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2025 Best Engineering Schools in Illinois

10 Colleges in Illinois
6,309 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$76,684 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #7 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual reviewed 10 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of engineering. Combined, these schools handed out 6,309 degrees in engineering to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Engineering School

Best Engineering Schools in Illinois The engineering program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Engineering rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for 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.

Pick Your Engineering Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Engineering
Bachelor's Degrees in Engineering
Master's Degrees in Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Engineering

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Engineering Schools in Illinois 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 want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Engineering in Illinois

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

10 Top Illinois Schools in Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
731 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$102,262 Median Starting Salary

Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in engineering. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very 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 731 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the engineering major at Northwestern University earn $25,577 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in engineering from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2,541 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$81,662 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in engineering has to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 2541 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the engineering major at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign make $4,977 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
884 Engineering Degrees Awarded
0.8% Growth in Graduates

University of Illinois at Chicago is a good option for students pursuing a degree in engineering. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #254 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 884 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the engineering program state that they receive average early career earnings of $67,185.

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

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
547 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$69,173 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in engineering needs to look into Illinois Institute of Technology. Illinois Tech is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago. This school ranks 23rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 547 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 engineering program make about $69,173 for their early career.

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

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
176 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$71,486 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 colleges nationwide means Bradley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 176 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the engineering program make about $71,486 for their early career.

More information about a degree in engineering from Bradley University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Engineering Degrees Awarded
5.9% Growth in Graduates

Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais. This university ranks 34th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 51 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Olivet Nazarene in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the engineering program state that they receive average early career income of $66,394.

More information about a degree in engineering from Olivet Nazarene University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
255 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$72,781 Median Starting Salary

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

There were roughly 255 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 engineering program report average early career earnings of $72,781.

More information about a degree in engineering from Northern Illinois University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$68,020 Median Starting Salary

Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were about 37 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the engineering program earn around $68,020 for their early career.

More information about a degree in engineering from Loyola University Chicago

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
300 Engineering Degrees Awarded
0.3% Growth in Graduates

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

There were roughly 300 engineering students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, engineering degree recipients generally make around $70,329 in the first five years of their career.

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

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
194 Engineering Degrees Awarded
1.0% 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 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 194 engineering students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, engineering degree recipients generally earn about $68,161 in the first five years of their career.

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

Best Engineering Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Indiana 38 5,328
Michigan 38 8,498
Ohio 38 8,341
Wisconsin 37 3,379

View All Rankings >

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 1,248
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

View All Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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