Best Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania

This article features top engineering colleges in Pennsylvania that offer master and doctoral degrees in the fields of biological engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, materials engineering, mechanical engineering, etc. Please be informed that each school receives national wide rank as the ranking compares all engineering schools in the United States. Some important ranking factors include average GRE scores, alumni surveys, current student interviews, institutional research publications, and peer college assessment. In the following list of best engineering schools in the state of Pennsylvania, you can see tuition cost for both in-state and out-of-state students, acceptable rates and admissions statistics for each top ranked engineering college.

Best Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania

National Ranking Top Engineering Programs
7 Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)
Overall acceptance rate: 26.8%
Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 777
Tuition: Full-time: $37,800 per year
Total graduate engineering enrollment: 2,517
Research expenditures per faculty member: $811,403
Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $185,000,000
Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 11.2%
23 University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
Overall acceptance rate: 31.5%
Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 779
Tuition: Full-time: $26,660 per year
Total graduate engineering enrollment: 1,665
Research expenditures per faculty member: $955,666
Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $102,256,326
Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 8.3%
25 Pennsylvania State University–University Park (University Park, PA)
Overall acceptance rate: 26.7%
Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 763
Tuition: In-state, full-time: $18,146 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $30,768 per year
Total graduate engineering enrollment: 1,953
Research expenditures per faculty member: $416,140
Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $137,742,570
Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 0.8%
45 Lehigh University (Rossin) (Bethlehem, PA)
Overall acceptance rate: 23.1%
Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 766
Tuition: Full-time: $1,220 per credit
Total graduate engineering enrollment: 727
Research expenditures per faculty member: $216,028
Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $22,899,021
Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 9.5%
48 University of Pittsburgh (Swanson) (Pittsburgh, PA)
Overall acceptance rate: 33.5%
Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 734
Tuition: In-state, full-time: $21,550 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $35,290 per year
Total graduate engineering enrollment: 942
Research expenditures per faculty member: $612,114
Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $80,799,078
Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 0.7%
69 Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
Overall acceptance rate: 42.1%
Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 730
Tuition: Full-time: $27,000 per year
Total graduate engineering enrollment: 1,079
Research expenditures per faculty member: $276,361
Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $38,967,000
Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 2.2%
129 Temple University (Philadelphia, PA)
Overall acceptance rate: 44.3%
Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 723
Tuition: In-state, full-time: $775 per credit, Out-of-state, full-time: $1,048 per credit
Total graduate engineering enrollment: 176
Research expenditures per faculty member: $114,938
Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $6,551,486
Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 0.0%

Pennsylvania State Symbols

  • Tree – Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
  • Flower – Kalmia broadleaf (Kalmia latifolia)
  • The animal is a white-tailed (virginsky) deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
  • Dog breed – Great Dane
  • Bird – hazel grouse (Bonasa umbellus)
  • Fish – American char (Palia, Salvelinus fontinalis)
  • Amphibian – Allegan cryptobranch (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis)
  • Insect – Pennsylvania firefly (Photuris pennsylvanica)
  • Food product – cookies with chocolate chips
  • Drink – milk
  • Dance – polka
  • Firearm – Pennsylvania Long Rifle
  • Fossil – trilobites

Fifty states

The Fifty States Pennsylvania Quarter Dollar coin depicts the outline of the state, the Commonwealth statue atop the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, and the capstone (one of the state’s nicknames).

The inscription on the coin reads Virtue, Liberty, Independence (“Dignity, Liberty and Independence”, the state’s official motto).

America the Beautiful

One of the quarter dollar coins from the America the Beautiful series is dedicated to the Gettysburg National Military Park, located in Pennsylvania.

The coin depicts a sculptural memorial to the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, erected in 1891 on the battlefield of Gettysburg.

The inscription on the coin reads Gettysburg (“Gettysburg”).