Federal data
Highest earning master's mechanical engineering programs in the United States
U.S. mechanical engineering programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $155,889 | 37 |
| 2 | Stanford University | Stanford | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $121,408 | 52 |
| 3 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $114,588 | 62 |
| 4 | University of New Mexico | Albuquerque | Public, 4-year | $111,653 | 37 |
| 5 | University of California-Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public, 4-year | $108,892 | 59 |
| 6 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $107,230 | 81 |
| 7 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $106,735 | 35 |
| 8 | Purdue University-Main Campus | West Lafayette | Public, 4-year | $105,764 | 31 |
| 9 | Oakland University | Rochester Hills | Public, 4-year | $105,451 | 46 |
| 10 | University of Michigan-Dearborn | Dearborn | Public, 4-year | $105,227 | 58 |
| 11 | University of Washington | Seattle | Public, 4-year | $101,504 | 46 |
| 12 | Cornell University | Ithaca | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $99,587 | 36 |
| 13 | Iowa State University | Ames | Public, 4-year | $98,551 | 46 |
| 14 | Ohio State University | Columbus | Public, 4-year | $98,135 | 31 |
| 15 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | Atlanta | Public, 4-year | $97,999 | 67 |
| 16 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh | Public, 4-year | $95,469 | 50 |
| 17 | University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Public, 4-year | $95,350 | 36 |
| 18 | Northeastern University | Boston | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $95,265 | 56 |
| 19 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | Lowell | Public, 4-year | $93,804 | 40 |
| 20 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor | Public, 4-year | $93,716 | 44 |
| 21 | Drexel University | Philadelphia | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $93,661 | 55 |
| 22 | Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $93,617 | 56 |
| 23 | Clarkson University | Potsdam | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $93,595 | 36 |
| 24 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo | Public, 4-year | $92,510 | 31 |
| 25 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City | Public, 4-year | $92,047 | 30 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.
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