral and mining engineering rankings here.