Is a research university right for me?–

Research universities are colleges and universities whose faculty are active in research and publishing. Research universities offer a wide array of doctoral programs, especially in the sciences. They tend to be big, with tens of thousands of students. Do you prefer a larger university setting, such as largest public university in your state? Research universities are typically big, offering degrees in many different disciplines. Is a big high-powered research environment the thing for you? If not, you should think about a liberal arts college. In deciding on an undergraduate institution, ask yourself what sort of environment will best help you to be happy and excel. Consider whether you are self motivated enough to be a face in the crowd for some classes and largely unknown on campus at a large university. Of course you can find clubs and friends at a large university, but often liberal arts colleges have a more personal quality to them. If you want the community feel, a research university may not fit you well. Are you interested in STEM fields? Research universities have that name for a reason – real research is happening there. This can create an exciting atmosphere for students interested in STEM. Attending a research university can give you a better chance of getting into better programs for graduate degrees, although a lot of that depends on your performance.

Is an online college right for me?–

Online colleges are typically the same colleges and universities you could attend in-person, but for certain degree programs the college or unviersity has made the degree programs available to be completed online. For over 5 million students, online degree programs allow students to earn their degrees in the most flexible format available. Online degrees are as respected as the on-campus degrees you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no distinction between the two degrees, and your degree and transcript will not say that the degree was earned online. Online degree programs are offered by a vast majority of colleges and universities, and the number of offering continues to grow. Whether you are searching for an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate, there’s a good chance you can earn your degree online from a respectable online college. Are you a self-driven student? Perhaps the hardest aspect of obtaining an online degree is whether you will be disciplined enough to manage your time and course demands. Many online students report that online college made them more disciplined in all areas of their lives, but the flexible, self-paced learning that makes online colleges attractive can often be the same qualities that make it difficult. If you tend to be a procrastinator, you need to be honest with yourself. You can change your habits and propensities, or you can throw money down the drain. Do you need the flexibility of an online degree program? Most online students study online because of time demands of balancing work and life, or because the online college affords them the chance to attend a better school without moving. If you are serious about earning your degree for career advancement, online colleges make it possible. The most flexible options among online degrees are those that are asynchronous, meaning you don’t have scheduled times to meet with your class online. However, many students seek synchronous online degree programs so that they have some structure – set meeting times, scheduled exams, etc. The good news is that attending an online college doesn’t mean you will miss out on getting to know your professors and classmates. In fact, many online students who have experienced both online and on-campus courses report having easier access to their professors. Since most communication with your professor is expected to be in text – via email or your class learning management system – it makes asking your questions easier. The same students also report that they got to better know the thoughts of their classmates. While in-person course conversations can be dominated by a few extroverts, online courses that require online discussions make it so that you see all of your classmates’ thoughts and questions. If you’re interested in an online bachelor’s degree, check out what the best online colleges offer, or search our online degrees for the exact program that interests you. In either case, you will find well respected colleges and universities that offer online degrees.

Best Colleges and Universities for Engineering Degrees

Q: Is a liberal arts college right for me?–

Often referred to as “teaching colleges” liberal arts colleges put a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree. Do you want your professors to know you? Liberal arts colleges strive to cultivate campus cultures that encourage tight bonds between professors and students. Professors at these schools will typically conduct original research. Yet the best of these schools offer their faculty reduced teaching loads so that they can both be productive researchers and still have plenty of time for students (both in and outside the classroom). Do you want to feel like you know everybody? One of the most enticing features of a liberal arts college is that in very little time, you can feel like you know who’s who, which can create strong friendships and make walks across campus more fun. While your sports teams may never be on ESPN, it’s more likely that you’ll know the athletes as your peers. Beyond student and faculty relationships, it’s not unusual for the school president and other administrators to learn who you are. When faced with problems with your student account or the need to switch classes, this can be comforting during a stressful moment.

Badge for BEST FOR ENGINEERING COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

By Dr. Winston Ewert and Dr. James Barham
Reviewed By Dr. Jed Macosko

Updated: Jan 15, 2024

The best engineering degree programs 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.

