Skip to content
CIP 14.1901 Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

43,556

2025 · 439 schools

International share

13.0%

5,677 international students

Bachelor's degrees

33,841

5.2% international

Master's degrees

7,493

38.5% international

Overview

Mechanical Engineering is a broad and versatile field that applies principles of engineering, physics, and materials science to design, analyze, manufacture, and maintain mechanical systems. This discipline encompasses a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, energy, robotics, and manufacturing.

Students pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering typically study subjects such as thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, materials science, dynamics, and mechanical design. These foundational courses equip students with the skills needed to solve complex engineering problems. Additionally, many programs offer hands-on experience through labs, internships, and projects, allowing students to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical settings.

Mechanical engineers play a crucial role in the development of new technologies and products. They are involved in the creation of everything from engines and machinery to heating and cooling systems. As innovation continues to drive industries forward, mechanical engineers are increasingly focusing on sustainable practices and energy-efficient designs, addressing global challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity.

Career opportunities for mechanical engineers are vast and varied. Graduates can work in research and development, quality control, project management, and product design. With the rise of automation and smart technologies, the demand for skilled mechanical engineers is expected to grow, making it a promising field for aspiring professionals. Overall, Mechanical Engineering offers a dynamic and rewarding career path for those passionate about technology and innovation.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates grew 149% and the international share went from 13.6% to 13.0%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
52.8%
Asian
9.9%
Hispanic
14.3%
Black
3.3%
Other
6.7%
Intl.
13.0%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 439 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

