78 colleges ranked by the research strength of their Engineering faculty — a 0–100 blend of bibliometric quality, top-decile stars, federal R&D funding, and academic notability. Research output, not teaching quality. Reference corpus: 3,868 faculty. Data as of 2026-07-02.
| # | College | Research Strength | Coverage | Median h | FY24 R&D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford University Ivy+ · #2 51 matched faculty; median h-index 50; $165m FY24 R&D; led by Dan Boneh (h-index 119). | 81 | B | 50 | $165m |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ivy+ · #2 93 matched faculty; median h-index 34; $414m FY24 R&D; led by Sang-Gook Kim (h-index 115). | 79 | A | 34 | $414m |
| 3 | University of California, Berkeley Public Ivy · #10 76 matched faculty; median h-index 43; $216m FY24 R&D; led by Robert O. Ritchie (h-index 149). | 79 | A | 43 | $216m |
| 4 | Northwestern University Elite Private · #9 59 matched faculty; median h-index 41; $121m FY24 R&D; led by Zdeněk Bažant (h-index 114). | 77 | A | 41 | $121m |
| 5 | California Institute of Technology Ivy+ · #6 47 matched faculty; median h-index 53; $76m FY24 R&D; led by Harry A. Atwater (h-index 125). | 77 | A | 53 | $76m |
| 6 | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities State Flagship · #54 67 matched faculty; median h-index 37; $161m FY24 R&D; led by Tim Lodge (h-index 94). | 76 | A | 37 | $161m |
| 7 | University of Delaware State Flagship · #86 58 matched faculty; median h-index 38; $175m FY24 R&D; led by Yushan Yan (h-index 121). | 76 | A | 38.5 | $175m |
| 8 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign State Flagship · #35 76 matched faculty; median h-index 31; $352m FY24 R&D; led by Tamer Basar (h-index 92). | 74 | A | 31 | $352m |
| 9 | University of Texas at Austin Public Ivy · #32 71 matched faculty; median h-index 27; $419m FY24 R&D; led by Mark F Hamilton (h-index 140). | 74 | A | 27 | $419m |
| 10 | Duke University Ivy+ · #7 154 matched faculty; median h-index 31; $120m FY24 R&D; led by Jie Liu (h-index 152). | 72 | A | 31 | $120m |
| 11 | University of California, San Diego Public Ivy · #29 38 matched faculty; median h-index 36; $251m FY24 R&D; led by Andrew B. Kahng (h-index 72). | 72 | A | 36 | $251m |
| 12 | Georgia Institute of Technology Public Ivy · #33 95 matched faculty; median h-index 24; $1135m FY24 R&D; led by Yu Ding (h-index 103). | 70 | A | 24 | $1135m |
| 13 | Cornell University Ivy League · #11 79 matched faculty; median h-index 28; $176m FY24 R&D; led by Lawrence Bonassar (h-index 74). | 70 | A | 28 | $176m |
| 14 | Carnegie Mellon University Elite Private · #24 103 matched faculty; median h-index 28; $160m FY24 R&D; led by Carmel Majidi (h-index 85). | 69 | A | 28 | $160m |
| 15 | University of Maryland, College Park State Flagship · #44 36 matched faculty; median h-index 35; $219m FY24 R&D; led by Bo Chen (h-index 100). | 68 | A | 35.5 | $219m |
| 16 | University of Washington State Flagship · #40 64 matched faculty; median h-index 26; $189m FY24 R&D; led by Daniel Kirschen (h-index 80). | 66 | A | 26 | $189m |
| 17 | Northeastern University Ivy+ · #43 37 matched faculty; median h-index 29; $149m FY24 R&D; led by Ravinder Dahiya (h-index 86). | 65 | A | 29 | $149m |
| 18 | Columbia University Ivy League · #8 61 matched faculty; median h-index 22; $122m FY24 R&D; led by Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic (h-index 138). | 65 | A | 22 | $122m |
