Top 100 Best Engineering Schools in The World [2017 – 2018]

USA takes the 1st place in the list of Top 100 Best Engineering Schools in the World, however other countries such as the UK, Singapore, China, Japan, Germany, Canada, Australia, and many others are also featured.
Nader Mowlaee

For many careers, a higher education qualification is necessary, and it certainly can help you move forward within your current role. An engineering college or university degree or diploma demonstrates your ability to solve real-world problems and help create positive business results.

Your reason for continuing your college education can be more personal than professional. Strong personal goals are the foundation of anyone’s success, which can be amplified by studying at the university level. The schools ranked below are at the top within Engineering & Technology fields.

[see-also]

The USA takes the first place in the list of Top 100 Best Engineering Schools in the World, in 2017. Majority of the top 100 spots are captured by American universities. However other countries such as United Kingdom, Singapore, Switzerland, China, Japan, and many others are also featured.

The Engineering and Technology subjects included in these rankings are Computer Science & Information Systems, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil & Structural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Mineral & Mining Engineering.

The ranking indicators utilized by the QS World University Rankings® (source of this article) for top engineering and technology schools in the world include: 

1. Academic Reputation. Since 2004, the QS World University Rankings® has been gathering data from 74,651 academic subjects worldwide; analyzing the massive amount of data collected from surveys and respondents to create an Academic Reputation 

2. Employee Reputation. These rankings are unique in integrating employability as a primary factor for evaluating and ranking global Engineering and Technology schools. This year alone 40,643 survey responses were received from such employers worldwide, which were used to create an Employee Reputation score.

3. Citations Per Paper were evaluated, and its data captured to create a score. To do this successfully, a publication limit is defined for every engineering and technology subject to avoid possible flaws arising from small quantities of highly cited publications. Both the lowest publications limit and also the weighting placed on the citations indicator are adapted to be able to create best citation score for each discipline.

4. H-index Citations. The H-Index is used to measure the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or engineer, as well as the richness and impact of a group of engineers in any given university or country.

The rankings below are the based on overall QS Ranking Scores. Click here to read more about their methodology.

The 1st survey results for the best engineering schools:

Top 100 Best Engineering Schools in the World (based on data from QS World University Rankings®)

 * Data captured by Times Higher Education. Click here to view their website.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

* No. of students: 11,192

* International students: 33%    

* Female:Male Ratio: 37 : 63

2. Stanford University

No. of students: 15,658               

International students: 22%

Female:Male Ratio: 42 : 58

3. University of Cambridge 

No. of students: 18,389

International students: 35%       

Female:Male Ratio: 45 : 55

4. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU)

No. of students: 18,605

International students: 35%       

Female:Male Ratio: 45 : 55 

5. ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

No. of students: 18,616

International students: 37%       

Female:Male Ratio: 31 : 69

6. Imperial College London

No. of students: 15,236

International students: 52%       

Female:Male Ratio: 37 : 63

7. National University of Singapore (NUS)

No. of students: 31,111

International students: 32%       

Female:Male Ratio: 50 : 50 

8. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

No. of students: 34,834

International students: 16%       

Female:Male Ratio: 52 : 48

9. University of Oxford

No. of students: 19,718

International students: 35%       

Female:Male Ratio: 46 : 54

Tip for getting into college: Being to learn about colleges and universities as soon as you can. The sooner you get to narrow down your options, the faster you can focus on a specific location or engineering subject. You must also become fully self-aware; understand what skills you have and which skills you have not. This is one of the basic steps to define your career path. To learn how to create a winning strategy for an engineering career of success, click here. 

10. Tsinghua University

No. of students: 41,537

International students: 10%       

Female:Male Ratio: 32 : 68

 11. The University of Tokyo

No. of students: 26,080

International students: 10%       

Female:Male Ratio: n/a

12. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) 

No. of students: 9,750   

International students: 54%       

Female:Male Ratio: 27 : 73 

13. Harvard University

No. of students: 21,000

International students: n/a

Female:Male Ratio: n/a

14. KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology 

No. of students: 9,464   

International students: 9%          

Female:Male Ratio: 20 : 80 

15. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 

No. of students: 10,214

International students: 31%       

Female:Male Ratio: n/a 

16. Georgia Institute of Technology

No. of students: 20,773

International students: 27%       

Female:Male Ratio: 31 : 69

17. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

No. of students: 2,209                  

International students: 27%       

Female:Male Ratio: 31 : 69

18. Peking University

No. of students: 42,136

International students: 16%       

Female:Male Ratio: 47 : 53

19. Tokyo Institute of Technology 

No. of students: 9,570   

International students: 13%       

Female:Male Ratio: 14 : 86

How to get started: January is the perfect time of the year write your goals down and create a list of colleges & universities, so you can determine how to get ahead in your higher education and career. If you haven’t done this yet, here are 3 steps to help you start: 

