Underrated Engineering Colleges: Exceptional Programs Beyond the Rankings
When families think about “top” engineering programs, the same handful of institutions tend to dominate the conversation. Rankings reinforce those perceptions — but they don’t always reflect the quality of undergraduate teaching, mentorship, or hands-on engineering preparation. Over the years, I’ve seen many students thrive at engineering programs that rarely appear on commonly referenced rankings. This article highlights undergraduate engineering colleges that deserve closer consideration.
Why “Underrated” Engineering Programs Are Often Missed
Many engineering programs are overlooked because they don’t fit the dominant narrative of a “top” engineering school. Rankings tend to reward research volume, graduate programs, and institutional scale — factors that matter far less to the undergraduate engineering experience than families often realize.
Some programs on this list are underrated because they are small, specialized, or intensely undergraduate-focused. Others are overlooked because they don’t carry the brand recognition families associate with engineering prestige, even though their graduates are highly competitive for jobs, graduate school, and professional licensure.
In other cases, programs are missed simply because they are misunderstood. Applied, project-based curricula and teaching-centered or interdisciplinary engineering environments can be mistaken for being “less rigorous,” when in reality they often provide earlier, deeper engagement with real engineering work.
By “underrated,” we mean undergraduate engineering programs that consistently deliver strong preparation and outcomes — but are too often left out of the conversation when families default to rankings alone.
Close mentorship matters more than rankings.
24 Underrated Engineering Colleges Worth a Closer Look
Boston College
Boston College is often overlooked as an engineering option because it does not have a traditional, discipline-segmented school of engineering. Its Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) program is a cross-disciplinary engineering degree that integrates foundational engineering science, design, and computation within a liberal arts context. The curriculum emphasizes active, project-based learning from the first year, including a multi-semester Engineering Foundations Studio sequence that builds technical depth across core engineering domains. Students pursue a general engineering pathway with flexibility to develop focus areas in health, energy, the environment, or other interdisciplinary directions, culminating in collaborative junior and senior design projects. This model can be an excellent fit for students seeking rigorous engineering preparation alongside sustained attention to ethics, reflection, and the broader human impact of engineering work.
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is often overlooked in engineering conversations because its Engineering Science program is newly launched and not housed in a traditional school of engineering. Designed for ABET accreditation, the program is intentionally interdepartmental and integrates engineering design and problem-solving with Brandeis’s longstanding strengths in the sciences, materials research, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Engineering coursework is embedded across departments, with students engaging in hands-on work through resources such as the MakerLab and research centers alongside faculty in science, engineering, and related fields. This emerging model may appeal to students interested in engineering that is deeply connected to research, innovation, and real-world problem-solving at the intersection of technology, science, and society.
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is sometimes overlooked in engineering conversations because it is smaller and more undergraduate-focused than large research universities, despite offering a full and well-established College of Engineering. Its engineering programs emphasize hands-on learning, close faculty mentorship, and early engagement with real engineering problems, with students identifying as engineers from the start of their academic experience. Across disciplines, Bucknell integrates strong technical foundations with interdisciplinary thinking, industry partnerships, and project-based work that extends beyond the classroom. This environment can be an excellent fit for students seeking rigorous, ABET-accredited engineering programs with the scale and support of a teaching-centered institution rather than a research-driven one.
Clarkson University
Clarkson University is sometimes overlooked in national engineering conversations because of its location and applied focus, despite offering a deep and well-established set of undergraduate engineering programs. Its engineering and applied sciences programs are built around hands-on learning, industry engagement, and early participation in real engineering work, with students routinely involved in design projects, competitive engineering teams, internships, and co-ops. Clarkson’s curriculum emphasizes not only technical fundamentals, but also practical skills in project management, communication, and problem-solving, shaped by ongoing input from industry partners. This environment can be an excellent fit for students seeking a highly applied engineering education with strong career preparation and close connections to industry.
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado School of Mines is sometimes overlooked by families focused on name-brand engineering schools, despite being one of the most technically rigorous undergraduate engineering institutions in the country. As a relatively small, public, engineering- and applied-science-focused university, Mines offers an immersive curriculum grounded in mathematics, physics, and real-world problem solving, with strong ties to industry and applied research. Students engage deeply with engineering from the start, often working on projects connected to energy, materials, infrastructure, and environmental systems. This environment can be an excellent fit for students seeking a highly focused, technically demanding engineering education with clear pathways to industry and graduate study.
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is often overlooked in contemporary engineering conversations because of its very small size and highly selective, specialized focus, despite its long-standing reputation for intellectual rigor. Its Albert Nerken School of Engineering offers a mathematically demanding, design-intensive curriculum taught in small classes by faculty deeply committed to undergraduate teaching. Students engage early in hands-on and research-based work—often pursuing original projects alongside professors—within a tightly knit academic community. Located in New York City, Cooper’s model can be an excellent fit for students seeking an intensive, theory-grounded engineering education that combines close mentorship, creative exploration, and exposure to real-world problems in an urban context.
Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College is sometimes overlooked by families focused on large engineering schools, despite being one of the most rigorous undergraduate environments for engineering, science, and mathematics in the country. Its engineering program is embedded within a distinctive liberal arts curriculum that requires deep engagement across STEM disciplines alongside substantial work in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. Students complete an intensive core curriculum and progress to advanced, project-based work, culminating in original research or the College’s renowned Clinic Program, where teams solve real technical problems for external partners. This model can be an excellent fit for students who thrive in intellectually demanding, collaborative environments and want an engineering education that emphasizes breadth, depth, and real-world impact.
Kettering University
Kettering University is often overlooked by families unfamiliar with its distinctive academic model, despite being one of the most deeply applied undergraduate engineering environments in the country. Its engineering and computer science programs are built around a required cooperative education structure, in which students alternate between academic terms and full-time, paid industry work throughout their degree. This integration of coursework and professional experience shapes the curriculum itself, with strong emphasis on design, manufacturing, systems thinking, and real-world problem solving. Kettering can be an excellent fit for students who want an intensely hands-on engineering education and who are motivated by learning through sustained engagement with industry rather than short-term internships.
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is often overlooked in engineering conversations because it is housed within a liberal arts college rather than a standalone engineering-focused institution. In reality, Lafayette offers a robust, ABET-accredited engineering curriculum that combines discipline-specific depth with strong interdisciplinary options, including its recently accredited Integrative Engineering program with focus areas in bioengineering, environment and energy, and robotics. The Engineering Division emphasizes close student–faculty collaboration, hands-on design work, and early engagement in research, while also encouraging study abroad and broader intellectual exploration. Lafayette can be an excellent fit for students who want serious engineering preparation alongside the flexibility, mentorship, and perspective that come from a liberal arts environment.
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is often overlooked in national conversations despite delivering consistently strong undergraduate engineering outcomes. MSOE is a teaching-centered, engineering-focused institution where applied learning, laboratory work, and design are central to the curriculum from the first year. Classes are small, faculty are deeply engaged in undergraduate instruction, and programs emphasize practical problem-solving aligned with professional engineering practice. This environment can be an excellent fit for students who want a structured, hands-on engineering education with clear connections to industry and strong preparation for engineering careers immediately after graduation.
Ohio Northern University
Ohio Northern University is often overlooked in engineering conversations because of its small size and low national profile, despite offering a highly student-centered undergraduate engineering experience. Housed within the T.J. Smull College of Engineering, the program emphasizes small classes, close faculty mentorship, and hands-on learning across civil, mechanical, electrical, computer engineering, and computer science. Engineering students engage early in design projects, undergraduate research, and a required cooperative education experience that integrates academic learning with professional practice. Ohio Northern can be an excellent fit for students who value individualized attention, strong teaching, and a supportive environment focused squarely on undergraduate engineering preparation.
Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering is often misunderstood rather than unknown. Founded with the explicit goal of reimagining undergraduate engineering education, Olin is intentionally small, project-driven, and student-centered. Its curriculum emphasizes design, entrepreneurship, and real-world problem solving from the first year, with engineering taught through open-ended projects rather than traditional lecture sequences. Students work extensively in labs and shops, collaborate across disciplines, and complete multiple internships or immersive experiential learning opportunities before graduation. Olin can be an excellent fit for students who thrive in highly collaborative environments, enjoy learning by doing, and want an engineering education that foregrounds impact, creativity, and human-centered design.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is widely respected within engineering circles but often overlooked by families who focus primarily on large research universities. Rose-Hulman is a teaching-first, undergraduate-only institution devoted almost entirely to engineering, science, and mathematics, with a curriculum built around small classes, intensive design work, and close faculty mentorship. Students engage early in hands-on projects, laboratories, internships, and co-ops, and the academic culture emphasizes depth, rigor, and practical problem-solving rather than breadth for its own sake. Rose-Hulman can be an excellent fit for students who want a highly focused engineering environment, thrive in academically demanding settings, and value learning from faculty whose primary commitment is undergraduate education.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is sometimes overlooked by families focused on traditional engineering prestige hierarchies, despite offering one of the most comprehensive and practice-oriented engineering and technology ecosystems in the country. RIT is a longtime leader in cooperative education, integrating extended, paid professional experiences directly into the undergraduate curriculum across engineering, computing, and engineering technology programs. Students engage early in applied, project-based learning and interdisciplinary work that often blends engineering with design, computing, and real-world problem solving. RIT can be an excellent fit for students who want technical rigor paired with sustained professional experience and who thrive in environments where engineering is closely connected to industry, creativity, and applied impact.
