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2025 Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

27 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
2,255 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
$73,817 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in chemical engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #70 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 27 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,255 degrees in chemical engineering annually.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Chemical Engineering School

Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of chemical engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Chemical Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Chemical Engineering Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Chem Eng
Master's Degrees in Chem Eng
Doctor's Degrees in Chem Eng

The chem eng school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Chemical Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the chem eng degree levels they offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Chem Eng

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
131 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
$79,551 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you want to pursue a degree in chemical engineering. U-M is a very large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were approximately 131 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the chemical engineering program at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $5,734 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
20.0% Growth in Graduates

Northwestern University is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in chemical engineering. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 60 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from Northwestern University earn $6,892 more than the standard chem eng graduate.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
189 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
4.2% Growth in Graduates

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in chemical engineering. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 189 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Chemical Engineering degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn a boost of approximately $3,623 above the typical earnings of chemical engineering majors.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
111 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
20.7% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Notre Dame if you want to pursue a degree in chemical engineering. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were roughly 111 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Chemical Engineering degree recipients from University of Notre Dame receive an earnings boost of around $9,560 above the typical income of chemical engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from University of Notre Dame

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
219 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
$81,105 Median Starting Salary

Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were about 219 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from Purdue University - Main Campus make $7,288 more than the average chem eng student.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
129 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
6.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 129 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Chemical Engineering degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn a boost of approximately $12,128 over the average earnings of chemical engineering majors.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
228 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
12.3% Growth in Graduates

Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 228 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the chemical engineering program at Ohio State University - Main Campus earn $3,638 above the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from Ohio State University - Main Campus

8
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
$79,023 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 112 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Chemical Engineering degree recipients from Michigan State University get an earnings boost of around $5,206 above the typical income of chemical engineering majors.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from Michigan State University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
98 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
$80,193 Median Starting Salary

Located in the remote town of Houghton, Michigan Tech is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 56 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 98 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Michigan Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the chemical engineering major at Michigan Technological University get $6,376 above the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from Michigan Technological University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
54 Chem Eng Degrees Awarded
$83,706 Median Starting Salary

Case Western is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cleveland. A Best Colleges rank of #116 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Case Western is a great university overall.

There were about 54 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Case Western in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the chemical engineering degree program at Case Western Reserve University get $9,889 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in chemical engineering from Case Western Reserve University

Best Chemical Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best chemical engineering colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 523
Ohio 314 764
Illinois 304 442
Indiana 294 381
Wisconsin 273 147

View All Rankings >

Chemical Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

Chem Eng Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Chemical Engineering 2,169
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering 86

View All Chem Eng Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 7,839
Electrical Engineering 4,071
Computer Engineering 3,068
Civil Engineering 2,640
Biomedical Engineering 1,942
Industrial Engineering 1,686
General Engineering 1,677
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,443
Materials Engineering 731
Other Engineering 540

View All Chem Eng Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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