20. Delft University of Technology

No. of students: 17,057

International students: 27%       

Female:Male Ratio: 28 : 72

21. Seoul National University

No. of students: 26,470

International students: 11%       

Female:Male Ratio: n/a

22. Kyoto University

No. of students: 22,481               

International students: 8%          

Female:Male Ratio: 24 : 76

23. National Taiwan University (NTU)

No. of students: 31,758

International students: 8%          

Female:Male Ratio: 40 : 60

24. Politecnico di Milano

No. of students: 42,496

International students: n/a

Female:Male Ratio:n/a 

25. Shanghai Jiao Tong University

No. of students: 36,535

International students: 6%          

Female:Male Ratio: 41 : 59

26. Technical University of Munich

No. of students: 36,929

International students: 22%       

Female:Male Ratio: 33 : 67

27. The University of Hong Kong

No. of students: 20,095               

International students: 39%       

Female:Male Ratio: 51 : 49

28. The University of Melbourne 

No. of students: 42,273               

International students: 37%       

Female:Male Ratio: 55 : 45

29. KTH Royal Institute of Technology

No. of students: 12,841

International students: 17%       

Female:Male Ratio: 31 : 69

Are you evaluating which school to go to? Begin to build your network strategically. Social Networking is about following a step by step plan to Find, Attract and Engage with decision makers in colleges and/or universities. This allows you to learn more about that school, and build relationships that can be useful one day in the near future.

30. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) 

No. of students: 38,392

International students: 16%       

Female:Male Ratio: 53 : 47

31. Carnegie Mellon University

No. of students: 12,311

International students: 38%       

Female:Male Ratio: 38 : 62

32. The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) 

No. of students: 40,133

International students: 34%       

Female:Male Ratio: 46 : 54

33. RWTH Aachen University 

No. of students: 43,721               

International students: 18%       

Female:Male Ratio: 32 : 68 

34. University of Toronto

No. of students: 69,427               

International students: 17%       

Female:Male Ratio: n/a 

35. Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin)

No. of students: 22,390               

International students: 20%       

Female:Male Ratio: 34 : 66 

36. Universiti Malaya (UM)

No. of students: 21,990               

International students: 18%       

Female:Male Ratio: 66 : 34

37. Princeton University

No. of students: 7,955   

International students: 24%       

Female:Male Ratio: 45 : 55

38. KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

No. of students: 25,824

International students: 18%       

Female:Male Ratio: 27 : 73

39. National Tsing Hua University

No. of students: 10,194

International students: 5%          

Female:Male Ratio: 33 : 67

Considering an international college or university? Make sure you know everything required prior to filling in an application. Look into the visa application process first. Talk to professionals in this field if you have any concerns. But never give up on your dreams. Continue to follow your heart and don’t ever quit. Regardless of where in the world you are when you’re reading this article, write down your goals and do something every day that can help make your goals come true.

40. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

No. of students: 43,402

International students: 23%       

Female:Male Ratio: 46 : 54 

41. The University of Sydney

No. of students: 44,553

International students: 32%       

Female:Male Ratio: 57 : 43 

42. Zhejiang University 

No. of students: 50,051

International students: 6%          

Female:Male Ratio: 22 : 78 

43. Technical University of Denmark 

No. of students: 8,548   

International students: 24%       

Female:Male Ratio: 29 : 71

44. Monash University 

No. of students: 46,846

International students: 28%       

Female:Male Ratio: 57 : 43

45. University of Texas at Austin

No. of students: 48,561               

International students: 10%       

Female:Male Ratio: 51 : 49 

46. The Australian National University 

No. of students: 15,986               

International students: 35%       

Female:Male Ratio: 52 : 48 

47. Cornell University

No. of students: 21,850

International students: 24%       

Female:Male Ratio: 49 : 51

48. Fudan University

No. of students: 32,859

International students: 10%       

Female:Male Ratio: 51 : 49

49. University of Michigan

No. of students: 41,818               

International students: 16%       

Female:Male Ratio: 48 : 52 

50. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

No. of students: 18,072               

International students: 31%       

Female:Male Ratio: n/a

51. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

No. of students: 21,773               

International students: 25%       

Female:Male Ratio: 51 : 49

52. Politecnico di Torino 

No. of students: 9,928   

International students: 55%       

Female:Male Ratio: 28 : 72

53. UCL (University College London) 

No. of students: 30,304               

International students: 49%       

Female:Male Ratio: 56 : 44

54. University of British Columbia 

No. of students: 51,889

International students: 29%       

Female:Male Ratio: 54 : 46 

55. Pohang University of Science And Technology (POSTECH) 

No. of students: 3,046   

International students: 4%          

Female:Male Ratio: 22 : 78

56. The University of Manchester 

No. of students: 35,318

International students: 38%       

Female:Male Ratio: 52 : 48

57. Osaka University

No. of students: 23,256               

International students: 10%

Female:Male Ratio: 31 : 69

58. Purdue University

No. of students: 38,770

International students: 23%       

Female:Male Ratio: 42 : 58 

59. KU Leuven

No. of students: 44,412               

International students: 15%       

Female:Male Ratio: 50 : 50

Family Support: Getting the support of all family members, friends and counselors is also helpful. If you ever fall into a situation and can’t make a decision, don’t stay stuck. Focus on gathering more information and additional data that can help you decide well. If you still can’t make a logical decision; go with your heart.

60. The University of Queensland

No. of students: 38,968

International students: 26%       

Female:Male Ratio: 55 : 45

61. University of Waterloo

No. of students: 32,000

International students: 17%       

Female:Male Ratio: 46 : 54

62. Tohoku University 

No. of students: 17,494

International students: 10%       

Female:Male Ratio: 26 : 74

63. McGill University 

No. of students: 30,940               

International students: 26%       

Female:Male Ratio: 57 : 43

64. Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) 

No. of students: 24,055

International students: 12%       

Female:Male Ratio: 42 : 58 

65. The University of Edinburgh

No. of students: 26,759

International students: 40%       

Female:Male Ratio: 59 : 41 

66. Columbia University 

No. of students: 26,587

International students: 32%       

Female:Male Ratio: n/a

67. Korea University

No. of students: 23,037               

International students: 19%       

Female:Male Ratio: 46 : 54

68. National Chiao Tung University

No. of students: 12,639               

International students: 7%          

Female:Male Ratio: 28 : 72

69. The University of Auckland

No. of students: 30,348

International students: 29%       

Female:Male Ratio: 54 : 46

Begin to eliminate colleges and universities from your final list. After talking with your parents, teachers, family, friends; you need to begin narrowing down your selections, aiming to compile a list of your final choices. There are many ways to narrow your list — from choice of majors to size to location.

70. Yonsei University

No. of students: 18,038

International students: 21%       

Female:Male Ratio: 45 : 55

71. Aalborg University

No. of students: 15,512               

International students: 13%       

Female:Male Ratio: 49 : 51

72. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) 

No. of students:

International students:

Female:Male Ratio:

73. National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)

No. of students: 7,284   

International students: 1%          

Female:Male Ratio: 20 : 80

74. Ecole Polytechnique

No. of students: 2,799   

International students: 36%       

Female:Male Ratio: 21 : 79

 75. University of Pennsylvania

No. of students: 45,411

International students: 14%       

Female:Male Ratio: 46 : 54 

76. City University of Hong Kong

No. of students: 9,240   

International students: 35%       

Female:Male Ratio: 54 : 46 

77. Yale University

No. of students: n/a

International students: n/a

Female:Male Ratio: n/a

78. Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)

