Top mechanical engineering schools

The recently released QS World University Rankings by Subject features 520 of the top higher education institutions to choose if you want to study mechanical engineering. 

The rankings are based on five indicators: academic and employer reputation, citations per paper, H-index citations (a way of measuring the productivity and published work of a scientist or scholar) and international research network. You can find more details about the methodology behind the subject ranking here. 

Read on as we discover the top universities to study mechanical engineering in the world. Alternatively, if you would like to see the full subject ranking for mechanical engineering, click here. 

QS World University Rankings by Subject – Top mechanical engineering schools
Rank	University	Location
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT	United States
2	Stanford University	United States
3	Delft University of Technology	The Netherlands
4	University of Cambridge	United Kingdom
5	ETH Zurich	Switzerland
6	University of California Berkeley	United States
7	Politecnico di Milano	Italy
8	Imperial College London	United Kingdom
9	University of Oxford	United Kingdom
10	National University of Singapore	Singapore

Top universities for mechanical engineering in the US and Canada

The US has 92 universities offering programmes in mechanical engineering this year, with three schools featured in the global top 10 and a further 12 featured in the top 50. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the world’s best mechanical engineering university for the eighth consecutive year. MIT’s mechanical engineering programmes combine analysis and theoretical teaching with hands-on learning. It earns perfect scores for both academic and employer reputation. 

Significant changes in the rankings for US universities include University of California Berkeley rising into the top three in the country and Texas A&M University rising a staggering 16 places in the subject world rankings from last year to make it into the top 10 in the country for the first time. 

Canada has 21 of the world’s top universities for mechanical engineering. Two of these can be found in the global top 50, including the highest-ranked Canadian university for mechanical engineering, University of Toronto (38th). 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. 

Top universities for mechanical engineering in Europe

180 top mechanical engineering schools are found in Europe. Of these, 38 are in the United Kingdom: the most of any European country. Three UK-based mechanical engineering schools feature in the world top 10 with two more in the top 50. Outside of the top 10, notable universities in the UK include the University of Manchester (27th) and Cranfield University (43rd). 

Europe’s top-ranked university for mechanical engineering this year is the University of Cambridge (third). 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 home to seven of Europe’s top mechanical engineering universities, including Trinity College Dublin (101-150). Germany has 18 top mechanical engineering universities, including its best performer, RWTH Aachen University, which ranks in the top 20 at 18th. 

France performs well this year with 20 mechanical engineering universities featured. France’s highest-ranked university for mechanical engineering is Institut Polytechnique de Paris which remains in the global top 50 despite dropping five places this year to 45th. Earning a high score in the employer reputation indicator, Intitut 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 10 featured universities, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (75th) falls sixteen places this year but is still the country’s top university for mechanical engineering. Seven of the top universities for mechanical engineering are found in Belgium, including KU Leuven which ranks 29th, rising nine places this year. 

Denmark boasts four universities in the subject rankings this year and The Netherlands is home to four, including Delft University of Technology in third place: the best continental European mechanical engineering university in the rankings this year. Sweden also has four mechanical engineering programmes, including KTH Royal Institute of Technology (23rd). 

Czech Republic has three universities in the rankings this year and Austria has two. Portugal’s University of Lisbon ranks among the top 150 this year at 137th.  

Of Switzerland’s three universities featured this year, two place in the global top 20: ETH Zurich (5th) and EPFL (16th). 

Top universities for mechanical engineering in Australia and New Zealand

Australia is home to 19 of the top universities for mechanical engineering. 

The University of New South Wales is Australia’s highest-ranked university this year, earning 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. 

Significant changes in the Australia rankings this year include the University of Melbourne climbing up the rankings to second, University of Technology Sydney rising at least fifty places to 151-200 and the introduction of a new institution into the rankings, University of Southern Queensland, which ranks 501-520. 

In New Zealand, three universities feature in the mechanical engineering ranking with the University of Auckland performing the best (126th). The university earns a high score for the citations per paper article; a reflection of the high standard of research for the university’s faculty members. 

Top universities for mechanical engineering in Asia 

166 top Asian universities are featured in this year’s mechanical engineering ranking. An impressive 34 of these universities are in Mainland China – the most of any other Asian country. 

Of these, nine are in the worldwide top 100, with top-ranked Tsinghua University rising one place to 17th. Tsinghua University earns a perfect 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 with 17 universities featured. Notable Japanese universities include top-ranked the University of Tokyo, falling one place this year to 21st, alongside the Tokyo Institute of Technology (68th) and Tohoku University (81st). 

Singapore’s two entries both reach the global top 20. National University of Singapore (10th) is the highest-ranked and earns its highest scores for citations per paper and employer reputation. NTU’s mechanical engineering course offers a flexible curriculum that has been specially developed to meet dynamic industry needs and helps students to acquire specialist skills and knowledge. 

All Hong Kong SAR’s five ranked universities can be found in the global top 200, including the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology which ranks in the global top 50. 

South Korea has an admirable 19 mechanical engineering universities in this year's rankings, with top 50 entries including Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (24th), Seoul National University (26th) and Pohang University of Science and Technology (46th).  

Top universities for mechanical engineering in the Middle East

In the Middle East there are 42 universities offering programmes in mechanical engineering this year. Israel is home to one of these universities. Saudi Arabia has five, including King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals which ranks 57th in the world. 

The United Arab Emirates has five universities in the mechanical engineering subject rankings with Khalifa University ranking the highest in the country. 

Iran is home to nine mechanical engineering schools – the most of any other Middle Eastern country this year. Its top-ranked school, Sharif University of Technology, is featured in the global top 200. The university’s mechanical engineering programme focuses on educating and training engineers to start their career with strong leadership and management skills. 

Top universities for mechanical engineering in Latin America  

In Latin America, there are currently 25 top mechanical engineering universities featured in the QS World University Rankings by Subject. 

Brazil has the most Latin American universities in the mechanical engineering ranking this year, with 10 institutions featured, including the Universidade de São Paulo, ranked 76th. USP has strong links with the industry which may contribute to its high score in the employer reputation indicator. 

Mexico has four entrants this year, with its top-ranked Tecnológico de Monterrey in 104th place. Tecnológico de Monterrey 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. 

Columbia has seven mechanical engineering schools in this year’s rankings and Argentina has two. 

Top universities for mechanical engineering in Africa

In Africa there are 10 universities featuring in the mechanical engineering subject rankings this year. Five of these are in South Africa with Stellenbosch University, University of Cape Town and University of Pretoria all ranking the highest in the country (301-350). 

Another five of these universities are found it Egypt with Cairo University taking the national top spot and scoring particularly highly for citations per paper.