See the 20 Best Engineering Graduate Programs
Find a career in engineering.
As the U.S. continues to experience a growth in STEM jobs, setting yourself apart from the pack becomes increasingly important. One way to get noticed is by obtaining a graduate engineering degree, which can not only boost your knowledge but can also elevate your salary in the postgraduate working world. These are the 45 best graduate engineering programs.
45. University of Rochester (Hajim)
Location: Rochester, New York
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 638 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 46%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 20%
Learn more about the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
43 (tie). Iowa State University
Location: Ames, Iowa
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,340 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 28%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 26%
Learn more about the College of Engineering at Iowa State.
43 (tie). Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Location: Troy, New York
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 760 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 37%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 47%
Learn more about the RPI School of Engineering.
41 (tie). Arizona State University (Fulton)
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 4,353 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 58%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 49%
Learn more about the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
41 (tie). University of Virginia
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,057 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 30%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 28%
Learn more about the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science.
39 (tie). Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 526 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 39%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 25%
Learn more about the Vanderbilt School of Engineering.
39 (tie). Yale University
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 354 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 14%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 17%
Learn more about the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science.
38. New York University (Tandon)
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,888 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 52%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 24%
Learn more about the Tandon School of Engineering.
36 (tie). Boston University
Location: Boston
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,344 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 39%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 23%
Learn more about the Boston University College of Engineering.
36 (tie). University of California--Irvine (Samueli)
Location: Irvine, California
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,705 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 25%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 20%
Learn more about the Henry Samueli School of Engineering.
35. Pennsylvania State University--University Park
Location: University Park, Pennsylvania
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,167 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 37%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 30%
Learn more about the Penn State College of Engineering.
33 (tie). Rice University (Brown)
Location: Houston
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,073 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 31%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 17%
Learn more about the George R. Brown School of Engineering.
33 (tie). University of California--Davis
Location: Davis, California
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,249 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 31%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 24%
Learn more about the UC--Davis College of Engineering.
31 (tie). Northeastern University
Location: Boston
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 6,463 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 47%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 18%
Learn more about the Northeastern College of Engineering.
31 (tie). University of Minnesota--Twin Cities
Location: Minneapolis
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,780 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 39%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 30%
Learn more about the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering.
30. Ohio State University
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,812 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 45%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 38%
Learn more about the OSU College of Engineering.
29. Virginia Tech
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,207 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 45%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 38%
Learn more about the Virginia Tech College of Engineering.
27 (tie). University of California--Santa Barbara
Location: Santa Barbara, California
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 784 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 18%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 21%
Learn more about the USCB College of Engineering.
27 (tie). University of Colorado--Boulder
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,097 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 50%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 25%
Learn more about the University of Colorado College of Engineering and Applied Science.
24 (tie). North Carolina State University
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 3,401 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 31%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 35%
Learn more about the NC State College of Engineering.
24 (tie). University of Washington
Location: Seattle
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,813 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 58%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 11%
Learn more about the University of Washington College of Engineering.
24 (tie). University of Wisconsin--Madison
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,858 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 31%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 27%
Learn more about the UW--Madison College of Engineering.
23. Duke University (Pratt)
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 1,462 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 41%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 14%
Learn more about the Pratt School of Engineering.
22. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 682 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 10%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 6%
Learn more about the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
21. Princeton University
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2018: 680 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 2%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 14%
Learn more about the Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science.
20. University of Maryland--College Park (Clark)
Location: College Park, Maryland
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,102 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 27%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 18%
Learn more about the A. James Clark School of Engineering.
19. Northwestern University (McCormick)
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,198 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 26%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 13%
Learn more about the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
18. University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,199 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 25%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 14%
Learn more about the Penn School of Engineering and Applied Science.
17. Johns Hopkins University (Whiting)
Location: Baltimore
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 4,882 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 42%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 16%
Learn more about the Whiting School of Engineering.
16. University of California--Los Angeles (Samueli)
Location: Los Angeles
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,193 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 28%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 18%
Learn more about the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.
14 (tie). Columbia University (Fu Foundation)
Location: New York City
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 4,115 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 24%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 9%
Learn more about the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.
14 (tie). Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,557 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 34%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 15%
Learn more about Cornell Engineering.