No. of students: 9,870   

International students: 1%          

Female:Male Ratio: 17 : 83 

79. CentraleSupélec

No. of students: 4,226

International students: 33%       

Female:Male Ratio: 22 : 78 

80. Universität Stuttgart

No. of students: 26,059               

International students: 18%       

Female:Male Ratio: 31 : 69

81. Politécnica de Madrid

No. of students: 40,371

International students: 12%       

Female:Male Ratio: 32 : 68

82. Northwestern University

No. of students: 17,466               

International students: 18%       

Female:Male Ratio: 48 : 52

83. University of Science and Technology of China 

No. of students: 16,032

International students: 3%          

Female:Male Ratio: n/a 

84. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

No. of students: 21,581

International students: 12%       

Female:Male Ratio: 27 : 73

85. University of Washington

No. of students: 44,945

International students: 16%       

Female:Male Ratio: 52 : 48

86. Hanyang University 

No. of students: 20,879

International students: 17%       

Female:Male Ratio: n/a

87. Pennsylvania State University

No. of students: 45,411

International students: 14%       

Female:Male Ratio: 46 : 54

88. Eindhoven University of Technology

No. of students: 7,637   

International students: 17%       

Female:Male Ratio: 28 : 72

89. Technische Universität Darmstadt

No. of students: 17,776

International students: 16%       

Female:Male Ratio: 30 : 70

Networking Tip: Find friends on Facebook who will go to the same university as you, so you won’t be alone on the first day.

90. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 

No. of students: 25,929

International students: 18%       

Female:Male Ratio: 44 : 56 

91. University of Wisconsin-Madison 

No. of students: 38,960

International students: 12%       

Female:Male Ratio: 51 : 49 

92. RMIT University 

No. of students: 31,465

International students: 25%       

Female:Male Ratio: 47 : 53

93. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

No. of students: 25,975

International students: 8%

Female:Male Ratio: 63 : 37

94. University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

No. of students: 29,633               

International students:  17%      

Female:Male Ratio: 46 : 54

95. Hokkaido University

No. of students: 18,038

International students: 9%          

Female:Male Ratio: 30 : 70

96. Kyushu University

No. of students: 18,696

International students: 12%       

Female:Male Ratio: 29 : 71

97. Technische Universität Dresden

No. of students: 34,514

International students: 13%       

Female:Male Ratio: 42 : 58 

98. Chalmers University of Technology 

No. of students: 9,112                  

International students: 16%       

Female:Male Ratio: 31 : 69 

99. National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech)

No. of students: 7,981   

International students: 13%       

Female:Male Ratio: 32 : 68

100. University of Birmingham

No. of students: 27,061

International students: 27%       

Female:Male Ratio: 54 : 46

The 2nd Survey Results:

Times Higher Education is another organization that conducted their own research on ranking the best engineering schools in the world, and their results are slightly different. We’ve decided to also include these results and rankings, giving another perspective, allowing us to better evaluate the data and make a decision based on several sources.

The Ranking Indicators utilized by the Times Higher Education® World University Rankings (source of the list below) for top engineering and technology schools in the world are: Citations, Industry Income, International Outlook, Research, and Teaching.

And the Engineering and Technology subjects included in these rankings are Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Chemical and General Engineering subjects. 

Top 100 Best Engineering Schools in the World

(Times Higher Education World University Rankings

  1. Stanford University
  2. California Institute of Technology
  3. University of Oxford
  4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  5. University of Cambridge
  6. Princeton University
  7. Peking University
  8. National University of Singapore
  9. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
  10. Imperial College London
  11. Georgia Institute of Technology
  12. Carnegie Mellon University
  13. University of California, Berkeley
  14. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
  15. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  16. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  17. University of Michigan
  18. Delft University of Technology
  19. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  20. Cornell University
  21. Technical University of Munich
  22. Tsinghua University
  23. Northwestern University
  24. RWTH Aachen University
  25. Purdue University
  26. Columbia University
  27. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
  28. University of Texas at Austin
  29. University of Toronto
  30. University of Hong Kong
  31. University of California, Santa Barbara
  32. Seoul National University
  33. University of California, San Diego
  34. Johns Hopkins University
  35. University of Tokyo
  36. UCL
  37. KU Leuven
  38. KTH Royal Institute of Technology
  39. University of Science and Technology of China
  40. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  41. Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  42. Kyoto University
  43. Technical University of Berlin
  44. University of Washington
  45. University of Edinburgh
  46. University of Manchester
  47. Fudan University
  48. Sungkyunkwan University
  49. Rice University
  50. Zhejiang University
  51. Eindhoven University of Technology
  52. Ohio State University
  53. Pohang University of Science and Technology
  54. Pennsylvania State University
  55. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
  56. Texas A&M University
  57. Monash University
  58. Technical University of Denmark
  59. Chinese University of Hong Kong
  60. City University of Hong Kong
  61. Tohoku University
  62. University of British Columbia
  63. University of Melbourne
  64. University of Southern California
  65. Tokyo Institute of Technology
  66. Australian National University
  67. Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  68. Brown University
  69. University of New South Wales
  70. University of California, Davis
  71. McGill University
  72. University of Maryland, College Park
  73. University of Queensland
  74. University of Minnesota
  75. University of Bristol
  76. University of Sydney
  77. University of Stuttgart
  78. Virginia Polytechnic Institute
  79. Chalmers University of Technology
  80. Nanjing University
  81. National Taiwan University
  82. École Polytechnique
  83. University of Waterloo
  84. University of Sheffield
  85. Aalborg University
  86. Norwegian University of Science & Technology
  87. University of Southampton
  88. University of Freiburg
  89. Indian Institute of Science
  90. Polytechnic University of Milan
  91. University of Colorado Boulder
  92. Tongji University
  93. North Carolina State University
  94. TU Dresden
  95. University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
  96. Lund University
  97. University of Wollongong
  98. Osaka University
  99. Aalto University
  100. University of Delaware 

