2017 RANKING & REVIEWS
TOP RANKING BEST ENGINEERING COLLEGES AND ENGINEERING UNIVERSITIES
The Rising Demand for Engineers and the Role of Top Engineering Schools
According to research conducted by the HR and staffing firm Randstad and the Economic Research Institute, the most in-demand positions are in the field of engineering. The demand for engineers who have attended the top engineering schools and engineering colleges doesn’t just exist in North America.
There’s a global demand, which is why looking at the best engineering schools and engineering school rankings is so important.
According to a separate report cited on My College Guide, of the top 10 highest-paying college majors, seven are in the larger field of engineering.
Award Emblem: Top 6 Best Engineering Colleges
Within the larger area of engineering, some of the specific roles that are most in demand and pay the best include manufacturing engineer, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer.
Most analysts believe the demand for graduates of top engineering colleges and top engineering universities won’t decline, but will only increase in coming years.
The following list of engineering school rankings looks at the top engineering universities in the world and provides some insight as to why they’re top engineering schools, and also what to look for when choosing engineering schools.
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AdvisoryHQ’s List of the Top 6 Best Engineering Colleges
List is sorted alphabetically (click any of the college/university names below to go directly to the detailed review section for that school):
- Harbin Institute of Technology
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National University of Singapore
- Stanford University
- Tsinghua University
- University of California-Berkeley
Top 6 Best Engineering Colleges and Best Engineering Universities | Brief Comparison
Top Engineering Schools | Location | Key Fact or Feature |
| Harbin Institute of Technology | Heilongjiang, China | Offers a range of internationally-driven programs and partnerships |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Ranked as the #1 engineering school by U.S. News and World Report |
| National University of Singapore | Singapore | Offers double degree programs such as Business Administration and Engineering |
| Stanford University | Stanford, California | Students can design their own engineering program if it’s not offered in existing majors |
| Tsinghua University | Beijing, China | Has one of the best research reputations in the world among engineering schools |
| University of California-Berkeley | Berkeley, California | 75 faculty members are in the National Academy of Engineering |
Table: Top 6 Best Engineering Colleges | Above list is sorted alphabetically
Choosing Top Engineering Schools and ABET Accreditation
There are quite a few factors that were considered in the creation of this list of the best engineering colleges and the top engineering universities, but one of the most important things to consider when choosing engineering schools is ABET accreditation.
Image source: Pixabay
ABET accreditation is granted by a non-profit, non-governmental agency that accredits programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.
Programs are accredited, rather than the entire institution, and ABET provides specialized accreditation for post-secondary programs that are part of a degree-granting institution. There are currently more than 3,700 programs that are accredited at more than 750 colleges and universities in 30 countries.
ABET accreditation is important because it signifies that engineering schools have programs that meet the standards required to produce graduates ready to enter career fields. It allows students of engineering colleges and universities to have confidence in their education and their employment prospects as well.
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AdvisoryHQ’s Selection Methodology
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Detailed Review – Top Ranking Best Engineering Colleges and Best Engineering Universities
Below, please find the detailed review of each of the ways to find the best engineering schools. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these engineering schools to score so well in our selection ranking.
Harbin Institute of Technology Review
The Harbin Institute of Technology is one of the world’s top engineering schools, located in China. It’s frequently ranked as one of the top overall schools in the world and one of the best global universities in China and Asia. Specific programs that are top-ranked include biology and biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, and of course, engineering.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Engineering Universities
Specifics of why Harbin Institute of Technology is included on this list of the top engineering universities in the world are detailed below.
Satellites
Harbin has a number of distinctions that make it unique, but this school, also called HIT, is one of the top universities in China and one of only a few universities in the world to have designed, built, and launched their own satellites. This happened in 2004, 2008, and 2013.
HIT also takes on research projects covered by official secrets, and it has led the way to the success of the Zhenzhou series spacecraft and Suaizhou series spacecraft.
Research
HIT is a research university, and while this research is on a broad range of topics, the focus is on engineering sciences. According to a 2009 analysis of research citations from Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators, HIT was found to be among the world’s top 1% of institutions in the areas of Material Science, Chemistry, Engineering, and Physics.
HIT also has ten state key laboratories, and the high-level research faculty includes more than 2,900 full-time teachers and researchers.
It should be noted that U.S. News and Report consistently ranks this as one of the top engineering universities, and they cite specific factors, including the number of engineering publications, the school’s global reputation among engineering schools, and the total number of engineering citations.
Admissions and International Connections
Harbin has the specific Harbin Engineering University, which is what we refer to when we rank this as one of the best engineering universities and one of the top engineering schools. The Harbin Engineering University admits undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral-level students, and many postgraduate programs are offered in English.
HEU also puts an emphasis on international relationships and cooperation through academic exchange.
