Skip to content
CIP 14.2701 Engineering

Systems Engineering

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

Total graduates

3,282

2025 · 86 schools

International share

24.0%

789 international students

Bachelor's degrees

685

6.3% international

Master's degrees

2,438

27.7% international

Overview

Systems Engineering is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the design, integration, and management of complex systems over their life cycles. It combines principles from various engineering disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, software, and industrial engineering, to ensure that all components of a system work together effectively and efficiently.

The primary objective of systems engineering is to optimize the system's performance while balancing various constraints such as cost, schedule, and quality. Systems engineers employ a holistic approach, taking into account the interactions between different subsystems and the environment in which the system operates. This includes requirements analysis, system architecture design, risk management, and verification and validation processes.

In practice, systems engineering is widely applied in industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, telecommunications, and healthcare, where the complexity of projects requires a structured approach to ensure successful outcomes. Systems engineers often work in teams, collaborating with stakeholders to define requirements and ensure that the final product meets user needs.

Education in systems engineering typically includes coursework in project management, systems modeling, optimization techniques, and reliability engineering, along with hands-on projects that allow students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios. Graduates of systems engineering programs are well-equipped for careers as systems analysts, project managers, or in roles that require a deep understanding of how various components and processes integrate within larger systems, making them valuable assets in today's technology-driven environment.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates grew 190% and the international share went from 15.8% to 24.0%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
40.7%
Asian
9.4%
Hispanic
11.8%
Black
5.5%
Other
8.6%
Intl.
24.0%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 86 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 175 86
#5 California Institute of Technology California 2 1
#7 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 112 85
#8 Duke University North Carolina 6 6
#9 Johns Hopkins University Maryland 254 24
#14 Cornell University New York 206 123
#16 Washington University in St Louis Missouri 26 8
#25 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan 97 48
#26 University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia 156 27
#27 University of Southern California California 35 1
#29 University of California-San Diego California 20 13
#29 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Georgia 33 2
#34 University of Florida Florida 183 15
#34 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois 78 13
#34 Boston University Massachusetts 20 13
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 8 0
#42 Northeastern University Massachusetts 42 29
#44 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey 1 0
#44 Case Western Reserve University Ohio 6 3
#52 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia 16 1
#59 George Washington University D.C. 87 4
#59 Florida State University Florida 39 4
#59 Stevens Institute of Technology New Jersey 110 8
#59 Texas A & M University-College Station Texas 1 0
#69 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute New York 34 3
#73 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Massachusetts 50 0
#80 Colorado School of Mines Colorado 47 5
#80 Drexel University Pennsylvania 9 0
#85 New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey 7 6
#85 Southern Methodist University Texas 34 0
#100 Florida International University Florida 9 2
#109 Loyola Marymount University California 13 0
#116 Iowa State University Iowa 1 0
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 14 5
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 55 9
#121 University of Denver Colorado 15 0
#121 University of Central Florida Florida 22 0
#121 University of Dayton Ohio 9 1
#121 The University of Texas at Dallas Texas 45 22
#121 George Mason University Virginia 43 8
#137 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Maryland 10 1
#137 University of Houston Texas 52 47
#156 University of St Thomas (MN) Minnesota 8 0
#169 Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado 37 3
#169 DePaul University Illinois 2 0
#169 University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina 27 2
#179 University of Utah Utah 3 0
#186 Texas Tech University Texas 21 2
#191 Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri 17 4
#227 University of Michigan-Dearborn Michigan 19 10
#227 University of North Dakota North Dakota 1 0
#236 Florida Institute of Technology Florida 16 0
#236 Portland State University Oregon 1 0
#262 University of Texas--El Paso Texas 45 4
#276 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Ohio 10 5
#308 Oakland University Michigan 4 2
#332 University of South Alabama Alabama 12 2
#342 Kennesaw State University Georgia 48 1
#353 University of Louisiana--Lafayette Louisiana 10 6
#353 University of Houston--Clear Lake Texas 1 0
#382 University of Colorado--Colorado Springs Colorado 8 1
LAC #9 The United States Military Academy at West Point New York 59 1
LAC #11 United States Air Force Academy Colorado 69 1
— Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide Florida 126 4
— Naval Postgraduate School California 115 12
— Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Pennsylvania 92 91
— Pennsylvania State University-World Campus Pennsylvania 71 0
— Air Force Institute of Technology-Graduate School of Engineering & Management Ohio 48 1
— University of Maryland Global Campus Maryland 34 1
— Texas A & M International University Texas 34 2
— ECPI University Virginia 32 0
— Maine Maritime Academy Maine 28 0
— United States Merchant Marine Academy New York 27 0
— California State Polytechnic University-Pomona California 17 2
— Weber State University Utah 12 0
— Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Florida 7 3
— College of Charleston South Carolina 6 1
— Morehead State University Kentucky 5 0
— Otterbein University Ohio 4 0
— Arizona State University Digital Immersion Arizona 4 0
— Lawrence Technological University Michigan 3 1
— Southeast Missouri State University Missouri 3 2
— California State University-Dominguez Hills California 2 0
— St. Mary's University Texas 2 0
— Metropolitan State University of Denver Colorado 1 0
— Capitol Technology University Maryland 1 0

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

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
Industrial Engineers 365,740 $52.84 $109,900
Architectural and Engineering Managers 220,260 $87.28 $181,540
Engineers, All Other 154,070 $60.26 $125,330
Database Architects 67,140 $69.44 $144,440
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.