Top Mechanical Engineering Schools in 2015

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The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015 includes a ranking of the world’s top 300 universities for mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing engineering, based on a methodology that assesses academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact.

If you’re thinking about undertaking a program within this area, read on for an overview of top universities for mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing engineering in each world region. Or full the full interactive table, click here.

Top mechanical engineering schools in the US & Canada

Taking pride of place in the global leaderboard, the US claims 63 of the world’s 300 top mechanical engineering schools, 29 of which are ranked within the world’s top 100. Aside from the six in the top 10, also within the world’s top 50 are California Institute of Technology (Caltech, 8^th in the QS World University Rankings® 2014/15), Purdue University (102^nd in the world rankings), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (63^rd in the world rankings), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA,37^th in the world rankings), Northwestern University (34^th in the world rankings), Cornell University (19^th in the world rankings), Princeton University (9^th in the world rankings), Pennsylvania State University (13^th in the world rankings), Texas A&M University (165^th in the world rankings) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech, 355^th in the world rankings).

Meanwhile Canada is home to 13 of the planet’s 300 top universities for mechanical engineering, with two in the top 50, and two more in the top 100. In order, these are the University of Toronto (20^th in the world rankings), McGill University (21^st in the world rankings), the University of British Colombia (43^rd in the world rankings) and the University of Waterloo (169^th in the world rankings).

Learn more about studying in the US and Canada here.

Top mechanical engineering schools in Europe

The UK offers 28 of the world’s 300 top mechanical engineering universities, the most of any country outside of the US. As well as three within the top 10 (see above), Cranfield University (unranked in the world rankings) and the University of Manchester (30^th in the world rankings) are both in the world’s top 50 for this subject. Also in the top 100 are Loughborough University (265^th in the world rankings), the University of Nottingham (77^th in the world rankings), the University of Sheffield (69^th in the world rankings), the University of Bath (179^th in the world rankings), the University of Birmingham (64^th in the world rankings), the University of Bristol (29^th in the world rankings), the University of Leeds (97^th in the world rankings), the University of Liverpool (123^rd in the world rankings) and the University of Southampton (94^th in the world rankings).

Of the 14 German universities featured in the mechanical engineering ranking, six are among the world’s top 50. These are Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen, 147^th in the world rankings), Technische Universität München (TU Munich, 54^th in the world rankings), Universität Stuttgart (274^th in the world rankings), Technische Universität Darmstadt (269^th in the world rankings), KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (127^th in the world rankings) and Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin, 192^nd in the world rankings).

France claims 11 of the 300 top mechanical engineering universities, including Ecole Centrale de Paris (unranked in the world rankings) and Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech (35^th in the world rankings). And Italy has 10 leading mechanical engineering schools, including one within the global top 50 – Politecnico di Milano (229^th in the world rankings) – and another in the top 100 – Politecnico di Torino (365^th in the world rankings).

There are a further five top universities for mechanical engineering in Belgium, including KU Leuven (82^nd in the world rankings) within the top 100. Spain offers four, with its highest ranked offering, Politécnica de Madrid (385^th in the world rankings) at 101-150.

Then come Greece, the Netherlands and Sweden, each with three top mechanical engineering schools. These include the Dutch Delft University of Technology (86^th in the world rankings) and the Swedish KTH, Royal Institute of Technology (110^th in the world rankings) – both within the world’s top 50 for mechanical engineering – as well as the Swedish Chalmers University of Technology (175^th in the world rankings) in the top 100. Greece’s highest ranked school is the National Technical University of Athens (441-450 in the world rankings) in the 101-150 range.

Each with two schools in the mechanical engineering ranking are Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Russia and Switzerland. Switzerland’s two schools are both ranked among the world’s top 50 – ETH Zurich (12^th in the world rankings) comes 15^th for mechanical engineering, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, 17^th in the world rankings) is 49=. While Denmark’s top offering, the Technical University of Denmark (123^rd in the world rankings) makes the top 100, Russia’s Lomonosov Moscow State University (114^th in the world rankings) and Austria’s Technische Universität Graz rank 101-150. Ireland’s Trinity College Dublin (71^st in the world rankings) and the Czech Republic’s Czech Technical University in Prague (411-420 in the world rankings) both rank 151-200.

