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2024 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

65 Colleges in the Southeast Region
8,016 Bachelor's Degrees
$63,385 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 reviewed 65 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of mechanical engineering. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 8,016 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 the Southeast Region 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 good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different 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 complete 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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More ME Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 the Southeast Region

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

10 Top Southeast Region Schools for a Bachelor's in ME

1
510 Annual Graduates
$69,872 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus is a wonderful option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Atlanta.

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus earn a boost of approximately $6,487 over the typical earnings of mechanical engineering graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

2
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
90 Annual Graduates
$71,314 Median Starting Salary
$10,000 Median Student Debt

Duke University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from Duke University get an earnings boost of about $7,929 over the typical income of mechanical engineering graduates.

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

3
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
49 Annual Graduates
$69,605 Median Starting Salary
$14,000 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering has to look into Vanderbilt University. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering degree program at Vanderbilt University get $6,220 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

4
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
376 Annual Graduates
$68,574 Median Starting Salary
$23,000 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Virginia Tech if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech receive $5,189 more than the standard me graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech

5
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
373 Annual Graduates
$67,197 Median Starting Salary
$18,131 Median Student Debt

UF is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Gainesville.

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Florida earn a boost of around $3,812 above the typical earnings of mechanical engineering majors.

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

6
Clemson crest
Clemson University
Clemson, SC
288 Annual Graduates
$66,398 Median Starting Salary
$24,125 Median Student Debt

Clemson is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Clemson.

Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering program at Clemson University get $3,013 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

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

7
285 Annual Graduates
$64,232 Median Starting Salary
$24,250 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population.

Soon after graduating, me bachelor's recipients usually earn about $64,232 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University

8
Auburn crest
Auburn University
Auburn, AL
252 Annual Graduates
$67,127 Median Starting Salary
$24,514 Median Student Debt

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

Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Auburn University make $3,742 more than the typical me student.

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

9
155 Annual Graduates
$67,222 Median Starting Salary
$23,250 Median Student Debt

UT Knoxville is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Knoxville.

Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering program at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville get $3,837 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

10
343 Annual Graduates
$65,760 Median Starting Salary
$24,755 Median Student Debt

UA is a very large public university located in the small city of Tuscaloosa.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Alabama make $2,375 more than the average me student.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from The University of Alabama

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Mechanical Engineering students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
12 University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
13 Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS
14 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
15 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA
16 Florida International University Miami, FL

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best mechanical engineering colleges for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 225 1,787
Georgia 224 1,106
Tennessee 220 538
North Carolina 213 703
Virginia 213 857
South Carolina 195 586
Kentucky 187 330
Alabama 184 922
Louisiana 171 441
Mississippi 169 280
Arkansas 167 274
West Virginia 147 192

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 8,016

Related Major Annual Graduates
Civil Engineering 3,589
Electrical Engineering 3,355
Computer Engineering 2,475
Chemical Engineering 2,172
Biomedical Engineering 1,854
Industrial Engineering 1,714
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,652
General Engineering 682
Systems Engineering 358
Environmental Engineering 346

Notes and References

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