RankSchoolStateGraduatesInternational
#1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts 282 44
#2 Princeton University New Jersey 92 26
#3 Harvard University Massachusetts 34 8
#4 Yale University Connecticut 57 27
#5 California Institute of Technology California 71 15
#5 Stanford University California 234 70
#7 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 167 69
#8 Duke University North Carolina 161 30
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 147 40
#9 Johns Hopkins University Maryland 250 66
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 205 90
#14 Cornell University New York 271 43
#14 Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania 327 117
#16 Washington University in St Louis Missouri 167 25
#16 Brown University Rhode Island 33 3
#16 Vanderbilt University Tennessee 83 8
#16 Rice University Texas 90 15
#20 University of California-Berkeley California 474 163
#20 University of California-Los Angeles California 287 62
#20 University of Notre Dame Indiana 142 23
#25 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan 461 141
#26 University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia 90 2
#27 University of Southern California California 248 60
#29 University of California-San Diego California 372 100
#29 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Georgia 760 134
#31 Tufts University Massachusetts 108 15
#31 New York University New York 127 58
#34 University of California-Davis California 162 37
#34 University of California-Irvine California 306 60
#34 University of Florida Florida 368 48
#34 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois 446 168
#34 Boston University Massachusetts 268 50
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 417 37
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 309 54
#42 Northeastern University Massachusetts 374 71
#42 Villanova University Pennsylvania 98 4
#44 University of California-Santa Barbara California 116 8
#44 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey 206 12
#44 Case Western Reserve University Ohio 114 18
#44 Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio 303 35
#44 Lehigh University Pennsylvania 143 21
#49 University of Maryland-College Park Maryland 335 21
#49 University of Rochester New York 73 23
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington 276 60
#52 University of Georgia Georgia 206 2
#52 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia 407 67
#55 Santa Clara University California 84 6
#55 University of Miami Florida 44 14
#55 The Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania 464 77
#55 Purdue University-Main Campus Indiana 1,144 201
#59 George Washington University D.C. 63 22
#59 Florida State University Florida 123 15
#59 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Massachusetts 220 21
#59 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota 259 45
#59 Stevens Institute of Technology New Jersey 259 40
#59 Stony Brook University New York 158 43
#59 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania 216 37
#59 Texas A & M University-College Station Texas 610 101
#69 Michigan State University Michigan 275 35
#69 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute New York 222 35
#69 University of California-Merced California 131 11
#72 Syracuse University New York 76 12
#73 University of Connecticut Connecticut 213 14
#73 Howard University D.C. 19 4
#73 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Massachusetts 295 11
#73 Binghamton University New York 191 21
#73 North Carolina State University at Raleigh North Carolina 406 56
#80 University of California-Riverside California 148 17
#80 Colorado School of Mines Colorado 435 6
#80 Drexel University Pennsylvania 167 29
#80 Clemson University South Carolina 350 58
#85 University of Delaware Delaware 161 21
#85 New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey 174 21
#85 University at Buffalo New York 188 25
#85 Southern Methodist University Texas 52 6
#90 Baylor University Texas 103 17
#90 Gonzaga University Washington 50 2
#90 Marquette University Wisconsin 60 2
#95 University of Illinois at Chicago Illinois 216 50
#95 University of Missouri-Columbia Missouri 176 8
#95 Rochester Institute of Technology New York 275 13
#100 Auburn University Alabama 252 35
#100 University of San Diego California 51 1
#100 Florida International University Florida 181 22
#100 University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida 193 46
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 111 13
#100 Saint Louis University Missouri 27 1
#109 Loyola Marymount University California 42 4
#109 University of Colorado Boulder Colorado 394 53
#109 Fairfield University Connecticut 31 0
#109 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus New Hampshire 95 3
#109 Temple University Pennsylvania 66 11
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 241 16
#116 Iowa State University Iowa 362 39
#116 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma 110 21
#116 Brigham Young University-Provo Utah 250 7
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 479 145
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 123 8
#121 University of the Pacific California 29 3
#121 University of Denver Colorado 46 2
#121 University of Central Florida Florida 457 28
#121 Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois 116 54
#121 University of Dayton Ohio 210 23
#121 University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina 135 21
#121 The University of Texas at Dallas Texas 260 41
#121 George Mason University Virginia 85 4
#133 Miami University-Oxford Ohio 112 14
#133 Thomas Jefferson University Pennsylvania 5 1
#133 University of Vermont Vermont 73 2
#137 University of Alabama at Birmingham Alabama 68 19
#137 California State University--Long Beach California 261 19
#137 San Diego State University California 248 14
#137 San Jose State University California 214 18
#137 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Maryland 118 15
#137 Clarkson University New York 154 10
#137 University of Scranton Pennsylvania 9 0
#137 University of Houston Texas 249 58
#148 California State University-Los Angeles California 117 7
#148 Catholic University of America D.C. 29 2
#148 Mercer University Georgia 10 0
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 113 10
#148 University of Kentucky Kentucky 148 9
#148 University of Massachusetts-Lowell Massachusetts 211 17
#148 University of Tulsa Oklahoma 42 3
#148 University of Rhode Island Rhode Island 118 10
#156 The University of Alabama Alabama 229 11
#156 California State University-Fullerton California 171 10
#156 Quinnipiac University Connecticut 8 0
#156 Florida A&M University Florida 11 0
#156 Kansas State University Kansas 136 1
#156 University of St Thomas (MN) Minnesota 96 4
#156 CUNY--City College New York 79 16
#156 Oregon State University Oregon 374 23
#156 University of Portland Oregon 41 1
#156 Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia 90 0
#169 Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado 207 10
#169 Bradley University Illinois 56 6
#169 Michigan Technological University Michigan 295 50
#169 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska 140 12
#169 University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina 249 27
#179 University of Louisville Kentucky 119 15
#179 University of Mississippi Mississippi 63 1
#179 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Ohio 327 68
#179 University of Utah Utah 234 21
#179 Seattle University Washington 14 1
#186 University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii 91 6
#186 University of Detroit Mercy Michigan 27 5
#186 Wayne State University Michigan 79 15
#186 Texas Tech University Texas 338 40
#191 University of Arkansas Arkansas 141 5
#191 Florida Atlantic University Florida 111 26
#191 Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri 191 6
#191 Rowan University New Jersey 93 2
