50-50 Highlights: Colleges with the Most Engineering Graduates

Photo of engineers for most engineering graduatesStudents interested in majoring in engineering don’t have the luxury of waiting several semesters before starting work in their major. The demanding sequence of courses requires students to begin major requirements as freshman. Even starting as freshman, engineering majors often take more than four years to graduate.

Furthermore, many engineering programs have large, well-developed cooperative programs where students alternate semesters between working in engineering and attending class. These programs generally require a minimum of five years to complete a four-year degree although there are a few exceptions.

Because of the demanding courses and timeline, in the past engineering students had to forgo opportunities for studying abroad. There were few program that provided students with the necessary coursework that would transfer and apply to their engineering degree.

That is no longer the case as an increasing number of colleges and universities offer engineering majors the chance to study abroad without losing any time in completing their degree. LSU‘s Encounter Engineering in Europe allows students to study abroad in Germany.  At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, engineering students can minor in international engineering and study abroad in France, Spain, and Japan. Both Kansas State University and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville provide grants to engineering students to study abroad. Other universities with study abroad programs for engineering students include:

It’s not just the chance to study abroad that has changed. Engineering programs now have opportunities for entrepreneurship, research, applied humanities, and community development.

Of course, potential engineering majors have plenty to do in just deciding what type of engineering to study. There are over 50 different engineering programs. Students will need to pay close attention which engineering majors are offered by a university as well as their accreditation.

The following is a listing of the 50-50 schools with the most engineering graduates as well as the highest percentage of engineering graduates. All of the schools are ABET accredited (except for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy) but you will need to look-up the specific programs. The four-year graduation rate is used for private schools and the five-year rate for public schools.

50-50 Colleges with the Most Engineering Graduates
Name Type State Full-time Under-grads 4/5 yr Grad Rate Engineering % Engineering % Freshman Receiving Pell Grants Avg Net Price After Gift Aid (2014-2015)
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Private IN 2,240 68 399 80 14 $40,198
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Private MA 4,158 76 689 66 12 $39,011
Missouri University of Science and Technology Public MO 6,168 55 862 66 23 $13,910
Michigan Technological University Public MI 5,330 58 662 57 24 $16,631
Clarkson University Private NY 3,185 52 415 54 24 $29,666
Maine Maritime Academy Public ME 968 57 101 47 29 $21,070
Massachusetts Maritime Academy Public MA 1,506 69 125 44 18 $13,673
SUNY Maritime College Public NY 1,630 52 126 38 19 $16,813
Manhattan College Private NY 3,384 59 204 27 27 $32,502
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg Public PA 3,439 61 189 26 27 $20,593
North Carolina State University at Raleigh Public NC 21,023 71 1353 24 21 $13,575
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Public VA 24,841 80 1463 24 15 $18,398
Marietta College Private OH 1,177 56 72 24 35 $23,539
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College Public PA 3,955 66 160 23 28 $22,218
Virginia Military Institute Public VA 1,717 72 88 23 15 $15,197
Purdue University-Main Campus Public IN 28,682 70 1629 22 17 $11,643
Clemson University Public SC 17,238 78 740 19 15 $16,622
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Public IL 31,989 83 1638 19 21 $16,841
Iowa State University Public IA 28,771 68 1155 19 20 $13,647
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona Public PA 3,684 66 62 18 29 $22,318
Auburn University Public AL 19,738 68 788 17 14 $21,457
Citadel Military College of South Carolina Public SC 2,461 65 100 16 27 $17,162
The California Maritime Academy Public CA 1,038 55 30 16 27 $14,788
Arizona State University-Polytechnic Public AZ 3,210 51 109 15 32 $12,983
Wentworth Institute of Technology Private MA 3,902 49 108 15 28 $34,057
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus Public PA 39,520 83 1637 15 13 $24,992
Bradley University Private IL 4,222 53 177 15 22 $27,211
Ohio Northern University Private OH 2,143 50 65 15 26 $23,355
University of California-Merced Public CA 6,164 66 161 15 62 $13,350
University of Massachusetts-Lowell Public MA 9,830 50 357 15 26 $17,035
Oregon State University Public OR 18,493 58 704 15 29 $17,706
University of Dayton Private OH 8,205 62 277 14 14 $31,252
North Dakota State University-Main Campus Public ND 10,676 49 349 14 21 $14,654
University of Portland Private OR 3,698 71 132 14 20 $31,880
Mississippi State University Public MS 16,023 54 441 14 32 $15,426
Ohio State University-Main Campus Public OH 41,117 80 1490 14 17 $18,502
Texas A & M University-College Station Public TX 43,531 76 1427 14 24 $13,723
University at Buffalo Public NY 18,452 70 679 14 31 $15,306
West Virginia University Public WV 20,532 52 595 13 27 $10,405
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks Public PA 2,602 58 42 13 37 $20,967
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Public LA 23,602 60 605 13 22 $13,552
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Public NY 1,726 73 49 12 24 $17,813
Santa Clara University Private CA 5,303 77 189 12 11 $37,198
University of Maine Public ME 8,120 52 196 12 36 $15,958
Gonzaga University Private WA 4,974 73 156 12 14 $32,111
Texas Tech University Public TX 26,121 55 633 11 23 $15,005
University of Illinois at Chicago Public IL 16,176 55 427 11 55 $11,494
University of Minnesota-Duluth Public MN 8,621 56 233 11 25 $15,653
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Hazleton Public PA 725 51 5 11 49 $19,606
Cedarville University Private OH 3,014 50 80 11 26 $22,721
University of Colorado Boulder Public CO 25,059 67 626 11 16 $21,248
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Public PA 17,887 80 557 11 15 $24,311
Washington State University Public WA 21,384 60 582 11 33 $17,929
University of Hartford Private CT 4,533 49 107 11 33 $30,328
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Public OK 18,133 61 447 10 21 $16,909
Rutgers University-New Brunswick Public NJ 33,392 77 789 10 28 $15,869
Kansas State University Public KS 17,935 56 395 10 22 $17,022
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Public OK 18,347 56 421 10 29 $14,222
The University of Texas at Dallas Public TX 12,754 62 315 10 28 $8,978
50-50 Highlights: Colleges with the Most Engineering Graduates

4 thoughts on “50-50 Highlights: Colleges with the Most Engineering Graduates”

  1. This is great information, Michelle. I also know a student that early on determined to look at 3-2 engineering dual degree programs where the student spends 3 years at a liberal arts college to get the distribution requirements out of the way and play sports and then 2 years at a prestigious engineering school. The student graduates with two bachelor degrees, one in science or math from the liberal arts school and the second in engineering from the second school. She is also planning to do graduate work in engineering.

    For example, Georgia Tech is on both lists. If a student decides he wishes to earn a Georgia Tech engineering degree, he should also go to http://www.coe.gatech.edu/content/dual-degree to research one or more of the 35 liberal arts and community colleges where he can also earn a science or math liberal arts degree. Many of the liberal arts colleges give high merit scholarship awards to pre-engineering students. In the meantime, they can continue to play sports on a NCAA Division 2 or 3 level or be a significant participant in other clubs and activities. Finally, many students will enjoy starting their college experience in the cooperative atmosphere of a small school.

  2. I hadn’t considered the athletic perspective on 3-2 programs. Unfortunately, too many athlete don’t give the academics aspects of a program the consideration they deserve.

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