Program ranking · CIP 14.xx family bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Engineering

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings inside the CIP 14 engineering family. For each school we take its highest published bachelor's CIP median with at least 25 completers - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$250,168
Highest engineering earnings: 100
Colleges ranked: $109,054
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $109,054 median earnings for Engineering bachelor's (CIP 14.xx family) completers. Carnegie Mellon University leads at $250,168.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$250,168
#1 - Carnegie Mellon University: $109,054
#100 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 100+
schools with a published CIP-14 median

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Carnegie Mellon University

$250,168
University of California…

$228,705
University of California…

$200,543
Duke University

$174,522
University of Washington…

$169,570
Columbia University in t…

$167,572
University of Southern C…

$166,369
Santa Clara University

$163,765
Massachusetts Institute …

$161,118
University of Illinois U…

$159,855
Bucknell University

$156,885
University of Maryland-C…

$152,422
Cornell University

$151,709
University of California…

$149,139
California Polytechnic S…

$148,950

What this shows Engineering pay varies sharply by subfield and metro market - a school's listed CIP is the one that produced its highest published completer median, not a composite of every major.

The full top 100

#	School Name	State	Top engineering CIP	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	Carnegie Mellon University	PA	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$250,168	$22,224	166
2	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	Computer Engineering	$228,705	$13,500	96
3	University of California-Berkeley	CA	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$200,543	$13,674	528
4	Duke University	NC	Computer Engineering	$174,522	$14,500	134
5	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	Computer Engineering	$169,570	$15,422	49
6	Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	Operations Research	$167,572	-	73
7	University of Southern California	CA	Computer Engineering	$166,369	$6,625	45
8	Santa Clara University	CA	Computer Engineering	$163,765	$24,833	83
9	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$161,118	$10,967	73
10	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	Computer Engineering	$159,855	$20,500	318
11	Bucknell University	PA	Computer Engineering	$156,885	-	32
12	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	Computer Engineering	$152,422	$20,417	117
13	Cornell University	NY	Operations Research	$151,709	$15,000	80
14	University of California-San Diego	CA	Computer Engineering	$149,139	$18,414	167
15	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	Computer Engineering	$148,950	$20,556	158
16	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	Computer Engineering	$148,175	$16,875	51
17	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$146,003	$20,480	320
18	University of California-Davis	CA	Computer Engineering	$145,422	$12,703	119
19	University of Tulsa	OK	Petroleum Engineering	$145,353	$26,950	25
20	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	Computer Engineering	$144,703	$14,410	72
21	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	Computer Engineering	$142,071	$19,500	116
22	Texas Tech University	TX	Petroleum Engineering	$139,864	$24,850	43
23	The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art	NY	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$139,068	-	31
24	Northwestern University	IL	Industrial Engineering	$138,720	$18,000	55
25	Maine Maritime Academy	ME	Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering	$137,352	$27,000	61
26	Rice University	TX	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$136,656	-	49
27	Northeastern University	MA	Computer Engineering	$135,416	$25,002	114
28	Boston University	MA	Computer Engineering	$135,394	$25,984	122
29	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering	MA	Engineering, General	$135,136	$14,512	38
30	Brigham Young University	UT	Computer Engineering	$133,111	$11,000	97
31	University of California-Irvine	CA	Computer Engineering	$132,357	$19,000	246
32	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	GA	Computer Engineering	$128,497	$20,000	157
33	University of Florida	FL	Computer Engineering	$128,140	$20,447	118
34	Stony Brook University	NY	Computer Engineering	$128,038	$19,750	56
35	New York University	NY	Computer Engineering	$127,201	$19,000	38
36	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	Computer Engineering	$127,042	$21,750	192
37	University of Pennsylvania	PA	Biomedical/Medical Engineering	$126,419	$15,593	53
38	Cal Poly Maritime Academy	CA	Mechanical Engineering	$126,395	$19,690	42
39	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	Computer Engineering	$126,356	-	28
40	Massachusetts Maritime Academy	MA	Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering	$125,016	$27,000	59
41	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	Computer Engineering	$124,641	$23,434	132
42	Stevens Institute of Technology	NJ	Computer Engineering	$124,037	$26,930	111
43	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	Computer Engineering	$123,731	$19,500	404