| 19 | Ohio State University State Flagship · #41 147 matched faculty; median h-index 20; $261m FY24 R&D; led by Deliang Wang (h-index 81). | 64 | A | 20 | $261m |
| 20 | North Carolina State University State Flagship · #58 72 matched faculty; median h-index 25; $218m FY24 R&D; led by Iqbal Husain (h-index 67). | 63 | A | 25.5 | $218m |
| 21 | University of Southern California Elite Private · #28 70 matched faculty; median h-index 25; $91m FY24 R&D; led by Yong Chen (h-index 77). | 63 | A | 25 | $91m |
| 22 | Rice University Elite Private · #13 23 matched faculty; median h-index 26; $137m FY24 R&D; led by K. Jane Grande-Allen (h-index 136). | 63 | A | 26 | $137m |
| 23 | Brown University Ivy League · #9 41 matched faculty; median h-index 34; $33m FY24 R&D; led by Nitin Padture (h-index 76). | 62 | A | 34 | $33m |
| 24 | Michigan State University State Flagship · #63 89 matched faculty; median h-index 24; $99m FY24 R&D; led by Anil Jain (h-index 170). | 60 | A | 24 | $99m |
| 25 | University of Houston Regional · #134 71 matched faculty; median h-index 27; $75m FY24 R&D; led by Zhu Han (h-index 136). | 60 | A | 27 | $75m |
| 26 | University at Buffalo (SUNY) State Flagship · #76 55 matched faculty; median h-index 22; $125m FY24 R&D; led by Deborah Chung (h-index 96). | 60 | A | 22 | $125m |
| 27 | University of California, Irvine Public Ivy · #33 32 matched faculty; median h-index 29; $95m FY24 R&D; led by Yun Wang (h-index 90). | 59 | A | 29.5 | $95m |
| 28 | Washington University in St. Louis Elite Private · #24 54 matched faculty; median h-index 29; $44m FY24 R&D; led by Guy Genin (h-index 77). | 59 | A | 29 | $44m |
| 29 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Regional · #70 55 matched faculty; median h-index 26; $72m FY24 R&D; led by Michael Shur (h-index 106). | 58 | A | 26 | $72m |
| 30 | Case Western Reserve University Selective Private · #51 75 matched faculty; median h-index 21; $72m FY24 R&D; led by Shuo Li (h-index 85). | 58 | A | 21 | $72m |
| 31 | University of Tennessee, Knoxville Selective Public · #105 66 matched faculty; median h-index 19; $129m FY24 R&D; led by Qiang He (h-index 73). | 57 | A | 19 | $129m |
| 32 | Tufts University Elite Private · #40 62 matched faculty; median h-index 24; $39m FY24 R&D; led by Ying Chen (h-index 106). | 56 | A | 24 | $39m |
| 33 | Louisiana State University Selective Public · #147 81 matched faculty; median h-index 21; $69m FY24 R&D; led by Vicki Colvin (h-index 95). | 55 | A | 21 | $69m |
| 34 | University of Arizona Regional · #129 32 matched faculty; median h-index 23; $122m FY24 R&D; led by Erdogan Madenci (h-index 53). | 55 | A | 23.5 | $122m |
| 35 | University of South Carolina State Flagship · #129 33 matched faculty; median h-index 30; $58m FY24 R&D; led by Dryer, Frederick L. (h-index 86). | 54 | B | 30 | $58m |
| 36 | University of Oklahoma Regional · #112 94 matched faculty; median h-index 22; $77m FY24 R&D; led by Li Song (h-index 145). | 53 | A | 22 | $77m |
| 37 | New Jersey Institute of Technology State Flagship · #84 85 matched faculty; median h-index 18; $94m FY24 R&D; led by Rong-Yaw Chen (h-index 80). | 53 | A | 18 | $94m |
| 38 | University of Florida Public Ivy · #27 34 matched faculty; median h-index 16; $154m FY24 R&D; led by Oana Cazacu (h-index 59). | 53 | A | 16.5 | $154m |
| 39 | Colorado School of Mines State Flagship · #76 77 matched faculty; median h-index 17; $68m FY24 R&D; led by Robert Kee (h-index 69). | 53 | A | 17 | $68m |
