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2025 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois

9 Colleges in Illinois
1,248 ME Degrees Awarded
$76,023 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #21 in popularity, mechanical engineering is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 9 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of mechanical engineering. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,248 degrees in mechanical engineering annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Mechanical Engineering School

Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois Your choice of mechanical engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for mechanical engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Mechanical Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in ME
Master's Degrees in ME
Doctor's Degrees in ME

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 Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Mechanical Engineering in Illinois

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 me degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Illinois Schools in ME

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
125 ME Degrees Awarded
$77,020 Median Starting Salary

Northwestern University is a great decision for students interested in a degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 125 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the me program earn an average of $77,020 for their early career.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
370 ME Degrees Awarded
18.9% Growth in Graduates

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 370 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the mechanical engineering program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get $7,677 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
208 ME Degrees Awarded
$69,871 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of Illinois at Chicago if you want to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #254 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 208 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the me program report average early career earnings of $69,871.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from University of Illinois at Chicago

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
133 ME Degrees Awarded
$69,838 Median Starting Salary

Illinois Institute of Technology is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. This school ranks 23rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 133 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the me program make an average of $69,838 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
62 ME Degrees Awarded
$71,746 Median Starting Salary

Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Peoria. A Best Colleges rank of #519 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Bradley is a great university overall.

There were about 62 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the me program state that they receive average early career wages of $71,746.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Bradley University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
153 ME Degrees Awarded
11.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 20th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 153 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the me program state that they receive average early career earnings of $72,135.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Northern Illinois University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
91 ME Degrees Awarded
20.9% Growth in Graduates

SIUE is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Edwardsville. This university ranks 31st out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 91 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, me degree recipients usually make an average of $66,546 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 ME Degrees Awarded
9.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the distant town of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 36th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 67 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the me program earn about $69,454 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In IL
23.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 37th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 13 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at WIU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Western Illinois University

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 322 2,496
Ohio 314 2,106
Indiana 294 1,329
Wisconsin 273 855

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 1,248

View All ME Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to ME

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 815
Civil Engineering 707
Computer Engineering 639
Chemical Engineering 449
General Engineering 435
Biomedical Engineering 409
Industrial Engineering 365
Materials Engineering 214
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 196
Agricultural Engineering 142

View All ME Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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