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2024 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

8 Colleges in Illinois
837 Bachelor's Degrees
$64,841 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #17 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 8 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 837 bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois Your choice of mechanical engineering for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. 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

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 Mechanical Engineering in Illinois

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in ME

1
65 Annual Graduates
$70,936 Median Starting Salary
$15,334 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat Northwestern University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Northwestern University earn a boost of about $6,095 over the average income of mechanical engineering graduates.

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

2
210 Annual Graduates
$68,804 Median Starting Salary
$20,500 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $3,963 more than the average me student.

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

3
87 Annual Graduates
$63,252 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Illinois Institute of Technology is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Illinois Tech is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the me program earn around $63,252 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology

4
155 Annual Graduates
$60,931 Median Starting Salary
$21,500 Median Student Debt

University of Illinois at Chicago is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the me program report average early career earnings of $60,931.

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

5
79 Annual Graduates
$66,802 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Peoria.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the me program state that they receive average early career earnings of $66,802.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Bradley University

6
49 Annual Graduates
$63,097 Median Starting Salary
$24,250 Median Student Debt

SIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Carbondale.

Soon after graduation, me bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $63,097 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

7
120 Annual Graduates
$64,752 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the me program state that they receive average early career income of $64,752.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Northern Illinois University

8
61 Annual Graduates
$60,153 Median Starting Salary
$23,110 Median Student Debt

SIUE is a large public university located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the me program report average early career wages of $60,153.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 1,905
Ohio 252 1,701
Indiana 235 1,054
Wisconsin 213 759

View All Rankings >

Mechanical Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

ME Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Mechanical Engineering 837

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Engineering 617
Electrical Engineering 529
Civil Engineering 446
Chemical Engineering 304
Industrial Engineering 255
Biomedical Engineering 221
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 136
Agricultural Engineering 103
Materials Engineering 92
Engineering Physics 86

Notes and References

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