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2025 Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

22 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,120 Bachelor's Degrees
$74,112 Avg Early-Career Salary
Industrial Engineering is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #71 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 22 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,120 bachelor's degrees in industrial engineering during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Industrial Engineering School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The ie bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for industrial engineering students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More IE Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Industrial Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.

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 Bachelor’s Students to Study Industrial Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for industrial engineering students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in IE

1

Northwestern University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.

Bachelor's recipients from the industrial engineering major at Northwestern University make $15,699 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Northwestern University

2
138 Annual Graduates
$86,476 Median Starting Salary
$58,067 Median Student Debt

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

Bachelor's recipients from the industrial engineering program at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $12,364 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

3
269 Annual Graduates
$81,379 Median Starting Salary
$32,000 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat Purdue University - Main Campus if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering. Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette.

Bachelor's recipients from the industrial engineering program at Purdue University - Main Campus make $7,267 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus

4

University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Industrial Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive an earnings boost of about $6,323 above the typical earnings of industrial engineering graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison

5
149 Annual Graduates
$80,876 Median Starting Salary
$29,077 Median Student Debt

Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Columbus.

Industrial Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Ohio State University - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of about $6,764 above the typical income of industrial engineering majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Ohio State University - Main Campus

6

Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population.

Those industrial engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive $4,201 more than the average ie grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

7

Located in the city of Flint, Kettering is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Those industrial engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Kettering University make $10,993 more than the standard ie graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Kettering University

8

UIC is a very large public university located in the large city of Chicago.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the ie program state that they receive average early career earnings of $57,281.

More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from University of Illinois at Chicago

9
21 Annual Graduates

UM Dearborn is a moderately-sized public university located in the midsize city of Dearborn.More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from University of Michigan - Dearborn

10

Wayne State is a very large public university located in the large city of Detroit.

Those industrial engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Wayne State University make $3,703 more than the standard ie graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Wayne State University

Best Industrial Engineering Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 298
Ohio 252 212
Illinois 241 255
Indiana 235 277
Wisconsin 213 207

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One of 41 majors within the Engineering area of study, Industrial Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

IE Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Industrial Engineering 1,120

Majors Similar to IE

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 5,763
Computer Engineering 2,681
Electrical Engineering 2,646
Civil Engineering 1,943
Chemical Engineering 1,670
Biomedical Engineering 1,409
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 877
General Engineering 467
Materials Engineering 368
Agricultural Engineering 286

Notes and References

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