Top mechanical engineering schools

The US has nearly 100 universities offering programmes in mechanical engineering this year.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s mechanical engineering programmes combine analysis and theoretical teaching with hands-on learning. It earns perfect scores for both academic and employer reputation. 

University of California Berkeley and Texas A&M University are two of the other notable performers from the US in this year's rankings.

Canada has over 20 of the world’s top universities for mechanical engineering. At the University of Toronto, engineering students are required to complete 600 hours of practical work before graduation. This enhances their resume and makes them more attractive to potential employers. 

Almost 200 top mechanical engineering schools are found in Europe. Of these, many are in the United Kingdom. Notable universities in the UK include the University of Manchester and Cranfield University.

One of the most prestigious universities in the UK is the University of Cambridge. Across its research, teaching and graduate study, the University of Cambridge’s engineering department encourages students to take advantage of its highly networked community and brings the latest research and development into its teaching. 

Ireland is represented by several universities including Trinity College Dublin, while Germany has nearly 20 top mechanical engineering universities, including RWTH Aachen University.

France’s Institut Polytechnique de Paris earns a high score in the employer reputation indicator. Institut Polytechnique de Paris’ curriculum prepares students for a variety of engineering careers by covering a wide range of topics including civil engineering, aeronautics and biomechanics. 

Among Spain’s featured universities, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid is a notable performer. Several of the top universities for mechanical engineering are found in Belgium, including KU Leuven.

Denmark, Sweden and The Netherlands each have a few universities in this year's rankings, including Delft University of Technology and KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Other top performing European universities include Portugal’s University of Lisbon and Switzerland's ETH Zurich and EPFL.

Australia is home to over a dozen of the top universities for mechanical engineering. 

The University of New South Wales earns a high score in citations per paper. Students are taught by experts in mechanical engineering and have access to state-of-the-art facilities for laboratory and research work. 

Other top Australian universities include the University of Melbourne, University of Technology Sydney and University of Southern Queensland.

In New Zealand, universities featuring in the mechanical engineering ranking include the University of Auckland. The university earns a high score for the citations per paper indicator; a reflection of the high standard of research for the university’s faculty members. 

Over 150 top Asian universities are featured in this year’s mechanical engineering ranking. An impressive number of these universities are in Mainland China. Tsinghua University earns a fantastic score in the H-index citations indicator this year, which measures the university’s productivity and the impact of its published work. 

Also performing well in the rankings is Japan. Notable Japanese universities include the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tohoku University.

Singapore’s National University of Singapore earns high scores for citations per paper and employer reputation. 

Hong Kong SAR’s universities include the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

South Korea has nearly 20 entrants in this year's rankings, including Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul National University and Pohang University of Science and Technology. 

In the Middle East there are over 40 universities offering programmes in mechanical engineering this year. Saudi Arabia has several entrants, including King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

The United Arab Emirates's Khalifa University is another notable performer in the region.

Iran is particularly well-represented compared to other universities in the Middle East. Sharif University of Technology's mechanical engineering programme focuses on educating and training engineers to start their career with strong leadership and management skills. 

Brazil contributes many of the Latin American universities in the mechanical engineering ranking this year, including the Universidade de São Paulo. USP has strong links with industry which may contribute to its high score in the employer reputation indicator. 

Mexico's entrants include Tecnológico de Monterrey which has 26 campuses around the country and is widely known for its state-of-the-art facilities and the high quality of its faculty’s research. 

In Africa, many of the top universities for mechanical engineering are in South Africa with Stellenbosch University, University of Cape Town and University of Pretoria all performing well this year.

Other top universities are found in Egypt with Cairo University scoring particularly highly for citations per paper.