2025 Best Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region
10
Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
731
Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded
$75,977
Avg Early-Career Salary
Materials Engineering is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #154 most popular degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for materials engineering students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 731 degrees in materials engineering to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Materials Engineering School
Your choice of materials engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Materials 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.
Materials Engineering Rankings by Degree Level
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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.
Read more about College Factual's methodology.
Best Schools for Materials Engineering in the Great Lakes Region
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 materials engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.
10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Materials Engineering
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In IL
66
Materials Engineering Degrees Awarded
Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in materials engineering. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 66 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from Northwestern University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in materials engineering. Located in the small 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 123 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the materials engineering program make an average of $75,080 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Purdue University - Main Campus is a good decision for students interested in a degree in materials engineering. Purdue is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. This university ranks 3rd out of 41 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were roughly 114 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Those materials engineering students who get their degree from Purdue University - Main Campus receive $2,288 more than the average materials engineering graduate.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in materials engineering. U-M is a very large public university located in the medium-sized 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 about 74 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, materials engineering degree recipients usually make around $75,041 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ohio State is a very large public university located in the city of Columbus. This university ranks 1st out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 94 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, materials engineering degree recipients typically make an average of $70,371 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from Ohio State University - Main Campus
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 85 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, materials engineering degree recipients typically earn an average of $76,662 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison
Located in the town of Houghton, Michigan Tech is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 56 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were roughly 33 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Michigan Tech in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the materials engineering program earn around $63,135 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from Michigan Technological University
UDayton is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Dayton. This university ranks 8th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 26 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UDayton in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from University of Dayton
Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 28 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the materials engineering major at Michigan State University get $2,299 above the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from Michigan State University
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
5th
Most Popular In OH
UC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Cincinnati. This university ranks 6th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were roughly 13 materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in materials engineering from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
