If you plan on majoring in general engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #79 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
College Factual looked at 8 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best General Engineering Schools in Virginia ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 720 degrees in general engineering to qualified students.
Your choice of general engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall General Engineering School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best General Engineering Schools in Virginia list to help you make the college decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The schools below may not offer all types of engineering degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
James Madison University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in general engineering. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means JMU is a great university overall.
There were about 67 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at JMU in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, engineering degree recipients generally earn around $71,176 at the beginning of their careers.
Northern Virginia Community College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in general engineering. Northern Virginia Community College is a very large public college located in the suburb of Annandale. A Best Colleges rank of #205 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northern Virginia Community College is a great college overall.
There were about 216 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northern Virginia Community College in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, engineering degree recipients generally make about $16,790 in their early careers.
Old Dominion University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in general engineering. Old Dominion is a very large public university located in the city of Norfolk. A Best Colleges rank of #495 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Old Dominion is a great university overall.
There were approximately 137 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Old Dominion in the most recent data year. General Engineering degree recipients from Old Dominion University receive an earnings boost of approximately $10,294 above the typical earnings of general engineering graduates.
Virginia Western Community College is a great decision for students interested in a degree in general engineering. Virginia Western Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the small city of Roanoke. This college ranks 45th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 27 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Western Community College in the most recent data year.
VCU is a very large public university located in the city of Richmond. A Best Colleges rank of #189 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means VCU is a great university overall.
There were about 24 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at VCU in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of Norfolk, Tidewater Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 32nd out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 76 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Tidewater Community College in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the engineering program report average early career wages of $68,555.
Reynolds Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Richmond. This college ranks 43rd out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 22 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at Reynolds Community College in the most recent year we have data available.
TNCC is a moderately-sized public college located in the suburb of Hampton. This college ranks 48th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 25 general engineering students who graduated with this degree at TNCC in the most recent data year.
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 Rémi Kaupp.
Your choice of general engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall General Engineering School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
