2025 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Ranked #17 in popularity,
mechanical engineering is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 56 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 5,763 bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Mechanical Engineering School for Your Bachelor's Degree
The me bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality me program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
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 Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to mechanical engineering students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other mechanical engineering students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How much debt mechanical engineering students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized mechanical engineering related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.
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.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Mechanical Engineering in the Great Lakes Region
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
11 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in ME
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a great choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.
Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor get $10,525 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering has to check out Purdue University - Main Campus. Purdue is a very large public university located in the city of West Lafayette.
Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering program at Purdue University - Main Campus make $8,076 above the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Purdue University - Main Campus
University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.
Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison get an earnings boost of around $2,313 over the typical earnings of mechanical engineering majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Notre Dame receive an earnings boost of approximately $12,701 above the average earnings of mechanical engineering graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Notre Dame
Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering major at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign make $7,889 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