We looked at the top engineering schools with the highest Industry Income Score, in each country that was listed in the research results. If you live in any of the countries listed below, getting your engineering degree from the school listed will certainly contribute to you making a lot of money. Though you should keep in mind that your engineering degree only prepares you to begin playing in the big leagues. The transitionary period between graduation and your first professional job is extremely important. It has the power to bring you a fortune or send you on an unintended path. 

Industry Income Score is an aspect that’s rapidly becoming a priority for selecting a university. It indicates the financial impact of an institution’s research on the economy, which is a reflection of the commercial value of the research.

The industry income score is of great importance if you prioritize your salary and visualize a career in your engineering, science or technology field.

The University with the highest Industry Income Score in each country are: 

  1. Australia: University of Newcastle
  2. Austria: Johannes Kepler University of Linz
  3. Belgian: University of Liège
  4. Brazil: University of São Paulo
  5. Canada: University of Alberta
  6. Chile: University of Concepción
  7. China: Tongji University
  8. Cypress: University of Cyprus
  9. Denmark: Aarhus University
  10. Estonia: Tallinn University of Technology
  11. Finland: Tampere University of Technology
  12. France: École Polytechnique
  13. Germany: RWTH Aachen University
  14. Greece: University of Patras
  15. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong
  16. Iceland: University of Iceland
  17. India: Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
  18. Iran: Sharif University of Technology
  19. Ireland: National University of Ireland, Galway
  20. Israel: Bar-Ilan University
  21. Italy: Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
  22. Japan: Nagoya University
  23. Kuwait: Kuwait University
  24. Lebanon: American University of Beirut
  25. Luxembourg: University of Luxembourg
  26. Malaysia: Universiti Teknologi Petronas
  27. Macao: University of Macau
  28. Mexico: Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education
  29. Netherland: Eindhoven University of Technology
  30. New Zealand: University of Waikato
  31. Norway: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  32. Pakistan: National University of Sciences and Technology
  33. Poland: Warsaw University of Technology
  34. Portugal: University of Minho
  35. Qatar: Qatar University
  36. Russia: Lomonosov Moscow State University
  37. Saudi Arabia: King Saud University
  38. Singapore: Nanyang Technological University
  39. Slovenia: University of Maribor
  40. South Africa: University of the Witwatersrand
  41. South Korea: Korea University
  42. Spain: University of Seville
  43. Sweden: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
  44. Switzerland: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
  45. Taiwan: National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)
  46. Thailand: King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
  47. Turkey: Istanbul Technical University
  48. UAE: United Arab Emirates University
  49. UK: Imperial College London
  50. USA: University of California, San Diego

Do you agree with these rankings? What are some of the parameters you use to choose a university?

To learn more about the parameters used in this research, click here.

I remember when I graduated from high school in 2003 and start looking at my options, my exam scores and GPA was so low that I couldn’t even qualify to get into a university. So my only option was to go to a college, take some courses again, and then qualify to go to university.

This video helps you understand the Total Cost of Living while you’re going to a university: 

I know all of us reading this article are in different locations and unique situations. It’s tough or impossible for many future engineers to start studying at some of these universities, and that’s completely okay. Education is only a foundation. If you have access to the Internet you can almost learn anything you want. The only question is: How bad do you want it?

Thanks for reviewing this long article. Our goal was to help you as best as we can in choosing the right university for yourself, or learn more about top universities so that you can set new goals to pursue them. 

In the comments below, write the name of your college/university, their ranking if you know, and any other information that can help a recent high school graduate prepare for college/university.

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