Smith College
Smith College is often overlooked in engineering conversations because it is a women’s liberal arts college — yet it was the first women’s college to offer an ABET-accredited engineering degree. The Picker Engineering Program provides a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science that integrates rigorous engineering fundamentals with design, systems thinking, and sustained attention to societal context. Students engage in hands-on, client-sponsored work through Smith’s two-semester Design Clinic, while benefiting from small classes, close faculty mentorship, and a curriculum intentionally designed to support women in engineering. Smith can be an excellent fit for female students seeking a technically rigorous engineering education within a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment that emphasizes communication, ethics, and real-world impact alongside engineering depth.
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is sometimes overlooked in national engineering conversations because it sits between categories: larger and more research-active than a small engineering college, yet more professionally oriented and undergraduate-attentive than many large research universities. Engineering and science are housed together within the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science, creating an intentionally interdisciplinary environment grounded in design, applied research, and real-world problem solving. Undergraduate students benefit from early exposure to hands-on projects, strong integration of computing and data-driven approaches, and close connections to industry through internships, co-ops, and sponsored research. Stevens can be an excellent fit for students seeking rigorous engineering preparation paired with strong career outcomes, entrepreneurial pathways, and access to a dense innovation ecosystem just outside New York City.
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is sometimes overlooked as an engineering option because it is best known as an elite liberal arts college. Yet its Engineering Department offers a rigorous, ABET-accredited program that intentionally integrates engineering, mathematics, science, and the humanities. Students complete a strong technical core while specializing in civil/environmental, computer, electrical, or mechanical engineering—or designing a customized pathway that blends engineering with fields such as biology, chemistry, or computer science. Small classes and close faculty mentorship support deep analytical thinking, design synthesis, and collaborative problem solving. Swarthmore can be an excellent fit for students seeking a technically demanding engineering education grounded in ethical reasoning, communication, and a broad understanding of the societal context in which engineering solutions are developed.
Trinity College (CT)
Trinity College is often overlooked in engineering conversations because it is a small liberal arts college, yet it has a long-standing commitment to engineering education and offers two distinct engineering degree paths. Trinity is one of a small number of highly selective liberal arts colleges to offer both an ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Engineering Science. The program is intentionally situated within the liberal arts, requiring substantial coursework beyond engineering and encouraging interdisciplinary connections with fields such as biology, chemistry, computer science, neuroscience, and physics. Students benefit from close faculty mentorship, hands-on senior capstone projects, and access to internship opportunities through Trinity’s proximity to regional engineering, technology, and biomedical organizations. Trinity can be an excellent fit for students seeking an engineering education that combines technical foundations with flexibility, leadership development, and preparation for a wide range of professional and graduate pathways.
Trinity University (TX)
Trinity University offers an ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science that emphasizes design as the core of engineering education. Housed within a strong liberal arts university, the program is intentionally multidisciplinary, grounding students in physics, mathematics, and engineering fundamentals while integrating communication, leadership, and ethical reasoning throughout the curriculum. Design is embedded across all eight semesters, giving students sustained, hands-on experience in problem formulation, iteration, and implementation. While the degree is broadly framed as engineering science, students can shape their coursework toward areas such as chemical, electrical, or mechanical engineering through electives. Trinity can be an excellent fit for students seeking a design-centered, ABET-accredited engineering program within a close-knit academic community that values both technical rigor and humanistic context.
Union College
Union College offers a distinctive engineering experience that combines the intimacy of a small liberal arts college with facilities and technical resources more typical of much larger universities. Engineering students benefit from small classes, close faculty mentorship, and a strong sense of community, while also working in exceptionally well-equipped labs, maker spaces, and machine shops housed in the Integrated Science and Engineering Complex. Union currently offers ABET-accredited programs in biomedical, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering, with civil and environmental engineering in the process of accreditation. The curriculum emphasizes hands-on learning, design, and integration with the liberal arts through initiatives such as the Engineering and Liberal Education (ELE) program. Union can be an excellent fit for students who want rigorous, ABET-accredited engineering within a collaborative, undergraduate-focused environment that values both technical depth and broad intellectual development.
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is often overlooked in engineering conversations because its program is relatively young and embedded within a liberal arts undergraduate college rather than a standalone school of engineering. Its engineering program is designed around applied, systems-oriented problem-solving, integrating engineering fundamentals with design, computation, and real-world application. Students engage in hands-on work throughout the curriculum, culminating in senior capstone projects that address challenges in areas such as healthcare, sustainability, infrastructure, and technology. With a strong emphasis on collaboration, communication, and ethical responsibility—and a notably high representation of women among both students and faculty—Wake Forest can be an excellent fit for students seeking a rigorous, human-centered engineering education grounded in a liberal arts environment.
