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Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering Programs in the USA: Top 20

Mechanical engineering is the broadest of the engineering disciplines — thermodynamics, fluids, materials, mechanics and design, applied to everything from engines to medical devices — and in the United States it is also one of the most standardised. The twenty programmes below teach substantially the same core, which means the differences between them lie almost entirely outside the syllabus.

How this list is ordered: Ordered by each university's QS World University Rankings position where it has one, then by research citations recorded by OpenAlex; one programme per university, and universities with neither measure are left out.

Full time or part time
Full time148 40%Full or part time219 60%

Same 367 records.

When these programmes start
Fall123 50%Spring122 50%October1 0%

Counted from the intake stated on 124 of 367 records. A programme listing more than one intake is counted under each.

1 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

Carnegie Mellon University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2026#65
  • Research citations17,727,847

Carnegie Mellon frames mechanical engineering as making the physical connections through which machines meet the world.

Students learn to read a situation, then turn a concept into something reliable that can actually be built to a price. Robotics and control systems tend to be strong wherever the computing faculty is strong, and here it is among the strongest anywhere.

Full programme details →

2 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

University of Wisconsin - Madison

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2026#110
  • Research citations44,392,721

Mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a large public research university in a state with a substantial manufacturing base.

Regional industry shapes who recruits on campus, and in the upper Midwest that means manufacturing, agricultural equipment and car suppliers.

Full programme details →

3 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

Rice University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2026#119
  • Research citations10,963,903

Rice keeps its mechanical programme small, which in engineering shows up in laboratory access and design-team size rather than in the syllabus.

Theory and application are combined throughout, across the range of subjects the discipline requires. Houston's energy and aerospace employers sit next door, which shapes both the project work and the internships.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Project Manager in Engineering
  • Quality Assurance Engineer
  • Research Scientist in Mechanical Fields
  • Consultant in Mechanical Engineering

Full programme details →

4 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2026#281
  • Research citations34,908,078

Mechanical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh's Johnstown campus. Branch campuses generally cost less and teach in smaller groups while awarding the same degree.

At any branch campus, whether the later years are taught there or at the main campus is the practical question.

Full programme details →

5 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

Case Western Reserve University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2026#294
  • Research citations17,257,367

Mechanical engineering at Case Western Reserve University, where engineering sits alongside strong medical research.

Where engineering and medicine are close together, biomechanics and medical device work are often available as options — a genuinely different direction for a mechanical engineer.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Project Manager in Engineering

Full programme details →

6 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

Tufts University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2026#334
  • Research citations13,111,207

Tufts teaches engineering inside a liberal arts institution, which produces a broader degree with fewer narrow options.

Mechanics, thermodynamics and materials form the technical core, aimed at solving problems rather than reciting theory. Graduates are pointed towards research and development work, consultancy, and graduate study in engineering.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Research and Development Engineer
  • Consultant in Engineering Firms
  • Graduate Studies in Engineering or Related Fields

Full programme details →

7 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

Colorado State University-Fort Collins

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2025#442
  • Research citations10,163,291

Mechanical engineering at Colorado State University, a large public land-grant university with research strengths in energy and infrastructure.

Land-grant universities usually have strong links with industry and state agencies, which matters for internships in engineering.

Full programme details →

9 Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Washington State University at Vancouver

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2025#466
  • Research citations7,838,804

A Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering at Washington State University's Vancouver campus.

Branch campuses typically cost less and teach in smaller groups. Accreditation applies to a specific degree at a specific campus, which is what employers and graduate schools look at.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Research and Development Engineer

Full programme details →

10 Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

University of Alaska - Fairbanks

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2023#467
  • Research citations2,178,269

Mechanical engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where cold regions, remote infrastructure and energy in isolated communities are genuine research areas.

That focus is unusual and useful for engineering anywhere with a cold climate.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Research and Development Engineer

Full programme details →

11 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

University of Hawaii at Manoa

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2025#488
  • Research citations5,966,195

Mechanical engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where renewable energy and ocean engineering are natural specialisms.

Island energy systems are a live engineering problem. The cost of living in Hawaii is high, which belongs in the calculation.

Entry requirements, as the university states them

  • A strong background in mathematics, physics, and chemistry.
  • Completion of secondary education or equivalent qualifications.
  • High school diploma with relevant coursework in STEM subjects.
  • Performance on standardized tests may also be required.
  • IELTS score of 6.5 or higher.

Full programme details →

12 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

Colorado School of Mines

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2025#501
  • Research citations2,055,920

Mechanical engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, a specialist institution in engineering, earth sciences and energy.

Institutions like this usually have close industry links in energy, resources and materials, and a strongly technical student culture.

Full programme details →

13 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering Science

CUNY Hostos Community College

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2024#545
  • Research citations4,302,690

This course is at CUNY Hostos Community College, and community colleges do not award engineering bachelor's degrees — so despite the four years shown, it is almost certainly a two-year transfer course.

