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Industrial Engineering

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

Industrial engineering is about making complex systems—factories, hospitals, supply chains, airports—run more efficiently. Coursework covers probability, statistics, optimization, simulation, manufacturing, human factors, and operations research. It's less about building physical things and more about designing better processes.

Many programs include co-ops at logistics companies, hospitals, or manufacturing plants where students apply what they've learned to a real bottleneck.

What you'll do after college

Grads work in supply chain management, consulting (think McKinsey, BCG, Deloitte), tech operations, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and aviation. A typical day might involve analyzing data to find inefficiencies, modeling alternatives, and convincing managers to change how they operate.

Pay is solid and the major is one of the most flexible engineering paths because the methods apply to almost any industry. Many grads end up in management or business roles within a few years.

Famous graduates

  • Tim Cook — CEO of Apple; B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University
  • Lee Iacocca — Legendary automotive executive; B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University
  • Mike Duke — Former CEO of Walmart; B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$91,055
827
100–75%
$100,354
1,917
75–48%
$103,659
2,010
47–13%
$130,684
765
12–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$92,953
762
400–1220
$96,556
1,745
1230–1330
$102,704
1,628
1330–1450
$134,029
871
1460–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings vs. selectivity rank

$81,898p10 $121,125p90 Military STEM Non-Research Public University Religious University Private University Public University 1–25 Private University 21–40 Private University 1–20 United States Naval Academy · $96,744 United States Military Academy · $95,281 United States Air Force Academy · $97,420 United States Coast Guard Academy · $94,411 SUNY Maritime College · $123,352 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology · $78,152 Milwaukee School of Engineering · $90,239 Kettering University · $94,052 Lawrence Technological University · $87,008 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $121,125 Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University · $81,036 University of South Florida · $89,514 Binghamton University · $91,448 University of Washington · $109,185 Cal Poly - Pomona · $95,032 Clemson University · $96,384 Morgan State University · $79,788 North Carolina A&T State University · $91,914 San Jose State University · $114,927 Northern Illinois University · $88,954 University of Connecticut · $109,439 Pennsylvania State University · $103,650 New Mexico State University · $99,578 University of Pittsburgh · $102,365 Mississippi State University · $89,777 University of Massachusetts - Amherst · $95,835 Wayne State University · $99,950 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $93,671 Louisiana Tech University · $86,847 University of Houston · $100,544 Oklahoma State University · $92,798 New Jersey Institute of Technology · $91,936 Texas Tech University · $104,083 University of Michigan - Dearborn · $97,958 Texas State University · $88,735 University at Buffalo · $93,933 Louisiana State University · $92,853 George Mason University · $120,847 Oakland University · $100,178 Ohio University · $86,815 Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville · $81,089 Temple University · $94,815 Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi · $92,443 Texas A&M University - Kingsville · $88,843 University of Oklahoma - Norman · $103,183 University of Texas at Arlington · $97,042 University of Vermont · $93,443 University of Alabama in Huntsville · $93,250 Cal State East Bay · $91,917 Oregon State University · $92,997 University of Arkansas · $108,211 University of Louisville · $102,447 University of Rhode Island · $93,248 University of Missouri · $96,907 University of North Carolina at Charlotte · $89,128 Youngstown State University · $84,613 Southeast Missouri State University · $78,446 University of Illinois Chicago · $88,853 Metropolitan State University of Denver · $81,898 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania · $85,473 University of Minnesota - Duluth · $95,777 Kennesaw State University · $87,902 Kent State University at Kent · $76,477 University of Iowa · $94,141 Western Michigan University · $82,100 Colorado State University - Pueblo · $91,780 Fort Hays State University · $87,480 Iowa State University · $88,344 Lamar University · $89,970 University of Arizona · $104,334 University of Massachusetts - Lowell · $98,778 West Virginia University · $95,095 Wichita State University · $87,823 Francis Marion University · $78,076 Arizona State University · $95,124 South Carolina State University · $72,946 University of Wisconsin - Platteville · $81,870 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee · $86,436 North Dakota State University · $85,379 Pennsylvania State University - Erie-Behrend College · $103,650 Kansas State University · $91,236 University of Texas at El Paso · $80,955 Montana State University · $86,325 Navajo Technical University · $83,006 Weber State University · $92,472 Liberty University · $93,029 University of San Diego · $116,934 St. Ambrose University · $89,915 Colorado Christian University · $86,807 Methodist University · $78,962 Gannon University · $81,371 St. Mary's University · $79,245 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · $117,724 Rochester Institute of Technology · $105,893 Hofstra University · $95,226 Quinnipiac University · $96,120 Indiana Institute of Technology · $88,090 Bradley University · $86,997 University of New Haven · $91,988 Western New England University · $90,810 Georgia Tech · $118,425 University of California, Berkeley · $136,105 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $109,239 University of Virginia · $131,258 University of Florida · $108,020 Purdue University · $100,438 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $98,221 Rutgers University - New Brunswick · $93,012 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $110,022 Texas A&M University - College Station · $103,679 Florida State University · $94,574 Auburn University · $96,383 University of Tennessee, Knoxville · $84,642 University of Central Florida · $83,520 Virginia Tech · $103,958 Ohio State University · $105,342 North Carolina State University · $96,510 Washington University in St Louis · $116,911 University of Southern California · $137,590 University of Miami · $85,735 Lehigh University · $121,172 Northeastern University · $110,414 Stevens Institute of Technology · $132,094 Worcester Polytechnic Institute · $99,523 George Washington University · $118,556 Stanford University · $168,931 Brown University · $137,539 Princeton University · $145,513 Rice University · $126,172 Northwestern University · $137,306 Cornell University · $151,071 Columbia University · $195,919 Military: mean $101,442 STEM Non-Research: mean $87,363 Public University: mean $92,984 Religious University: mean $89,466 Private University: mean $96,606 Public University 1–25: mean $104,315 Private University 21–40: mean $115,249 Private University 1–20: mean $151,779 All colleges: p10 $81,898 All colleges: p90 $121,125
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Industrial Engineering 135 5,519 66% / 34% 11% $100,324 97%
Industrial Engineering 103 3,847 66% / 34% 12% $94,779 97%
Industrial and Systems Engineering 8 631 68% / 32% 9% $105,660 94%
Systems Engineering 12 408 64% / 36% 3% $100,453 98%
Operations Research 6 209 60% / 40% 9% $118,154 95%
Industrial and Operations Engineering 1 141 59% / 41% 11% $109,239 98%
Operations Research and Financial Engineering 1 72 61% / 39% 11% $145,513 90%
Management Science and Engineering 1 62 56% / 44% 11% $168,931 94%
Operations Research & Engineering 1 56 41% / 59% 21% $151,071 97%
Industrial Engineering and Operations Research 1 52 60% / 40% 27% $136,105 100%
Industrial and Management Engineering 1 19 58% / 42% 11% $117,724 98%
Systems Science and Engineering 1 13 77% / 23% 15% $116,911 96%
Industrial & Systems Engineering 1 6 83% / 17% 0% $132,094 96%
Engineering Management 1 3 100% / 0% 0% $93,443