13. Texas A&M University--College Station
Location: College Station, Texas
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 3,662 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 35%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 47%
Learn more about the Texas A&M College of Engineering.
10 (tie). University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign
Location: Urbana, Illinois
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 4,597 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 29%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 23%
Learn more about the Grainger College of Engineering.
10 (tie). University of Southern California (Viterbi)
Location: Los Angeles
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 6,199 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 24%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 16%
Learn more about the Andrew and Erna Viterbi School of Engineering.
10 (tie). University of Texas--Austin (Cockrell)
Location: Austin, Texas
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,549 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 21%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 23%
Learn more about the Cockrell School of Engineering.
9. University of California--San Diego (Jacobs)
Location: La Jolla, California
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 3,229 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 32%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 16%
Learn more about the Jacobs School of Engineering.
8. Georgia Institute of Technology
Location: Atlanta
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 4,858 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 25%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 26%
Learn more about the Georgia Tech College of Engineering.
7. Purdue University--West Lafayette
Location: West Lafayette, Indiana
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 4,110 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 35%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 30%
Learn more about Purdue University College of Engineering.
4 (tie). California Institute of Technology
Location: Pasadena, California
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 536 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 9%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 8%
Learn more about the CalTech Division of Engineering and Applied Science.
4 (tie). Carnegie Mellon University
Location: Pittsburgh
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 4,263 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 20%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 13%
Learn more about the Carnegie Institute of Technology.
4 (tie). University of Michigan--Ann Arbor
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 3,531 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 35%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 16%
Learn more about the University of Michigan College of Engineering.
3. University of California--Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, California
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 2,467 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 30%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 10%
Learn more about the UC--Berkeley College of Engineering.
2. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, California
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 3,637 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 14%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 9%
Learn more about the Stanford School of Engineering.
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Total graduate engineering school enrollment in fall 2019: 3,140 students
Acceptance rate for engineering master's programs: 22%
Acceptance rate for engineering Ph.D. programs: 8%
Learn more about the MIT School of Engineering.
Learn more about the Best Graduate Schools.
Check out all of the 2021 Best Graduate Schools rankings. You can also sign up for a free U.S. News account to receive content like this via email and stay up to date on education news by following U.S. News Education on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Top graduate engineering programs
-- 1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
-- 2. Stanford University
-- 3. University of California--Berkeley
-- 4 (tie). California Institute of Technology
-- 4 (tie). Carnegie Mellon University
-- 4 (tie). University of Michigan--Ann Arbor
-- 7. Purdue University--West Lafayette
-- 8. Georgia Institute of Technology
-- 9. University of California--San Diego (Jacobs)
-- 10 (tie). University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign
-- 10 (tie). University of Southern California (Viterbi)
-- 10 (tie). University of Texas--Austin (Cockrell)
-- 13. Texas A&M University--College Station
-- 14 (tie). Columbia University (Fu Foundation)
-- 14 (tie). Cornell University
-- 16. University of California--Los Angeles (Samueli)
-- 17. Johns Hopkins University (Whiting)
-- 18. University of Pennsylvania
-- 19. Northwestern University (McCormick)
-- 20. University of Maryland--College Park (Clark)
-- 21. Princeton University
-- 22. Harvard University
-- 23. Duke University (Pratt)
-- 24 (tie). North Carolina State University
-- 24 (tie). University of Washington
-- 24 (tie). University of Wisconsin--Madison
-- 27 (tie). University of California--Santa Barbara
-- 27 (tie). University of Colorado--Boulder
-- 29. Virginia Tech
-- 30. Ohio State University
-- 31 (tie). Northeastern University
-- 31 (tie). University of Minnesota--Twin Cities
-- 33 (tie). Rice University (Brown)
-- 33 (tie). University of California--Davis
-- 35. Pennsylvania State University--University Park
-- 36 (tie). Boston University
-- 36 (tie). University of California--Irvine (Samueli)
-- 38. New York University (Tandon)
-- 39 (tie). Vanderbilt University
-- 39 (tie). Yale University
-- 41 (tie). Arizona State University (Fulton)
-- 41 (tie). University of Virginia
-- 43 (tie). Iowa State University
-- 43 (tie). Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
-- 45. University of Rochester (Hajim)
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