Table of Contents

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 Americans and Pacific Islander men, for whom it ranks 5th and 9th respectively, according to the number of degree earners reported by the National Center for Educational Statistics

Featured Programs

Frequently Asked Questions About Engineering Bachelor’s Degrees

Earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering can open numerous professional doors. You could design navigational systems for commercial airliners, design the public transportation system for a major city, or oversee safety for a local electrical power station. As an engineering major, you’ll get to choose an area to apply your skills. Whether you plan to design engines, produce software innovations, develop self-driving cars, or help design the office building of the future, a degree in engineering is an important first step. The best schools for engineering will put you in a position to become an innovator and a leader in this exciting field.

Today, top influencers in engineering are breaking new ground in areas such as gene editing, artificial intelligence, global risk consulting, and much more.

Engineering is a popular major because it can provide a pathway into countless fields and career opportunities. If you’re looking for a well-paying and secure job, an engineering degree is a great place to start. According to the BLS, the engineering sector is expected to add roughly 74,800 new jobs by 2029. Much of this growth is concentrated in areas of innovation such as infrastructure rebuilding, renewable energy, robotics, and more. Majoring in engineering could qualify you to work in one of these rapidly advancing industries.

Once you’ve declared your major in engineering, you will likely be required to complete a set of core courses in a number of STEM-related subject areas. While your concentration will give you a chance to choose from a wide range of highly-specialized engineering electives, there are a number of common courses that most engineering majors will be required to take, including:

Engineering Principles
Mathematical Operations
Linear circuits
Surveying Principles
Calculus
Physics
Differential Equations
Industrial Systems
Mechanics, Electricity, and Magnetism

Earning a degree in engineering can qualify you for a number of well-paying jobs. Engineering skills are highly valued in the labor market. In fact, a high percentage of CEO’s from Fortune 500 companies hold an engineering degree. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2019, the median annual wage for architecture and engineering occupations was $81,440. This compares very favorably to the median annual wage for all occupations of $39,810. The following are among the most popular jobs for Engineering majors:

Mechanical Engineers

If you are interested in becoming a mechanical engineer, find out more about the career opportunities in mechanical engineering.

Frequently Asked Questions About Research Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Online Colleges

In pursuing a bachelor’s degree, you will need to choose between three kinds of schools: research universities, liberal arts colleges, and online colleges.

Research universities are colleges and universities whose faculty are active in research and publishing. Research universities offer a wide array of doctoral programs, especially in the sciences. They tend to be big, with tens of thousands of students.

Do you prefer a larger university setting, such as largest public university in your state? Research universities are typically big, offering degrees in many different disciplines.

Is a big high-powered research environment the thing for you? If not, you should think about a liberal arts college. In deciding on an undergraduate institution, ask yourself what sort of environment will best help you to be happy and excel.

Consider whether you are self motivated enough to be a face in the crowd for some classes and largely unknown on campus at a large university. Of course you can find clubs and friends at a large university, but often liberal arts colleges have a more personal quality to them. If you want the community feel, a research university may not fit you well.
Are you interested in STEM fields? Research universities have that name for a reason – real research is happening there. This can create an exciting atmosphere for students interested in STEM. Attending a research university can give you a better chance of getting into better programs for graduate degrees, although a lot of that depends on your performance.

Learn more about research universities by reading about the best research universities in the US.

Often referred to as “teaching colleges” liberal arts colleges put a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree.

Do you want your professors to know you? Liberal arts colleges strive to cultivate campus cultures that encourage tight bonds between professors and students.

Professors at these schools will typically conduct original research. Yet the best of these schools offer their faculty reduced teaching loads so that they can both be productive researchers and still have plenty of time for students (both in and outside the classroom).

Do you want to feel like you know everybody? One of the most enticing features of a liberal arts college is that in very little time, you can feel like you know who’s who, which can create strong friendships and make walks across campus more fun. While your sports teams may never be on ESPN, it’s more likely that you’ll know the athletes as your peers.

Beyond student and faculty relationships, it’s not unusual for the school president and other administrators to learn who you are. When faced with problems with your student account or the need to switch classes, this can be comforting during a stressful moment.