| 40 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Selective Public · #109 108 matched faculty; median h-index 22; $80m FY24 R&D; led by Jian Wang (h-index 108). | 52 | A | 22 | $80m |
| 41 | Clemson University State Flagship · #80 83 matched faculty; median h-index 18; $119m FY24 R&D; led by Xin Zhao (h-index 107). | 52 | A | 18 | $119m |
| 42 | Lehigh University Selective Private · #46 52 matched faculty; median h-index 20; $35m FY24 R&D; led by Jonas Baltrusaitis (h-index 66). | 51 | A | 20.5 | $35m |
| 43 | Stevens Institute of Technology Regional · #76 71 matched faculty; median h-index 17; $57m FY24 R&D; led by Long Wang (h-index 95). | 51 | B | 17 | $57m |
| 44 | University of Wisconsin-Madison State Flagship · #35 27 matched faculty; median h-index 23; $195m FY24 R&D; led by Miller, Franklin (h-index 79). | 51 | A | 23 | $195m |
| 45 | Auburn University State Flagship · #105 64 matched faculty; median h-index 16; $123m FY24 R&D; led by Nima Shamsaei (h-index 63). | 50 | A | 16 | $123m |
| 46 | University of Kansas Selective Public · #130 15 matched faculty; median h-index 25; $33m FY24 R&D; led by Lin Liu (h-index 57). | 50 | B | 25 | $33m |
| 47 | University of Illinois, Chicago State Flagship · #80 54 matched faculty; median h-index 20; $46m FY24 R&D; led by Liu, Derong (h-index 103). | 49 | A | 20 | $46m |
| 48 | University of Texas at Dallas Regional · #112 23 matched faculty; median h-index 28; $71m FY24 R&D; led by Naofal Al-Dhahir (h-index 66). | 48 | A | 28 | $71m |
| 49 | University of Central Florida State Flagship · #119 24 matched faculty; median h-index 20; $73m FY24 R&D; led by Mohamed Abdel-Aty (h-index 93). | 48 | A | 20 | $73m |
| 50 | University of Iowa Regional · #98 20 matched faculty; median h-index 27; $58m FY24 R&D; led by Tae-Hong Lim (h-index 36). | 47 | A | 27.5 | $58m |
| 51 | Drexel University Regional · #86 22 matched faculty; median h-index 26; $44m FY24 R&D; led by Xiao Huang (h-index 86). | 46 | A | 26 | $44m |
| 52 | Dartmouth College Ivy League · #10 32 matched faculty; median h-index 15; $51m FY24 R&D; led by Weiyang Li (h-index 69). | 46 | A | 15.5 | $51m |
| 53 | Illinois Institute of Technology Regional · #119 50 matched faculty; median h-index 18; $16m FY24 R&D; led by Leon L. Shaw (h-index 60). | 44 | A | 18 | $16m |
| 54 | University of Alabama at Birmingham Regional · #134 35 matched faculty; median h-index 24; $30m FY24 R&D; led by Thanh Nguyen (h-index 62). | 44 | A | 24 | $30m |
| 55 | Boston University Elite Private · #41 5 matched faculty; median h-index 24; $114m FY24 R&D; led by Osama Alshaykh (h-index 6). | 44 | C | 24 | $114m |
| 56 | University of Pittsburgh State Flagship · #70 6 matched faculty; median h-index 20; $84m FY24 R&D; led by Alan George (h-index 44). | 41 | B | 20 | $84m |
| 57 | University of Massachusetts Amherst State Flagship · #60 16 matched faculty; median h-index 20; $84m FY24 R&D; led by Jonathan Rothstein (h-index 50). | 40 | A | 20 | $84m |
| 58 | Binghamton University (SUNY) State Flagship · #73 63 matched faculty; median h-index 19; $50m FY24 R&D; led by Yong Wang (h-index 59). | 40 | A | 19 | $50m |
| 59 | Florida International University State Flagship · #98 27 matched faculty; median h-index 17; $57m FY24 R&D; led by Osama Mohammed (h-index 66). | 39 | A | 17 | $57m |
