Subject ranking — 2026 edition
Best Universities for Engineering
Engineering is assessed on where graduates are hired, the depth and citation impact of the faculty's research groups, and how selective admission has become as applications climb. The table spans mechanical, electrical, civil and aerospace departments rather than a single sub-discipline.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is ranked first in the 2026 best universities for engineering, with an overall score of 98.6 out of 100. Stanford University is second and University of California, Berkeley third. 15 institutions are ranked in this edition.
Published
- 1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, USA
Outcomes99Salary98Faculty99Selectivity99Employers99Network9598.6Score - 2
Stanford University
Stanford, USA
Outcomes98Salary98Faculty98Selectivity99Employers98Network9397.4Score - 3
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, USA
Outcomes95Salary94Faculty98Selectivity95Employers96Network9295.2Score - 4
ETH Zurich
Zurich
Outcomes94Salary93Faculty97Selectivity94Employers95Network9494.5Score - 5
University of Cambridge
Cambridge
Outcomes94Salary92Faculty96Selectivity98Employers95Network9093.8Score - 6
Imperial College London
London
Outcomes94Salary92Faculty94Selectivity94Employers94Network9393.1Score - 7
Tsinghua University
Beijing
Outcomes93Salary90Faculty96Selectivity96Employers92Network8592.4Score - 8
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
Outcomes90Salary89Faculty93Selectivity90Employers90Network9290.2Score - 9
Delft University of Technology
Delft
Outcomes90Salary88Faculty90Selectivity88Employers90Network8888.9Score - 10
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, USA
Outcomes90Salary89Faculty89Selectivity87Employers89Network8488.1Score - 11
Technical University of Munich
Munich
Outcomes89Salary87Faculty89Selectivity86Employers88Network8587.3Score - 12
University of Tokyo
Tokyo
Outcomes87Salary86Faculty90Selectivity90Employers87Network7986.6Score - 13
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, USA
Outcomes87Salary86Faculty87Selectivity84Employers86Network8185.4Score - 14
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Mumbai
Outcomes86Salary82Faculty84Selectivity92Employers85Network7684.0Score - 15
University of Toronto
Toronto
Outcomes84Salary82Faculty86Selectivity82Employers84Network8483.2Score
Engineering 2026: frequently asked questions
- Which institution is number one in the 2026 engineering ranking?
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, based in Cambridge, USA, ranks first with an overall score of 98.6 out of 100.
- How is this ranking calculated?
- Every entry is scored on the same six weighted indicators — Graduate outcomes (30%), Salary uplift (20%), Faculty & research strength (15%), Selectivity (15%), Employer reputation (10%), Cohort & network reach (10%) — each normalised across the table and combined into an overall score out of 100. Nothing is reweighted table by table.
- How many institutions are ranked, and how often is the table updated?
- 15 institutions appear in the 2026 edition. A new edition is published every year on 30 September, with all six indicators re-collected for that edition.
- Can an institution pay to appear or move up?
- No. No institution pays to be assessed, to appear in a table, or to change its position, and no score is shown to an institution before publication.
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Scored on the composite set out in our methodology. See also all rankings.