All home to just one leading school in this field are Finland, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Serbia. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (246^th in the world rankings) is the highest ranked among these, at 101-150, while Finland’s Aalto University, Hungary’s Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the Polish Warsaw University of Technology, the Portuguese University of Porto and the Serbian University of Belgrade all rank 201-300.

Learn more about studying in Europe with our comprehensive country guides.

Top mechanical engineering schools in Asia

After the US and the UK, China claims the strongest representation in the mechanical engineering ranking, home to 22 of the world’s 300 top mechanical engineering schools. These include Tsinghua University (47^th in the world rankings), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (104^th in the world rankings) and Peking University (57^th in the world rankings) – all within the world’s top 50 for mechanical engineering.

Japan is next up, with 14 top mechanical engineering universities, including the University of Tokyo (31^st in the world rankings), the Tokyo Institute of Technology (68^th in the world rankings) and Kyoto University (36^th in the world rankings) within the top 50. There are 11 entrants for South Korea, including two in the top 50 – KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (51^st in the world rankings) and Seoul National University (SNU, 31^st in the world rankings).

With a total of nine schools ranked in India, the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology perform particularly well, with four – IIT Bombay (IITB, 222^nd in the world rankings), IIT Delhi (IITD, 235^th in the world rankings), IIT Kharagpur (IITKGP, 324^th in the world rankings) and IIT Madras (IITM, 322^nd in the world rankings) – ranked among the world’s top 100.

Both Taiwan and Malaysia each claim eight leading mechanical engineering universities, with two each among the top 100 worldwide – Taiwanese National Taiwan University (NTU, 76^th in the world rankings) and National Tsing Hua University (167^th in the world rankings) and the Malay Universiti Malaya (UM, 151^st in the world rankings), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM, 309^th in the world rankings).

Hong Kong has five representatives, two of which are in the top 50 – Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST, 40^th in the world rankings) and University of Hong Kong (28^th in the world rankings) – while a further two are in the top 100 – the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK, 46^th in the world rankings) and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (162^nd in the world rankings).

Singapore likewise has a strong offering, with NUS in 8^th place and Nanyang Technological University (NTU, 39^th in the world rankings) at 17=. Lastly, both Indonesia and Thailand each have one school featured. These are the Thai Chulalongkorn University (243^rd in the world rankings) and the Indonesian Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB, 461-470 in the world rankings).

Learn more about studying abroad in Asia with our country guides, or discover more leading schools in the region with the latest QS University Rankings: Asia.

Top mechanical engineering schools in Latin America

Nine of the 13 top mechanical engineering universities in Latin America are claimed by Brazil. Of these, two are among the world’s top 100: Universidade de São Paulo (USP, 132^nd in the world rankings) and Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp, 206^th in the world rankings).

Mexico boasts three top mechanical engineering universities, including the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM, 175^th in the world rankings) at 151-200. The other Latin American country featured in the mechanical engineering ranking is Chile, with the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (167^th in the world rankings).

View our full range of Latin American country guides, or discover more leading schools in the region with the latest edition of the QS University Rankings: Latin America.

Top mechanical engineering schools in Australia & New Zealand

Australia appears a total of 14 times in the mechanical engineering ranking, with the University of Melbourne (33^rd in the world rankings), Monash University (70^th in the world rankings), the University of Sydney (37th in the world rankings) and the University of New South Wales (48^th in the world rankings) all among the world’s top 50. Also in the top 100 are Australian National University (ANU, 25^th in the world rankings), RMIT University (304^th in the world rankings) and the University of Queensland (UQ, 43^rd in the world rankings).

Neighboring New Zealand, meanwhile, offers a pair of leading mechanical engineering schools – the University of Auckland (92^nd in the world rankings) at 51-100 and the University of Canterbury (242^nd in the world rankings) at 151-200.

Find out more about studying in Australia and New Zealand with our country guides.

Top mechanical engineering schools in the Middle East

Both Saudi Arabia and Turkey each have four top universities for mechanical engineering, including the Saudi King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM, 225^th in the world rankings) and King Saud University (KSU, 249^th in the world rankings), both at 101-150. Meanwhile Turkey’s Middle East Technical University (401-410 in the world rankings) ranks at 51-100, followed by Istanbul Technical University (501-550 in the world rankings) at 101-150.

While the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (190^th in the world rankings) is Israel’s only offering in the ranking, Egypt has three representatives, including Cairo University (551-600 in the world rankings). South Africa is the only other African nation featured, with the University of Cape Town (141^st in the world rankings).

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