Since 2000, students at HEU have hailed from Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Korea, Russia, Japan, Pakistan, Thailand, Nepal, and India.
Massachusetts Institute of Technolgy (MIT) Review
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it’s considered one of the world’s most prestigious overall universities as well as one of the best universities for engineering.
This pick for one of the best engineering schools was established in 1861 to respond to increasing U.S. industrialization.
Image Source: Wikipedia
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of 2017’s Top Engineering Schools
Among the best schools for engineering and top engineering colleges, the following are details of why MIT is included on this list of engineering school rankings.
Specific Programs
U.S. News and World Report ranks MIT number one on their engineering school rankings, of all the engineering colleges and best engineering schools in the world for 2017, which was important to our ranking as well.
Specific U.S. News and World Report program rankings within the school of engineering at MIT include:
- #1 in Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering
- #1 in Chemical Engineering
- #2 in Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering
- #1 in Mechanical Engineering
- #2 in Nuclear Engineering
- #1 in Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering
Laboratories and Research Centers
MIT has some of the best facilities among any of the engineering colleges or engineering schools in the world. They have extensive laboratories and research centers providing cutting-edge tools and resources for students and faculty.
Some of the laboratories and research centers that are part of MIT’s School of Engineering, one of the best engineering colleges, include:
- Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab
- Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems
- Center for Computational Engineering
- Center for Materials Science and Engineering
- Center for Ocean Engineering
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
- Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity
- MIT Lincoln Laboratory Beaver Works Center
- SMART Center
- Tata Center for Technology and Design
Diversity and Equity
One of the many standout features of this pick for one of the best engineering schools and colleges for engineering is their dedication to diversity and equity. MIT calls engineering a “creative and collaborative endeavor,” and solutions come from diversity in perspective.
For undergraduates in the School of Engineering at MIT, the percentage of students who identified at least in part with an underrepresented minority was 28% in 2014. MIT also strives to make its graduate and faculty programs as inclusive as possible.
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National University of Singapore Review
U.S. News and World Report ranks the National University of Singapore as not only number 50 on their list of the Best Global Universities, but also as number four on the list of the best engineering colleges and top engineering universities. Other key areas where the National University of Singapore ranks well include computer science, materials science, and chemistry.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of 2017’s Top Engineering Schools
Reasons NUS is included on this list of engineering school rankings of the top engineering colleges are highlighted below.
Size
One of the many reasons NUS is part of this list of the top engineering colleges and top engineering universities in the world is because of the scale of the engineering program. The school of engineering at NUS has nearly 6,000 undergraduate students, 2,400 graduate students, and 300 faculty members.
This pick for one of the top engineering schools is the largest faculty in NUS, and it offers one of the most comprehensive engineering programs in the world.
There are ten undergraduate engineering programs offered at NUS, one of the best engineering universities.
Flexibility
NUS, one of the top engineering colleges, offers something they call a modular system. This means students can move through their program of study at their own pace, and with academic planning can often graduate earlier, usually within three or three-and-a-half years.
Students can also choose from a broad variety of modules offered by different faculties and schools, so they get diverse learning opportunities that will best prepare them for employment and their future.
Special Programs
NUS, one of the top engineering universities on this list of engineering colleges, also features special double degree programs in their school of engineering.
One example is the double degree program in Business Administration and Engineering, which helps students develop core engineering skills as well as necessary business skills and knowledge in areas of accounting, marketing, economics, and business law.
Other double degree programs include Engineering and Economics, as well as Materials Science, Engineering, and Physics.
Stanford University Review
The Stanford Engineering School has been leading the way among the world’s top engineering colleges and the best schools for engineering for almost a century.
The Stanford Engineering School is included on this list of engineering school rankings for a variety of reasons, including its general impact on society. Stanford’s Engineering School defines its purpose as focusing on a multi-disciplinary approach to research, teaching, and solving problems.
Image Source: Stanford School of Engineering
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Best Engineering Colleges
Among top engineering colleges and top engineering universities, the following are specifics of why Stanford is part of this list of the top engineering universities in the world.
Undergraduate Engineering Programs
Essential to choosing the engineering colleges and best engineering schools to be part of this list of top engineering universities in the world was the breadth of their program offerings.
Stanford has an extensive selection of both undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. Some of the undergraduate programs offered by this pick for one of the top engineering colleges include:
- Bioengineering (supported jointly by the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine)
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Sciences
- Electrical Engineering
- Environmental Systems Engineering
- Management Science and Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
Interdisciplinary Engineering Programs
Stanford’s School of Engineering is unique from many other engineering schools and colleges for engineering because, in addition to programs like the ones listed above, they also offer interdepartmental and interdisciplinary major programs in engineering.