Webb Institute
Webb Institute is a highly specialized engineering college focused exclusively on naval architecture and marine engineering. All admitted students receive a full-tuition scholarship (for U.S. citizens and permanent residents), and graduates earn a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering—one of the highest-value engineering majors nationally. Webb’s curriculum is intensely hands-on and design-driven, with students completing a major ship design project every year and participating in guaranteed paid internships during two months of each academic year. The program is small, immersive, and demanding, producing graduates with deep technical expertise and exceptional readiness for industry or graduate study. Webb can be an outstanding fit for students with a clear interest in marine systems, ship design, or ocean engineering who thrive in a highly focused, rigorous, and close-knit engineering environment.
Having spent significant time at Webb Institute as a child while my father taught mathematics there, I gained an early, insider view of how deeply immersive, design-driven engineering education shapes students—an experience that continues to inform how I evaluate small, highly specialized engineering programs today. (See Jennifer’s Academic Journey for a fuller story).
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Engineering at Wentworth is housed in the Douglas D. Schumann School of Engineering, which emphasizes applied, career-connected engineering education through a lab-intensive, project-based curriculum. Students learn by doing from the start, supported by extensive facilities—including more than 30 dedicated engineering laboratories—and a long-standing co-op model that integrates multiple paid professional experiences into the undergraduate program. This structure allows students to graduate with substantial hands-on experience, strong industry connections, and a clear understanding of how engineering work functions in real-world settings. Wentworth can be an excellent fit for students who want applied engineering training, early and sustained exposure to industry, and a direct pathway from coursework to professional practice—particularly those energized by experiential learning rather than a primarily theoretical approach.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is often underestimated and more regionally known, despite being a national leader in project-based engineering education. What truly distinguishes WPI is the depth and structure of its project-driven curriculum. Through the WPI Plan, students engage in team-based, real-world projects from the first year, integrating engineering, science, humanities, and global perspectives. Signature experiences such as the Major Qualifying Project (MQP) require students to tackle open-ended engineering problems—often for real clients—drawing on both technical expertise and societal context. WPI’s School of Engineering combines strong disciplinary depth with flexibility across engineering fields, supported by close faculty mentorship and substantial research activity as an R1 institution. Students collaborate across disciplines, work in global project centers around the world, and graduate with significant experience applying engineering to complex, human-centered challenges—making WPI an excellent fit for students who thrive in collaborative, project-driven environments and value real-world impact alongside technical rigor.
Thriving in engineering starts with the right learning environment.
How to Use This List in a Thoughtful College Search
This list is not meant to be a checklist or a ranking. Its purpose is to broaden the conversation about engineering programs and encourage families to look beyond familiar names when building an engineering college list.
Start by noticing why a particular school catches your attention. Is it the size? The hands-on nature of the curriculum? The presence of cooperative education or project-based learning? Or the way engineering is integrated with other disciplines? These signals are often more informative than prestige markers when it comes to undergraduate outcomes.
Next, consider how each program aligns with how certain a student is about pursuing engineering. (Families who are still sorting through engineering disciplines may find it helpful to explore how different engineering majors align with different strengths and interests.) Some of the colleges on this list are best suited for students who are confident they want an immersive, technically focused engineering experience. Others work well for students who want room to explore, combine engineering with broader interests, or approach engineering through a more interdisciplinary or human-centered lens.
It’s also important to spend time learning about these schools beyond this article. Two schools that both offer engineering degrees may deliver very different day-to-day experiences — particularly when it comes to class size, faculty access, and how engineering is taught. Who teaches undergraduates? How early do students engage in real engineering work? How flexible is the curriculum if interests evolve? These questions matter more than a school’s reputation.
Families may also want to understand when ABET accreditation matters — and when it doesn’t — depending on a student’s goals.
Finally, use this list as a starting point, not a finish line. Strong college lists are built by combining academic fit, personal fit, and practical considerations such as cost, location, and support for internships or co-ops. When families focus on where a student is most likely to thrive, the college application process tends to go more smoothly and successfully.
Strong Engineering Outcomes Don’t Always Follow Rankings
Rankings can be useful reference points, but they emphasize research funding, publication volume, and graduate programs — factors that often have little bearing on how undergraduates are taught, mentored, or prepared for engineering work after college.
What matters more for many aspiring engineers is the quality of the undergraduate experience itself: who teaches them, how early they engage in real engineering work, whether collaboration is encouraged, and how well the program supports internships, co-ops, or other applied learning opportunities. These elements shape not only technical skill development, but also confidence, persistence, and professional readiness.
That’s why so many students succeed at programs that rarely dominate rankings conversations. When students choose environments aligned with how they learn, how certain they are about engineering, and how they want to engage with the world beyond the classroom, outcomes tend to be stronger — and more positive.
A thoughtful engineering college search is ultimately about fit, not prestige. For a deeper look at how we help students evaluate engineering programs through this lens, see our Deep-Fit™ framework.
