The discipline of engineering covers an incredibly wide range of knowledge and skills.
Incorporating mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, and many other fields of expertise, developments in the field have led to much of what makes up the modern world.
Engineers apply breakthroughs in science to develop everything from smartphones to deep space probes.
With the challenges posed by climate change and an ever-increasing global population, the field of engineering is all the more important as society seeks ways to deal with these difficult and complex problems.
With so many specializations in the field, some of which are electrical, mechanical, chemical, and biological engineering, aspiring engineers have a dizzying array of potential paths to follow in the field.
Even though much of undergraduate engineering covers basics in the field, the range of specializations in the field requires that anyone who seeks to become an engineer have a good idea of what area they would like to enter early in their undergraduate programs.
While choosing the area of the field they wish to enter, students must consider not only what the best engineering schools in the world are, but also what school has the best engineering program in the field they wish to enter.
In order to help students make informed choices as they weigh their options, we have compiled a list of the 10 best engineering schools in the world.
These schools are ranked according to an “averaged out” ranking. We analyzed other rankings about world engineering schools, placed a score for each school based on where they placed in each list, then made a final list based on those scores. Sources for this aggregate ranking are at the conclusion of this article.
If you’re interested in engineering schools, check out our picks for the 10 best in the world!
10. ETH Zurich (Zürich, CH)
The engineering sciences department at ETH Zurich offers future engineers the following four bachelor’s degrees in the field: Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science.
The bachelor’s degrees at the university are completed in three years, with students learning the fundamentals of the disciplines in the first year or two before specializing and creating a thesis project.
Once a student has graduated with a bachelor’s degree in their chosen area of engineering, they have a range of options to continue their education and further specialize through one of ETH Zurich’s master’s programs.
Many of the Master of Science degree programs at the university are completed in three semesters, while others will take four semesters for students to complete.
These graduate programs offer students a range of specializations in areas such as biomedical engineering, neural systems and computation, and nuclear engineering.
9. National University of Singapore (Queenstown, SG)
The National University of Singapore’s College of Design and Engineering provides students the opportunity to earn bachelor’s degrees in electrical, chemical, mechanical, and biomedical engineering, among many other options.
The design and engineering college has recently revised its curriculum in order to allow undergraduate students the flexibility to craft their own specialized degrees by taking advantage of the 40 modular credits for unrestricted electives.
This creates the space for undergraduates to pursue a second major, add additional minors, or pursue specializations as they earn their bachelor’s degree in their chosen area.
Students who wish to further their education and knowledge in engineering may pursue a wide range of coursework-based Master of Science degrees or choose to pursue a research-based approach in order to earn a master’s or doctoral degree.
8. Oxford University (Oxford, UK)
Undergraduate engineering students at the University of Oxford will take four years to complete their studies and earn the school’s Master of Engineering degree.
The first two years of study develop the fundamental knowledge and skills the university believes are necessary to all areas of engineering before spending the next two years of study specializing in one of the school’s many categories of engineering science.
The third and fourth years of the program include significant design and research projects designed to build practical experience and a deeper understanding of the chosen area of specialization.
The University of Oxford offers three programs of study for engineers at the postgraduate level. Those with a desire to perform further research choose from the Master of Science (Research), Doctor of Engineering, or Doctor of Philosophy programs to continue their studies.
7. University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK)
The undergraduate engineering program in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge spans three to four years, depending on the degree a student wishes to attain.
Engineering students may choose to complete their studies in three years to earn the school’s Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Engineering, although the course of study is designed to take four years to culminate in a Master of Engineering degree.
As with many other undergraduate engineering courses on this list, the first two years of study cover fundamentals of engineering common to all fields, while the third and fourth years require students to specialize in a specific area.
Postgraduate courses at the university allow students to continue their education by pursuing research programs leading to additional master’s degrees and PhDs or taught programs culminating in Master of Research or Master of Philosophy degrees.