That is a legitimate and much cheaper start to an engineering degree, with the second half taken at a four-year university.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Project Manager in Engineering
  • Research and Development Engineer
  • Quality Assurance Engineer

Full programme details →

14 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

Lehigh University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • QS World 2024#548
  • Research citations2,348,469

Lehigh's syllabus is unusually specific. Thermodynamics and control systems sit beside the mechanics of solids and fluids, with engineering materials and the design of products for manufacture alongside.

Every junior also completes a manufacturing course, which forces design decisions to meet the reality of making the thing.

The named work covers building and running machinery, and managing systems for energy conversion, material transport and the control of motion and force.

Also named for this programme

  • Design, create, and operate types of machinery
  • Manage systems for energy conversion
  • Manage systems for material transport
  • Manage the control of motions and forces
  • Work in industries including aerospace, transportation, bioengineering, communications, electronics, computers, energy, environment, machinery, and manufacturing

Full programme details →

15 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

Northwestern University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations36,668,431

Mechanical engineering at Northwestern University, a private research university with a major engineering school.

No QS position is recorded for the university here, which affects its position on the page rather than describing the programme.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Product Development Engineer

Full programme details →

16 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

University of Alabama at Birmingham

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations16,536,534

Mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a public research university with substantial medical and biomedical research alongside.

Where engineering and medicine share a campus, biomedical device and biomechanics options are often open to mechanical engineers.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Project Manager in Engineering
  • Research and Development Engineer

Full programme details →

17 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

University of Missouri

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations9,249,078

Missouri's degree runs through the standard technical foundations, with thermodynamics and fluid mechanics named first.

The state's manufacturing and transport industries supply the internship and project material, which keeps the coursework close to practice. Note that the same university is held twice under different names, so the two listings are one programme.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Project Manager in Engineering
  • Research and Development Engineer

Full programme details →

18 Bachelor Mechanical Engineering

University of Missouri-Columbia

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration4 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations9,249,078

This is the Columbia campus record for that same Missouri programme, listed separately under the campus name.

The curriculum covers a diverse range of engineering principles and the practices built on them.

Large public engineering schools commonly admit to a general first year and then select for the major, which decides at what point your place in mechanical engineering is actually settled.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Research and Development Engineer

Full programme details →

19 Mechanical Engineering, B.S.

Saint Louis University · St. Louis

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Starts4 years
  • Research citations3,784,936

Saint Louis states this degree as 122 credits instead of a number of years, which makes the workload easier to compare against other programmes.

It is taught in the Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, built around hands-on work with fluids and thermal systems alongside the theory.

International applicants must demonstrate English proficiency and provide proof of financial support, including a letter from the sponsor and bank confirmation that the funds are available.

Entry requirements, as the university states them

  • Demonstrate English Language Proficiency
  • Proof of financial support must include:A letter of financial support from the person(s) or sponsoring agency funding the time at Saint Louis University
  • A letter from the sponsor's bank verifying that the funds are available and will be so for the duration of study at the University

Full programme details →

20 Mechanical Engineering, BS

George Mason University · Virginia

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Starts4 years
  • Research citations3,442,295

Mechanical engineering at George Mason University, in the Washington area, where the engineering job market is dominated by government, defence and systems contractors.

That concentration shapes recruiting and internships more than most applicants expect. No length is recorded for this course.

Entry requirements, as the university states them

  • Admission. Candidates must have been officially admitted into degree-seeking status.
  • Credit Hours. Students must complete at least 120 credits that count toward graduation and fulfill all degree requirements. A few programs require more than the minimum 120 credits.
  • Quality. Candidates must achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher, and must meet all higher standards for grades allowable in majors, minors, or certificates. The Mason cumulative GPA does not include transfer courses.

Full programme details →

Mechanical engineering in the USA: common questions

Do I need an ABET-accredited degree?

In practice, yes. Most mechanical engineers never hold a professional licence because of the industry exemption, but employers and graduate admissions use accreditation as a filter, and it is the precondition for licensure if you ever need it. It is not recorded in this list — check the accreditor's own directory for the specific degree.

What is the difference between co-op and an internship?

An internship is a summer position you find yourself; co-op is formal alternating periods of full-time paid work built into the degree, usually extending it by a term or a year. Co-op graduates leave with a year or more of engineering experience and often with an offer. Neither is recorded here, so ask each department directly.

Should I take the fundamentals examination?

Yes, in your final year, whether or not you intend to be licensed. It is much easier while the coursework is fresh, it costs nothing to have passed it, and it keeps the licensure route open if you later move into consulting or any work where you sign off on designs for the public.

Is a community college route into engineering viable?

Yes, and one entry here looks like exactly that — a transfer programme rather than a bachelor's degree, despite the recorded four years. It is a much cheaper first two years. Confirm with the college what it awards and, crucially, with the receiving university whether the credit counts towards the mechanical engineering major.

Can I study mechanical engineering online?

Not a full undergraduate degree, realistically. Laboratory work, shop access and the team capstone project cannot be delivered remotely, and every entry here is recorded as on campus and full time. Individual courses are widely available online, and part-time study is more achievable than distance study — ask the department.

Other subjects in USA

Browse every Mechanical Engineering programme in USA →