Some of these include:
- Aeronautics and Astronautics
- Architectural Design
- Atmosphere and Energy
- Biomechanical Engineering
- Biomedical Computation
- Engineering Physics
- Product Design
Also, students can create their own program in engineering if it’s not already covered by existing majors.
Solving Global Problems
The primary objective at Stanford’s School of Engineering is to look at engineering in terms of solving human problems, rather than technical ones. Some of the areas of research and problem-solving covered at Stanford, one of the best schools for engineering, include climate change, network security, and overpopulation.
Stanford has outlined some of the most daunting challenges being faced now and in the coming decades and those are the drivers of their multidisciplinary engineering programs. Along with the challenges named above, they also look at systems design, bioengineering, robotics and automation, urban design, and information technology performance.
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Tsinghua University Review
Tsinghua University is an elite university located in China that is frequently named as one of the best universities for engineering in the world, and also one of the overall best universities. The university was established in 1911, and it opened up to international students in 1978.
Along with being one of the top universities for engineering, Tsinghua also has 14 schools and 56 departments in science, humanities, law, medicine, history, economics, philosophy, and more.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Engineering Schools
Below are some of the key reasons Tsinghua University is part of this ranking of the best universities for engineering and the top engineering universities in the world.
U.S. News and World Report Rankings
US News and World Report ranks this as one of the top engineering universities in the world, actually naming it the number one global engineering school, with an overall score of 100.
Some of the specific factors cited as reasons U.S. News and World Report ranked it so well among engineering colleges and top engineering universities in the world include:
- Global research reputation
- Regional research reputation
- Engineering publications
- Engineering total citations
- Engineering number of publications among the 10 percent most cited
- Engineering international collaboration
Department of Electronic Engineering
Each of the areas of engineering taught at Tsinghua is organized into its own department, and one of the leading engineering departments at this pick for one of the best engineering schools is the Department of Electronic Engineering. This school was established in 1952, and it has three State Key Labs and Divisions.
The faculty of this department alone includes two academicians, 45 full professors, and 45 associate professors. This is one of the first Chinese institutions that taught and led research in the area of electronics and information sciences.
Best of Mechanical Engineering
Another key department at Tsinghua is the Department of Mechanical Engineering. This department was founded in 1932, making it one of the oldest engineering departments in China. There are 45 full professors and 68 associate professors who are part of this department, and it includes several leading lab facilities, some of which are:
- State Key Laboratory of Tribology
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing
- National Engineering Center of CIMS
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Manufacturing and Rapid Prototyping
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University of California-Berkeley Review
The University of California-Berkeley was founded in 1868 and has a total of 170 academic departments and programs. The school has a leading faculty-to-student ratio of 17 to 1, and there are 7 Nobel Prizes held by current members of the faculty.
The school has been a leader from its beginnings in everything from earthquake science to the treating of global diseases.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Engineering Universities
The following are some of the specific reasons UC-Berkeley is named on this list of the best schools for engineering and colleges for engineering.
Faculty
Berkeley’s School of Engineering is recognized as having one of the leading faculties among any of the best universities for engineering and colleges for engineering. This pick for one of the top engineering colleges and engineering schools has 233 active faculty; 75 faculty, active and emeriti, are in the National Academy of Engineering.
34 members of the faculty of this pick for one of the best engineering colleges are recipients of distinguished teaching awards.
Salary
The students making up the Berkeley Engineering School programs are diverse, with 27% of the student body being made up of women and 24% being international students. Only 8.4% of freshman applicants were admitted during the 2016-17 academic year, but there are rewards to being admitted to this prestigious program.
For example, the average starting salary reported by 2016 undergraduates joining the workforce was $92,190.
Top-Ranked Programs
Another reason UC-Berkeley’s School of Engineering is included on this list of top engineering colleges and the best engineering schools is because their specific programs are ranked so well.
Not only does Berkeley consistently rank as one of the top three national and global best universities for engineering by U.S. News and World Report, but many of their specific programs are also leaders in the world.
Top-ranked undergraduate programs include bioengineering, chemical engineering, and civil engineering.
Top-ranked graduate programs include civil engineering, computer science, and environmental engineering.
Image Source: Berkeley
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Conclusion—Top 6 Best Engineering Colleges and Top Engineering Universities
Reviewing the best engineering universities and colleges for engineering is particularly important right now because engineers of all kinds are in such high-demand. The career field for engineers is likely only to keep growing and expanding, which is why so many students are considering top engineering schools and the best universities for engineering.
This ranking of the top engineering schools covers the top engineering universities in the world, so it takes a global look at engineering school rankings.
While many of the names on this list of the best engineering universities are based in the U.S., there are also names from Asia as well, since so many educational institutions are emerging as among the best engineering schools in the world.
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