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2025 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in North Carolina

4 Colleges in North Carolina
789 ME Degrees Awarded
$76,023 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in mechanical engineering, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #21 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in North Carolina to determine which ones were the best for mechanical engineering students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 789 degrees in mechanical engineering annually.

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

Choosing a Great Mechanical Engineering School

Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in North Carolina Your choice of mechanical engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Mechanical Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

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 North Carolina list to help you make the college decision. 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 Mechanical Engineering in North Carolina

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the me degree levels they offer.

Top North Carolina Schools in ME

1
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
120 ME Degrees Awarded
$89,938 Median Starting Salary

Duke University is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.

There were approximately 120 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Mechanical Engineering degree recipients from Duke University earn a boost of around $13,915 above the average earnings of mechanical engineering majors.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from Duke University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
352 ME Degrees Awarded
$73,866 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in mechanical engineering has to look into North Carolina State University. Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #122 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 352 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the me program state that they receive average early career earnings of $73,866.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
219 ME Degrees Awarded
$69,178 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in mechanical engineering has to check out University of North Carolina at Charlotte. UNC Charlotte is a very large public university located in the large city of Charlotte. This university ranks 10th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 219 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UNC Charlotte in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, me degree recipients typically earn an average of $69,178 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from University of North Carolina at Charlotte

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
94 ME Degrees Awarded
$72,278 Median Starting Salary

North Carolina A & T State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the city of Greensboro, NC A&T is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 51st out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 94 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at NC A&T in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, me degree recipients typically earn about $72,278 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina A & T State University

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 1,418
Florida 282 2,198
Virginia 274 947
Tennessee 269 603
South Carolina 248 715
Kentucky 244 391
Louisiana 242 453
Mississippi 234 309
Arkansas 234 280
Alabama 233 1,019
West Virginia 207 217

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 789

View All ME Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Engineering 658
Electrical Engineering 589
Biomedical Engineering 578
Computer Engineering 541
Civil Engineering 381
Textile Engineering 296
Chemical Engineering 266
Industrial Engineering 193
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 94
Materials Engineering 88

View All ME Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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