Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Chemical Engineering

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 158

Avg grad salary: $86,028

Total graduates: 10,157

Top Colleges for Chemical Engineering — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	Rice University Houston, TX	$108,850	$87,830	23	$13,178	7.9%
2	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$108,067	$81,553	57	$18,155	11.7%
3	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	$107,816	$81,721	18	$20,500	5.9%
4	Lamar University Beaumont, TX	$107,127	$87,284	35	$20,019	85.7%
5	Columbia University New York, NY	$105,514	$55,154	17	N/A	4.2%
6	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	$105,514	$85,578	55	$14,361	8.2%
7	Texas A&M University College Station, TX	$105,292	$86,176	144	$18,135	63.2%
8	University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK	$101,924	$47,705	22	N/A	58.0%
9	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	$101,352	$80,653	17	$27,000	32.0%
10	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	$100,444	$80,709	32	$16,500	7.1%
11	MIT Cambridge, MA	$99,799	$80,139	42	$15,209	4.7%
12	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA	$99,522	$74,786	123	$20,500	74.0%
13	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	$99,093	$77,565	108	$13,980	69.2%
14	Tufts University Medford, MA	$97,631	$75,367	19	N/A	10.1%
15	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS	$97,457	$77,492	56	$24,750	79.4%
16	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	$96,794	$83,377	80	$19,000	12.4%
17	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	$96,261	$82,466	57	$25,875	70.9%
18	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	$96,178	$75,639	19	N/A	6.3%
19	UT Austin Austin, TX	$95,916	$87,365	115	$19,844	29.1%
20	NC State Raleigh, NC	$94,710	$81,492	97	$22,244	39.9%
21	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	$94,160	$77,380	109	$27,000	85.2%
22	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	$93,785	$75,102	66	$22,750	71.7%
23	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	$93,745	$85,772	42	$17,733	16.9%
24	Auburn University Auburn, AL	$93,708	$82,217	73	$23,104	50.5%
25	UIUC Champaign, IL	$93,416	$77,440	110	$22,850	43.7%
26	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	$93,146	$70,359	41	$24,500	83.3%
27	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	$93,093	$82,435	23	$27,000	29.3%
28	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	$93,060	$72,868	31	$24,797	49.0%
29	WashU (St. Louis) St. Louis, MO	$92,896	$69,801	18	$19,500	12.0%
30	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	$92,813	$85,945	75	$21,947	43.4%
31	Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA	$92,771	$85,847	159	$27,000	16.5%
32	UCLA Los Angeles, CA	$92,741	$76,680	63	$18,205	8.7%
33	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	$92,466	$77,586	81	$28,000	70.9%
34	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	$92,357	$78,813	134	$21,500	90.2%
35	University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI	$92,027	$79,551	126	$21,250	17.9%
36	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	$91,987	$51,267	36	$15,000	7.6%
37	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	$91,957	$72,864	28	$27,000	41.7%
38	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	$91,729	$87,164	104	$20,050	24.0%
39	Villanova University Villanova, PA	$91,386	$72,379	65	$27,000	25.1%
40	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	$91,204	$78,183	92	$23,298	76.3%
41	Northeastern University Boston, MA	$91,084	$81,880	166	$27,000	9.9%
42	University of Louisville Louisville, KY	$90,870	$70,675	46	$21,500	80.5%
43	UC Davis Davis, CA	$90,820	$68,337	106	$16,000	41.6%
44	University of Dayton Dayton, OH	$90,775	$79,865	71	$22,999	61.7%
45	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	$90,679	$77,528	108	$30,860	77.5%
46	RPI Troy, NY	$90,212	$78,263	130	$25,332	58.5%
47	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Johnstown, PA	$90,120	$73,072	157	$26,548	95.9%
48	University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA	$90,120	$73,072	157	$26,548	49.7%
49	USC Los Angeles, CA	$89,986	$68,234	26	$13,000	10.0%
50	Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ	$89,971	$79,339	57	$26,686	43.4%
51	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	$89,909	$82,382	79	$25,350	57.0%
52	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	$89,339	$71,373	28	$29,900	82.0%
53	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN	$89,329	$82,394	62	$24,500	72.8%
54	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	$89,036	$78,767	75	$27,000	58.5%
55	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM	$88,962	$75,766	26	$15,000	75.7%
56	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	$88,952	$69,009	86	$21,812	73.7%
57	University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN	$88,515	$73,245	71	$25,495	77.0%
58	University of South Alabama Mobile, AL	$88,406	$71,116	28	$24,500	65.5%
59	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH	$88,171	$77,542	42	$20,500	82.1%
60	Ohio State University Columbus, OH	$88,132	$77,455	178	$20,500	50.8%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Chemical Engineering Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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