Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Engineering Degrees 2025

Badge for BEST FOR ENGINEERING LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES

By Dr. Winston Ewert and Dr. James Barham

Updated: Sep 23, 2024

The best engineering liberal arts colleges are those with rich histories of influence, proven through the work produced by the program’s faculty and alumni. Beyond demonstrating scholarly impact in the field, the best engineering degree programs maximize your opportunities to interact with outstanding engineering faculty.

Key Takeaways

Engineering degrees at liberal arts colleges are often underestimated. However, the benefits of small liberal arts colleges, such as small class sizes and individualized attention, often result in the best student outcomes.
The best liberal arts colleges provide fascinating 3-2 engineering programs. Through this exceptional dual degree program option, students can spend their first three years of education at a liberal arts institution before finishing their last two years at a partner university.
The most in-demand employees are those with expertise in various fields. You will be a cut above the competition if you have a liberal arts background in engineering.

Table of Contents

Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges Engineering Programs in 2025

Swarthmore College
+5
United States Military Academy
Smith College
+13
Oberlin College
+21
United States Naval Academy
–4
San Francisco State University
+9
Pomona College
+1
Union College
+2
Cooper Union
–6
United States Air Force Academy
–5

2025 Ranking Update

Our Influence Ranking Engine™ leverages machine learning to track the real-world influence of colleges and universities over time. Below you’ll see which schools gained or lost ground for the 2025 school year.

In 2025, the top ten best liberal arts colleges for engineering degrees had a fair amount of movement. Swarthmore College gained the top position as a result of the college upgrading its engineering labs with state-of-the-art equipment, including new 3D printers and robotics platforms, enhancing hands-on learning opportunities. Additionally, the curriculum has been updated to include more interdisciplinary courses that integrate sustainability and social impact with engineering, reflecting Swarthmore’s commitment to addressing global challenges. A new partnership with local industries also provides expanded internship and research opportunities, giving engineering students practical experience in real-world applications.

Featured Programs

Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Engineering Degrees

Career Outlook for Students with Engineering Degree

Go to Degree Finder tool

Engineering

Degree Level: Bachelor's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Starting Salary*: $67,438
Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $80,449
* denotes ‘annually’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.52%	$165,370
Engineers, All Other	5.03%	$111,970
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary	9.22%	$106,910

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	$165,370
Engineers, All Other	$111,970
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary	$106,910

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

Exploring Engineering Colleges in the US

Most find it unbelievable that a small liberal arts college could compete with a big university specializing in engineering. However, if you think about it, liberal arts colleges could offer more benefits.

You’ll have the best of both worlds when you obtain an engineering degree in a liberal arts institution. You can study engineering and receive a lot of practical experience, and you can do it in an intellectually exciting setting with a varied student group.

Benefits of Engineering Majors at Liberal Arts Colleges

Individualized attention: Numerous challenging prerequisites, such as calculus, physics, and chemistry, present a burden to engineering students; smaller institutions are better able to offer a helpful learning environment.

Smaller classrooms give students individualized attention and more opportunities to ask questions, promote deeper topic exploration, and allow for more significant one-on-one interaction between students and professors.

More Well-Rounded: Despite their differences, liberal arts schools and engineering schools tend to have the same goals: they want to educate students and prepare them for success.

Both allow students to learn various subjects, but liberal arts schools have a more expansive curriculum that includes humanities and social sciences (which are complementary to classifications such as psychology and sociology). There is also an emphasis on hands-on learning at both types of schools, but it is more prominent at liberal arts colleges.

More Flexibility: A liberal arts university isn’t the same as a college that offers only engineering programs. Liberal arts colleges with engineering programs have a wide range of academic majors and other degrees to provide students after their first year. Students who aren’t quite ready to fully commit to earning an engineering degree might consider liberal arts universities with engineering programs.

The 3-2 Dual Degree Programs

There are several 3-2 engineering programs, typically pairing a small liberal arts college with a more prominent research university that contains a school of engineering, such as Pomona College, and Oberlin College, among others.

Students in 3-2 engineering programs are required to complete pre-engineering requirements and maintain the minimum GPA requirements. The time of application and the date when each bachelor’s degree is awarded also vary amongst these programs.

When a student fits certain requirements and the liberal arts college gives its permission, the engineering school may automatically admit them. Other times, the engineering school analyzes applications.

Pomona College also offers a 2-1-1-1 alternative, in which students spend their first two and fourth years in their home school to return for senior year.

The Benefits of a 3-2 Engineering Program

A 3-2 program is an excellent alternative to traditional courses. Students in a 3-2 program typically begin at a small college or university and work toward earning dual degrees. They have access to the same curriculum but are dedicated to working with a smaller number of professors to address their specific career goals.

During their final two years of study, engineering students in the 3-2 program have access to the resources of a bigger university. This allows them to participate in a challenging and more selective engineering program.

And last, a two-year concentrated, rigorous engineering curriculum followed by three years of a comprehensive liberal arts education might be highly appealing to companies. Students that finish 3-2 programs are schooled in highly technical engineering principles and writing, critical thinking, and communication skills. With STEM and creativity working together, there may be many opportunities in the dynamic job market.

A bachelor’s degree in engineering is an excellent starting point for a career in architecture, aerospace design, network administration, and a host of other rapidly innovating fields. As an engineering major, you’ll study foundational STEM topics like physics and calculus alongside your area of concentration. You can choose from an extremely wide range of applications, from civil engineering and systems engineering to software engineering and environmental engineering. The best schools for engineering are those which are regionally accredited, which offer a full array of engineering concentrations, and which give you the chance to work with the best and most influential professors and classmates.

Degree popularity: Engineering bachelor’s degrees are the 12th most popular undergraduate degrees across all student demographics, ranking much higher for men – 5th. It’s most popular among White and Asian men, for whom it ranks 5th and 9th respectively, according to the number of degree earners reported by the National Center for Educational Statistics

If you think a research university may be a better fit for you, see our ranking of the best research universities for a bachelor’s in engineering.

Go to all Liberal Arts Colleges for Engineering programs

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Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Engineering Degrees 2025

Key Takeaways

Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges Engineering Programs in 2025

2025 Ranking Update

Featured Programs

Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Engineering Degrees

Last Year’s Ranking:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Swarthmore College

Most Influential Alumni

Swarthmore College Engineering Major Specializations:

Most Influential Alumni

West Point Engineering Majors:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Smith College

Most Influential Alumni

Smith College Engineering Major:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Oberlin College

Most Influential Alumni

Oberlin College Engineering Major:

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USNA Engineering Majors:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at San Francisco State University

Most Influential Alumni

SFSU Engineering Major Concentrations:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Pomona College

Most Influential Alumni

Pomona College Pre-Engineering Programs:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Union College, New York

Most Influential Alumni

Union College Engineering Majors:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Cooper Union

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Cooper Union Engineering Majors:

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USAFA Engineering Majors:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Tuskegee University

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Tuskegee University Engineering Majors:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Bates College

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Bates College Engineering Major:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Virginia Military Institute

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Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Lafayette College

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Lafayette College Engineering Majors/Concentrations:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Harvey Mudd College

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Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Bucknell University

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Career Outlook for Engineering degree at California State University, Long Beach

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Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Claremont McKenna College

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CMC Engineering Major:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at College of Charleston

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College of Charleston’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at University of Portland

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Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Manhattan College

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Manhattan College Engineering Majors:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at Pitzer College

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Pitzer College Engineering Major:

Career Outlook for Engineering degree at United States Merchant Marine Academy

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USMMA Engineering Majors:

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Career Outlook for Engineering degree at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

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Cal Poly Engineering Majors: