Mechanical Engineering 12 Colleges Population Comparison

Total PopulationUndergraduateGraduateOnline Classes

Total Student Population Comparison

The total student population of best Mechanical Engineering schools is 408,619 with 191,810 female students and 216,809 male students. This enrollment statistics is based on the latest data from IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education for academic year 2024-2025. The following table compares the student population for both undergraduate and graduate schools between best Mechanical Engineering schools.

Among the best Mechanical Engineering schools, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has the most enrolled students of 59,238, while California Institute of Technology has the least number of students of 2,430 for both in graduate and undergraduate programs.

Student Population Comparison Between Best Mechanical Engineering Schools
Rank	Name	Total	Men	Women
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	11,886	6,650	5,236
1	Stanford University	18,625	9,667	8,958
3	California Institute of Technology	2,430	1,459	971
3	University of California-Berkeley	45,882	21,140	24,742
5	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	53,363	36,169	17,194
5	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	59,238	31,825	27,413
5	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	52,855	24,997	27,858
8	Cornell University	26,793	12,696	14,097
8	Princeton University	9,137	4,759	4,378
10	Carnegie Mellon University	15,888	8,977	6,911
10	Purdue University-Main Campus	58,658	34,856	23,802
10	The University of Texas at Austin	53,864	23,614	30,250
Total		408,619	216,809	191,810

Undergraduate Student Population

The total undergraduate population of best Mechanical Engineering schools is 255,983 with 128,217 female students and 127,766 male students. The following table compares 2024-2025 undergraduate enrollment between best Mechanical Engineering schools.

Among the best Mechanical Engineering schools, Purdue University-Main Campus has the most enrolled undergraduate students of 44,819, while California Institute of Technology has the least number of undergraduate students of 987.

Undergraduate Student Population Comparison Between Best Mechanical Engineering Schools
Rank	Name	Total	Men	Women
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	4,535	2,351	2,184
1	Stanford University	7,904	3,840	4,064
3	California Institute of Technology	987	541	446
3	University of California-Berkeley	33,070	14,622	18,448
5	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	20,591	12,413	8,178
5	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	37,140	19,404	17,736
5	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	34,454	15,920	18,534
8	Cornell University	16,128	7,333	8,795
8	Princeton University	5,813	2,895	2,918
10	Carnegie Mellon University	7,377	3,765	3,612
10	Purdue University-Main Campus	44,819	26,428	18,391
10	The University of Texas at Austin	43,165	18,254	24,911
Total		255,983	127,766	128,217

Graduate Student Population

The total graduate population of best Mechanical Engineering schools is 152,636 with 63,593 female students and 89,043 male students. The following table compares 2023-2024 graduate enrollment between best Mechanical Engineering schools.

Among the best Mechanical Engineering schools, Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus has the most enrolled graduate students of 32,772, while California Institute of Technology has the least number of graduate students of 1,443.

Graduate Student Population Comparison Between Best Mechanical Engineering Schools
Rank	Name	Total	Men	Women
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	7,351	4,299	3,052
1	Stanford University	10,721	5,827	4,894
3	California Institute of Technology	1,443	918	525
3	University of California-Berkeley	12,812	6,518	6,294
5	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	32,772	23,756	9,016
5	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	22,098	12,421	9,677
5	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	18,401	9,077	9,324
8	Cornell University	10,665	5,363	5,302
8	Princeton University	3,324	1,864	1,460
10	Carnegie Mellon University	8,511	5,212	3,299
10	Purdue University-Main Campus	13,839	8,428	5,411
10	The University of Texas at Austin	10,699	5,360	5,339
Total		152,636	89,043	63,593

Distance Learning (Online Class) Enrollment

The following table compares 2023-2024 distance learning enrollment for both undergraduate and graduate programs between best Mechanical Engineering schools. In undergraduate programs, out of total 249,183 students, 3,595 students (1.44%) have taken courses only through distance learning and 72,837 students (29.23%) have learned from at least one online course. For graduate schools, out of total 147,869 students, 40,782 students (27.58%) have taken courses only through distance learning and 11,123 students (7.52%) have learned from at least one online course.

Online Course (Distance Learning) Population Comparison Between Best Mechanical Engineering Schools
Rank	Name	Undergraduate			Graduate
Rank	Name	Total	Online Exclusively	Some Online Classes	Total	Online Exclusively	Some Online Classes
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	4,535	-	-	7,351	46 (0.63%)	-
1	Stanford University	7,904	350 (4.43%)	-	10,721	-	854 (7.97%)
3	California Institute of Technology	California Institute of Technology does not offer online courses.
3	University of California-Berkeley	33,070	60 (0.18%)	6,233 (18.85%)	12,812	1,733 (13.53%)	1,634 (12.75%)
5	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	20,591	1,580 (7.67%)	3,634 (17.65%)	32,772	23,677 (72.25%)	658 (2.01%)
5	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	37,140	343 (0.92%)	22,545 (60.70%)	22,098	8,869 (40.13%)	2,286 (10.34%)
5	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	34,454	41 (0.12%)	3,115 (9.04%)	18,401	1,438 (7.81%)	1,468 (7.98%)
8	Cornell University	16,128	-	593 (3.68%)	10,665	527 (4.94%)	979 (9.18%)
8	Princeton University	Princeton University does not offer online courses.
10	Carnegie Mellon University	7,377	25 (0.34%)	2,306 (31.26%)	8,511	529 (6.22%)	1,191 (13.99%)
10	Purdue University-Main Campus	44,819	951 (2.12%)	15,361 (34.27%)	13,839	3,951 (28.55%)	1,390 (10.04%)
10	The University of Texas at Austin	43,165	245 (0.57%)	19,050 (44.13%)	10,699	12 (0.11%)	663 (6.20%)
Average		249,183	3,595 (1.44%)	72,837 (29.23%)	147,869	40,782 (27.58%)	11,123 (7.52%)

The ranking data is provided by CollegeEvaluator.