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.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 3 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Iowa ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 548 degrees in mechanical engineering to qualified students.
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.
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 Schools in Iowa list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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 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.
Every student who is interested in mechanical engineering needs to check out Iowa State University. Iowa State is a very large public university located in the small city of Ames. This university ranks 2nd out of 37 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were about 406 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the me program make around $75,119 in the first couple years of working.
University of Iowa is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.
There were roughly 104 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Iowa 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 income of $71,732.
Every student pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering needs to look into Saint Ambrose University. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Davenport. This university ranks 11th out of 37 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were roughly 19 mechanical engineering students who graduated with this degree at St. Ambrose University in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, me degree recipients typically earn around $73,622 in the first five years of their career.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
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.