44	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	OK	Petroleum Engineering	$123,416	$23,000	39
45	Rochester Institute of Technology	NY	Computer Engineering	$123,027	$28,000	149
46	Harvey Mudd College	CA	Engineering, General	$122,845	$22,240	51
47	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	Computer Engineering	$122,026	$25,929	184
48	Vanderbilt University	TN	Chemical Engineering	$121,641	-	26
49	Lehigh University	PA	Industrial Engineering	$121,498	$23,834	39
50	Utah Valley University	UT	Computer Engineering	$121,466	$13,421	38
51	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	Computer Engineering	$121,462	$22,875	297
52	Kettering University	MI	Computer Engineering	$120,531	$29,984	35
53	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	Computer Engineering	$120,068	-	115
54	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	Computer Engineering	$119,781	$22,350	61
55	Villanova University	PA	Computer Engineering	$119,137	$26,000	41
56	George Mason University	VA	Computer Engineering	$117,942	$25,500	32
57	Binghamton University	NY	Computer Engineering	$117,721	$19,000	51
58	Drexel University	PA	Computer Engineering	$117,537	$27,000	80
59	CUNY City College	NY	Computer Engineering	$117,131	-	54
60	Stanford University	CA	Mechanical Engineering	$117,072	-	49
61	San Diego State University	CA	Computer Engineering	$116,842	$17,249	116
62	Colorado School of Mines	CO	Petroleum Engineering	$116,691	$26,500	86
63	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	$116,350	$24,500	199
64	University of Washington-Bothell Campus	WA	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$116,010	$14,000	76
65	Prairie View A & M University	TX	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$115,939	$25,000	25
66	Princeton University	NJ	Mechanical Engineering	$115,927	-	53
67	Lafayette College	PA	Chemical Engineering	$115,726	$17,000	31
68	University of Connecticut	CT	Computer Engineering	$115,117	$20,134	84
69	Illinois Institute of Technology	IL	Computer Engineering	$114,930	$26,000	25
70	Florida State University	FL	Computer Engineering	$114,802	$23,250	34
71	Johns Hopkins University	MD	Biomedical/Medical Engineering	$114,673	$11,207	100
72	Washington State University	WA	Computer Engineering	$114,635	$19,902	46
73	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	Chemical Engineering	$114,226	$20,500	82
74	University of Utah	UT	Computer Engineering	$114,197	$18,970	28
75	Dartmouth College	NH	Engineering Science	$113,749	$17,083	94
76	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	Petroleum Engineering	$113,669	$22,837	32
77	University of Notre Dame	IN	Chemical Engineering	$113,614	$16,750	78
78	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	MD	Computer Engineering	$113,299	$19,744	48
79	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	Computer Engineering	$113,083	$27,000	57
80	Tulane University of Louisiana	LA	Biomedical/Medical Engineering	$112,914	$22,500	32
81	Sonoma State University	CA	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$112,757	-	25
82	The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	Computer Engineering	$112,666	$21,375	200
83	Arizona State University Digital Immersion	AZ	Computer Engineering	$112,543	$25,000	132
84	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	Computer Engineering	$112,543	$25,000	115
85	San Francisco State University	CA	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$112,454	$16,125	38
86	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College	PA	Computer Engineering	$112,269	$26,471	41
87	University of Georgia	GA	Biochemical Engineering	$111,951	$19,000	32
88	University of Michigan-Dearborn	MI	Computer Engineering	$111,740	$21,064	36
89	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	MA	Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering	$111,103	$27,000	84
90	Auburn University	AL	Computer Engineering	$110,927	$20,000	112
91	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	$110,754	$29,014	50
92	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	PA	Computer Engineering	$110,417	$26,489	99
93	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	Computer Engineering	$110,416	$22,681	136
94	University of Houston	TX	Chemical Engineering	$110,184	$19,228	74
95	North Carolina A & T State University	NC	Chemical Engineering	$109,537	$23,272	33
96	University at Buffalo	NY	Computer Engineering	$109,221	$20,500	33
97	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	IN	Computer Engineering	$109,164	$24,834	61
98	University of North Texas	TX	Computer Engineering	$109,151	$22,590	30
99	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	Computer Engineering	$109,116	$25,675	40
100	University of South Florida	FL	Computer Engineering	$109,054	$23,172	52

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by the highest College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings among bachelor's CIP 14.xx engineering programs at that school. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts, then CIP code. The winning CIP title appears in the table. Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. Engineering, General (CIP 14.01) alone is too thin for a national list, so this ranking uses each school's highest-earning bachelor's CIP inside the CIP 14 engineering family (mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical, and related). The winning CIP is shown per school.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.