#191 Hofstra University New York 31 1
#191 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Oklahoma 238 16
#191 Washington State University Washington 223 15
#202 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana 123 7
#202 East Carolina University North Carolina 4 1
#202 Ohio University-Main Campus Ohio 40 1
#202 University of St. Thomas (TX) Texas 5 1
#208 California State University--Fresno California 50 1
#208 California State University-Sacramento California 156 12
#208 University of Idaho Idaho 71 4
#208 Mississippi State University Mississippi 242 33
#208 Ohio Northern University Ohio 79 0
#208 University of North Texas Texas 117 28
#219 Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis Indiana 15 1
#219 University of Nevada-Reno Nevada 114 12
#219 New York Institute of Technology New York 34 4
#219 North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina 90 9
#219 Gannon University Pennsylvania 22 8
#227 San Francisco State University California 57 2
#227 University of Michigan-Dearborn Michigan 114 18
#227 University of North Dakota North Dakota 99 15
#227 University of Texas-San Antonio Texas 125 6
#227 West Virginia University West Virginia 116 5
#236 University of Colorado Denver Colorado 51 5
#236 Florida Institute of Technology Florida 88 35
#236 University of North Florida Florida 49 2
#236 Bethel University Minnesota 14 0
#236 University of Nevada--Las Vegas Nevada 124 3
#236 University of New Mexico-Main Campus New Mexico 109 7
#236 North Dakota State University-Main Campus North Dakota 133 6
#236 Portland State University Oregon 89 11
#236 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 15 0
#236 University of Texas-Arlington Texas 135 40
#250 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Massachusetts 35 4
#250 University of Missouri--Kansas City Missouri 53 7
#250 New Mexico State University-Main Campus New Mexico 149 38
#250 South Dakota State University South Dakota 71 14
#250 Lipscomb University Tennessee 12 0
#250 University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Texas 148 13
#250 University of Wyoming Wyoming 57 1
#262 University of Alabama--Huntsville Alabama 108 5
#262 University of Maine Maine 124 5
#262 Western New England University Massachusetts 63 7
#262 Central Michigan University Michigan 25 1
#262 George Fox University Oregon 29 0
#262 University of Texas--El Paso Texas 233 28
#262 Seattle Pacific University Washington 6 0
#276 Northern Arizona University Arizona 118 6
#276 Harding University Arkansas 14 0
#276 California Baptist University California 48 1
#276 University of New Haven Connecticut 49 28
#276 Western Michigan University Michigan 79 26
#276 University of Missouri--St. Louis Missouri 38 2
#276 Widener University Pennsylvania 37 2
#288 University of Hartford Connecticut 23 4
#288 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Illinois 34 7
#288 University of Indianapolis Indiana 5 0
#288 Wichita State University Kansas 85 22
#288 University of Memphis Tennessee 65 6
#288 Utah State University Utah 188 3
#288 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Wisconsin 89 3
#299 Boise State University Idaho 93 1
#299 University of Toledo Ohio 141 18
#299 Tennessee Technological University Tennessee 138 5
#308 Northern Illinois University Illinois 111 6
#308 Oakland University Michigan 134 12
#308 Montana State University Montana 172 4
#308 Wilkes University Pennsylvania 28 3
#317 University of Mary North Dakota 8 0
#317 Prairie View A&M University Texas 64 4
#317 Marshall University West Virginia 26 1
#328 Georgia Southern University Georgia 121 12
#328 Old Dominion University Virginia 118 3
#332 University of South Alabama Alabama 67 3
#332 Jacksonville University Florida 5 0
#332 Point Park University Pennsylvania 8 3
#332 Texas A&M University--Kingsville Texas 65 11
#342 University of Akron Ohio 143 8
#342 Cleveland State University Ohio 173 82
#342 University of Texas--Tyler Texas 73 11
#342 Kennesaw State University Georgia 239 9
#353 Arkansas State University Arkansas 24 5
#353 Southern Illinois University--Edwardsville Illinois 72 22
#353 University of Louisiana--Lafayette Louisiana 63 0
#353 University of Michigan--Flint Michigan 27 2
#353 Youngstown State University Ohio 43 7
#353 University of Houston--Clear Lake Texas 37 1
#365 Liberty University Virginia 60 0
#365 Eastern Washington University Washington 28 0
#376 University of Arkansas--Little Rock Arkansas 14 2
#376 University of Bridgeport Connecticut 35 20
#376 Tennessee State University Tennessee 12 0
#382 University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska 34 0
#382 Grand Canyon University Arizona 71 0
#382 University of Colorado--Colorado Springs Colorado 63 0
#382 Idaho State University Idaho 15 2
#382 University of New Orleans Louisiana 43 0
#382 Southern University and A&M College Louisiana 19 0
#382 University of Southern Maine Maine 15 1
#382 Wright State University-Main Campus Ohio 55 8
#382 Angelo State University Texas 15 1
#382 Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi Texas 41 3
#382 Lamar University Texas 56 2
#382 Tarleton State University Texas 40 1
#382 Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus Puerto Rico 47 0
LAC #3 United States Naval Academy Maryland 39 1
LAC #9 The United States Military Academy at West Point New York 73 3
LAC #11 United States Air Force Academy Colorado 19 0
LAC #29 Bucknell University Pennsylvania 47 4
LAC #30 Lafayette College Pennsylvania 58 4
LAC #44 Union College New York 27 1
LAC #62 Virginia Military Institute Virginia 18 0
LAC #111 Saint Vincent College Pennsylvania 9 1
LAC #172 Brigham Young University-Idaho Idaho 122 7
LAC #172 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Wisconsin 28 0
LAC #184 Texas A&M University-Texarkana Texas 9 1
LAC #184 Utah Tech University Utah 16 0
— California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo California 351 5
— California State Polytechnic University-Pomona California 297 4
— California State University-Northridge California 172 6
— University of Wisconsin-Platteville Wisconsin 166 0
— University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Puerto Rico 153 8
— Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Indiana 151 5
— Kettering University Michigan 133 1
— Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Florida 127 6
— Milwaukee School of Engineering Wisconsin 122 1
— South Dakota School of Mines and Technology South Dakota 111 2
— University of Minnesota-Duluth Minnesota 106 3
— Wentworth Institute of Technology Massachusetts 105 4
— Florida Polytechnic University Florida 88 0
— Manhattan University New York 84 10
— University of Wisconsin-Stout Wisconsin 84 1
— Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg Pennsylvania 78 6
— Louisiana Tech University Louisiana 73 3
— New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology New Mexico 69 1
— Grand Valley State University Michigan 66 2
— Lawrence Technological University Michigan 66 14
— Universidad Politecnica de Puerto Rico Puerto Rico 66 0
— Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College Pennsylvania 65 1
— Tulsa Community College Oklahoma 64 6
— Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Arizona 62 4
— University of West Florida Florida 61 2
— Oregon Institute of Technology Oregon 61 0
— Utah Valley University Utah 58 1
— Trine University Indiana 57 0
— York College of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 56 0
— Citadel Military College of South Carolina South Carolina 53 1

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
Mechanical Engineers 296,810 $54.62 $113,610
Cost Estimators 224,220 $41.06 $85,390
Architectural and Engineering Managers 220,260 $87.28 $181,540
Aerospace Engineers 67,710 $68.30 $142,060
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary 40,270 — $124,520

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2002–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.