6. Nanyang Technological University (Jurong West, SG)
The College of Engineering at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University annually sees more than 10,000 undergraduate students enroll, making it one of the largest engineering programs in the world.
The college currently provides 14 different degrees, with 11 Bachelor of Engineering programs and three Bachelor of Science programs.
Most of the bachelor’s degrees offered at the university are completed in four years, and many of the interdisciplinary options and double majors are jointly administered with other colleges within the university.
Academically gifted undergraduate students at the university can begin contributing to research in the field early in their careers by participating in the school’s Undergraduate Research Experience in Campus (URECA) or Undergraduate Research Opportunity Programme (UROP) opportunities as one of the electives in their courses of study.
5. Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
The John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University offers students interested in engineering a wealth of opportunities of study.
The school provides courses leading to Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and PhD degrees in a wide range of engineering disciplines.
Each of the areas of study at the school provides a range of opportunities for research in developing fields in engineering and applied sciences.
PhD programs at the school cover fields such as quantum science and engineering, materials science, electrical engineering, and environment science and engineering.
Harvard University’s engineering school works with a number of research institutes and initiatives to provide cutting-edge research in a wide breadth of fields.
Its membership in the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure partnership allows researchers access to 13 facilities across the country.
4. Tsinghua University (Beijing, CN)
Beijing’s Tsinghua University divides the study of engineering disciplines into a series of schools under which there are departments of engineering in more specific fields.
The university’s Department of Electrical Engineering has graduated approximately 13,000 students over the course of its existence.
The department has also produced a number of leading professionals and academics in China who have won numerous awards and held prestigious positions.
The School of Materials Science and Engineering hosts many of the field’s research centers in China and is highly ranked among materials science schools in the world. The U.S. News Ranking by Subject has ranked the school among the top nine in the world, and the QS World University Ranking by Subject has done the same.
3. University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
The study of engineering at the University of California, Berkeley spans many different departments within the university. Engineering science, civil and environmental engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering are just a few of the departments dedicated to the field at the school.
Undergraduate programs within the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences offer degrees in computer science as well as electrical engineering and computer science degrees in conjunction with nuclear engineering and materials science.
Master’s degrees and PhDs in computer science and electrical engineering and computer science are also offered through the department.
Research units at the university contribute cutting-edge work in fields such as nanotechnology, biological engineering, earthquake engineering, and computing theory.
Researchers in UC Berkeley’s Center for Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space work with the federal government, NASA, and industry to develop biological processes for manufacturing fuels, pharmaceuticals, and food on a mission to Mars.
2. Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
Aspiring engineers at Stanford University’s engineering school have the opportunity to pursue Bachelor of Science degrees in the major disciplines of engineering as well as graduate and postgraduate degrees.
Along with majors and minors in these fields, Stanford offers interdisciplinary engineering degrees in areas such as biomechanical engineering, engineering physics, and atmosphere and energy.
Students wishing to pursue an engineering degree in an area outside the standard fields offered by the school can do so through the school’s Individually Designed Major in Engineering.
Students in this program must work with an engineering school advisor and another advisor in a relevant field to craft the degree plan.
Research centers and labs within the engineering school perform work in areas such as nanotechnology, aerospace robotics, and experimental physics.
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
With its place of honor as the best engineering school in the world, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology provides exemplary opportunities for engineering students at every level of education.
Undergraduate engineering students at MIT pursue any number of engineering degrees at the same time as they make use of its “makerspace,” nanotechnology facilities, and sandbox for startup companies.
Undergraduate students also work alongside their professors and other researchers to contribute to further developments in the field.
Researchers in MIT’s engineering school study and apply engineering to some of the most interesting and challenging problems facing the world. Artificial intelligence, climate change, space exploration, and nuclear energy are just a few of the subjects with dedicated research labs and facilities at the school.
Faculty within the engineering department at the school have received a litany of awards for their contributions to the field as they guide the education of the world’s future leaders in engineering.
Here are the sources utilized for this aggregate ranking.