| 60 | Syracuse University Regional · #73 32 matched faculty; median h-index 12; $25m FY24 R&D; led by Cliff I. Davidson (h-index 54). | 35 | A | 12 | $25m |
| 61 | CUNY City College State Flagship · #134 21 matched faculty; median h-index 13; $25m FY24 R&D; led by Feridun Delale (h-index 26). | 34 | B | 13 | $25m |
| 62 | San Diego State University State Flagship · #119 45 matched faculty; median h-index 17; $17m FY24 R&D; led by Dongye Zhao (h-index 77). | 34 | A | 17 | $17m |
| 63 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute Regional · #86 31 matched faculty; median h-index 18; $41m FY24 R&D; led by Jane Li (h-index 48). | 34 | A | 18 | $41m |
| 64 | Brigham Young University Regional · #112 35 matched faculty; median h-index 19; $32m FY24 R&D; led by Larry L. Howell (h-index 57). | 34 | A | 19 | $32m |
| 65 | University of Alabama Selective Public · #97 14 matched faculty; median h-index 20; $62m FY24 R&D; led by Jason E. Bara (h-index 44). | 34 | A | 20.5 | $62m |
| 66 | University of New Hampshire Regional · #119 34 matched faculty; median h-index 18; $35m FY24 R&D; led by Marko Knezevic (h-index 72). | 33 | A | 18.5 | $35m |
| 67 | Villanova University Selective Private · #60 18 matched faculty; median h-index 15; $14m FY24 R&D; led by Bo Li (h-index 61). | 33 | A | 15 | $14m |
| 68 | Oregon State University Selective Public · #115 16 matched faculty; median h-index 18; $80m FY24 R&D; led by Andre R. Barbosa (h-index 37). | 30 | A | 18 | $80m |
| 69 | Temple University Regional · #98 14 matched faculty; median h-index 17; $11m FY24 R&D; led by Li Bai (h-index 53). | 27 | B | 17 | $11m |
| 70 | University of Maryland, Baltimore County State Flagship · #129 19 matched faculty; median h-index 17; $11m FY24 R&D; led by Weidong Zhu (h-index 50). | 26 | A | 17 | $11m |
| 71 | University of San Diego Regional · #112 9 matched faculty; median h-index 14; $1m FY24 R&D; led by Caroline Baillie (h-index 36). | 23 | B | 14 | $1m |
| 72 | Rochester Institute of Technology Regional · #91 37 matched faculty; median h-index 14; $33m FY24 R&D; led by Alfonso Fuentes Aznar (h-index 32). | 23 | A | 14 | $33m |
| 73 | Saint Louis University Regional · #105 24 matched faculty; median h-index 11; $5m FY24 R&D; led by Scott Sell (h-index 41). | 20 | A | 11 | $5m |
| 74 | Marquette University Regional · #86 14 matched faculty; median h-index 13; $13m FY24 R&D; led by Joseph Domblesky (h-index 20). | 19 | A | 13 | $13m |
| 75 | Swarthmore College Elite Private · #17 5 matched faculty; median h-index 10; $1m FY24 R&D; led by Carr Everbach (h-index 23). | 17 | C | 10 | $1m |
| 76 | Bucknell University Top LAC · #35 29 matched faculty; median h-index 10; $2m FY24 R&D; led by Jude Okolie (h-index 34). | 15 | A | 10 | $2m |
| 77 | Lafayette College Top LAC · #38 22 matched faculty; median h-index 10; $1m FY24 R&D; led by Javad Tavakoli (h-index 31). | 13 | A | 10 | $1m |
| 78 | Harvey Mudd College Top LAC · #10 22 matched faculty; median h-index 8; $1m FY24 R&D; led by David Nembhard (h-index 25). | 12 | A | 8.5 | $1m |
Research Strength (0–100) blends four components, re-normalized over whichever are available for each college: Quality 45%, Stars 25%, Funding 20%, Notability 10%. Each college's faculty in Engineering are matched to OpenAlex research records; scores use field-relative percentiles across these 192 colleges, not all US institutions. A college needs at least four matched faculty to be ranked.
Research Strength Rankings v1.0 · as of 2026-07-02.