Learn more about liberal arts colleges by reading about the best liberal arts colleges in the US.

Online colleges are typically the same colleges and universities you could attend in-person, but for certain degree programs the college or unviersity has made the degree programs available to be completed online. For over 5 million students, online degree programs allow students to earn their degrees in the most flexible format available.

Online degrees are as respected as the on-campus degrees you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no distinction between the two degrees, and your degree and transcript will not say that the degree was earned online.

Online degree programs are offered by a vast majority of colleges and universities, and the number of offering continues to grow. Whether you are searching for an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate, there’s a good chance you can earn your degree online from a respectable online college.

Are you a self-driven student? Perhaps the hardest aspect of obtaining an online degree is whether you will be disciplined enough to manage your time and course demands.

Many online students report that online college made them more disciplined in all areas of their lives, but the flexible, self-paced learning that makes online colleges attractive can often be the same qualities that make it difficult. If you tend to be a procrastinator, you need to be honest with yourself. You can change your habits and propensities, or you can throw money down the drain.

Do you need the flexibility of an online degree program? Most online students study online because of time demands of balancing work and life, or because the online college affords them the chance to attend a better school without moving.

If you are serious about earning your degree for career advancement, online colleges make it possible. The most flexible options among online degrees are those that are asynchronous, meaning you don’t have scheduled times to meet with your class online. However, many students seek synchronous online degree programs so that they have some structure – set meeting times, scheduled exams, etc.

The good news is that attending an online college doesn’t mean you will miss out on getting to know your professors and classmates. In fact, many online students who have experienced both online and on-campus courses report having easier access to their professors.

Since most communication with your professor is expected to be in text – via email or your class learning management system – it makes asking your questions easier. The same students also report that they got to better know the thoughts of their classmates. While in-person course conversations can be dominated by a few extroverts, online courses that require online discussions make it so that you see all of your classmates’ thoughts and questions.

If you’re interested in an online bachelor’s degree, check out what the best online colleges offer, or search our online degrees for the exact program that interests you. In either case, you will find well respected colleges and universities that offer online degrees.

The Best Colleges and Universities for Engineering Degrees

MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanford University
Harvard University
University of California, Berkeley
Columbia University

Go to The Best Engineering Research Universities

United States Naval Academy
United States Military Academy
Cooper Union
Harvey Mudd College
United States Air Force Academy

Go to The Best Engineering Liberal Arts Colleges

University of Arizona
Stony Brook University
Florida International University
Old Dominion University
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Go to The Best Engineering Online Colleges

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.

The Best Engineering Schools in Your State

Learn More About Engineering

If you want to know more about engineering, then check out our related content:

Learn how to major in engineering
Think about your next step and what you can do with a master’s degree in engineering
Learn more about engineering from our interviews with influential engineers
Find out who are the most influential egineers today

Do you have a question about this topic? Ask it here

Best Colleges and Universities for Engineering Degrees

Featured Programs

Frequently Asked Questions About Engineering Bachelor’s Degrees

The Best Colleges and Universities for Engineering Degrees

Best Engineering Major Research Universities

Best Engineering Major Liberal Arts Colleges

Best Computer Engineering Major Online Colleges

Career Outlook for Students with Engineering Degree

Engineering

Degree Level: Bachelor's

Career Salaries

Top Industries

The Best Engineering Schools in Your State

Learn More About Engineering

Best Colleges and Universities for Engineering Degrees

Featured Programs

Frequently Asked Questions About Engineering Bachelor’s Degrees

What can I do with an engineering major?

Is engineering a good major?

What courses will I take as an engineering major?

What jobs can I do with an engineering major?

The Best Colleges and Universities for Engineering Degrees

Best Engineering Major Research Universities

Best Engineering Major Liberal Arts Colleges

Best Computer Engineering Major Online Colleges

Career Outlook for Students with Engineering Degree

Engineering

Degree Level: Bachelor's

Career Salaries

Top Industries

The Best Engineering Schools in Your State

Learn More About Engineering