Chemical Engineering is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #70 most popular degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual reviewed 154 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of chemical engineering. Combined, these schools handed out 12,917 degrees in chemical engineering to qualified students.
Your choice of chemical engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for chemical engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
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.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Chemical Engineering in the United States
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the chem eng degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It's hard to beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology if you wish to pursue a degree in chemical engineering. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #1 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means MIT is a great school overall.
There were approximately 84 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at MIT in the most recent year we have data available. Chemical Engineering degree recipients from Massachusetts Institute of Technology get an earnings boost of around $15,654 over the average income of chemical engineering graduates.
It is difficult to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you wish to pursue a degree in chemical engineering. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. This university ranks 1st out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were roughly 177 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor make $9,329 more than the standard chem eng graduate.
Stanford University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in chemical engineering. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.
There were roughly 65 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year.
Carnegie Mellon University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in chemical engineering. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.
There were roughly 126 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the chemical engineering degree program at Carnegie Mellon University make $14,852 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were approximately 48 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the chem eng program report average early career earnings of $66,484.
Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 48 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the chemical engineering program at Northwestern University make $5,737 more than the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Houston. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Rice is a great university overall.
There were approximately 46 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Rice in the most recent year we have data available. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from Rice University earn $12,931 more than the average chem eng student.
Located in the large city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population. This school ranks 1st out of 68 colleges for overall quality in the state of Georgia.
There were approximately 241 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent data year. Chemical Engineering degree recipients from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus earn a boost of around $9,690 over the typical earnings of chemical engineering majors.
Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 42 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were approximately 88 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame make $7,248 more than the standard chem eng student.
Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Ithaca. This university ranks 3rd out of 142 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 131 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the chemical engineering major at Cornell University make $8,256 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the midsize city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were approximately 276 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent year we have data available. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from Texas A&M University - College Station receive $10,240 more than the standard chem eng grad.
Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Princeton. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Princeton is a great university overall.
There were approximately 52 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Princeton in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, chem eng degree recipients typically earn about $65,473 at the beginning of their careers.
Purdue is a very large public university located in the city of West Lafayette. This university ranks 2nd out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were about 237 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the chemical engineering program at Purdue University - Main Campus make $10,097 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 181 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign make $7,623 more than the average chem eng graduate.
Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were approximately 203 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the chemical engineering degree program at The University of Texas at Austin earn $11,438 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were approximately 121 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 around $6,640 over the average earnings of chemical engineering majors.
Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.
There were roughly 85 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent data year. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from Washington University in St Louis earn $8,043 more than the average chem eng grad.
Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were roughly 114 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, chem eng degree recipients typically make around $66,676 in their early careers.
Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.
There were about 37 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available. Chemical Engineering degree recipients from Vanderbilt University receive an earnings boost of approximately $8,101 over the average earnings of chemical engineering majors.
USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were about 68 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the chem eng program earn about $66,458 in the first couple years of their career.
UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were roughly 175 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the chem eng program make around $64,932 in their early career salary.
Located in the large suburb of Golden, Mines is a public school with a moderately-sized student population. This school ranks 1st out of 33 schools for overall quality in the state of Colorado.
There were approximately 154 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Mines in the most recent year we have data available. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from Colorado School of Mines receive $4,159 more than the standard chem eng grad.
University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Charlottesville. This university ranks 1st out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 64 chemical engineering students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent data year. Those chemical engineering students who get their degree from University of Virginia - Main Campus make $4,057 more than the typical chem eng graduate.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Chemical Engineering Schools award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Credit for the banner image above goes to Mikulova.
college factual
Your choice of chemical engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for chemical engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
