Back

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

$101,238
816
100–80%
$107,816
1,920
80–47%
$118,006
1,844
47–16%
$129,558
841
14–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$103,158
763
400–1230
$105,952
1,668
1230–1340
$117,266
1,895
1350–1460
$138,983
738
1460–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings by acceptance rate and institution category

$90,509p10 $125,881p90 STEM, Business & Military Public University Religious University Private University 20–30% 10–20% 0–10% Stevens Institute of Technology · $123,805 Worcester Polytechnic Institute · $114,834 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · $99,267 Rochester Institute of Technology · $114,821 Milwaukee School of Engineering · $94,017 Kettering University · $90,985 New Jersey Institute of Technology · $96,249 SUNY Maritime College · $125,881 Cal Poly - Pomona · $96,279 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology · $89,547 Lawrence Technological University · $102,331 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $109,460 Binghamton University · $102,731 North Carolina State University · $107,716 University of South Florida · $96,916 University of Wisconsin - Madison · $127,293 University of Tennessee, Knoxville · $114,886 University of Washington · $116,529 Clemson University · $106,250 University of Central Florida · $97,369 Purdue University · $114,512 Auburn University · $119,993 Ohio State University · $115,092 North Carolina A&T State University · $97,349 Texas A&M University - College Station · $110,237 Northern Illinois University · $95,112 University of Connecticut · $107,677 Virginia Tech · $115,093 Pennsylvania State University · $112,598 New Mexico State University · $104,007 University of Pittsburgh · $111,197 University of Massachusetts - Amherst · $111,626 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $95,550 Rutgers University - New Brunswick · $114,940 Texas Tech University · $104,446 University of Michigan - Dearborn · $110,239 Louisiana State University · $106,601 Louisiana Tech University · $94,113 Wichita State University · $106,940 University of Vermont · $94,720 Oklahoma State University · $106,067 University of Arkansas · $116,262 University of Alabama in Huntsville · $102,999 University of Rhode Island · $90,971 Cal State East Bay · $80,413 University of Louisville · $123,063 University of Houston · $98,459 University of Illinois Chicago · $104,074 University of Missouri · $111,301 University of Oklahoma - Norman · $105,870 University of North Carolina at Charlotte · $93,093 Youngstown State University · $85,281 Oregon State University · $98,110 Southeast Missouri State University · $92,920 Kennesaw State University · $98,428 University of Iowa · $111,075 Metropolitan State University of Denver · $93,317 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania · $86,748 San Jose State University · $106,531 University at Buffalo · $90,509 University of Texas at Arlington · $90,997 Bowling Green State University · $99,883 Kent State University at Kent · $75,039 Morgan State University · $99,792 Western Michigan University · $94,922 Lamar University · $95,183 University of Arizona · $104,836 Mississippi State University · $106,254 Wayne State University · $99,546 Colorado State University - Pueblo · $93,444 Fort Hays State University · $95,697 University of Massachusetts - Lowell · $96,464 West Virginia University · $109,567 Ohio University · $95,888 University of Southern Maine · $98,656 Francis Marion University · $91,672 Temple University · $97,139 George Mason University · $113,018 Iowa State University · $102,635 South Carolina State University · $86,665 University of Wisconsin - Platteville · $100,423 Arizona State University · $111,940 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee · $91,172 University of Minnesota - Duluth · $101,801 Oakland University · $99,773 Texas A&M University - Kingsville · $103,120 Texas State University · $100,221 Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi · $99,173 North Dakota State University · $96,528 Pennsylvania State University - Erie-Behrend College · $112,361 Kansas State University · $108,725 Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville · $83,320 Montana State University · $90,209 University of Texas at El Paso · $87,694 Weber State University · $101,457 Liberty University · $94,969 University of San Diego · $103,994 Colorado Christian University · $100,892 University of Indianapolis · $92,750 Methodist University · $88,659 St. Ambrose University · $98,325 Gannon University · $90,551 St. Mary's University · $88,433 George Washington University · $111,048 Quinnipiac University · $98,269 Hofstra University · $89,766 Indiana Institute of Technology · $99,919 Bradley University · $103,112 Western New England University · $92,855 Lehigh University · $116,434 University of Florida · $134,275 Florida State University · $103,641 United States Coast Guard Academy · $103,497 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $110,277 University of Southern California · $130,352 Washington University in St Louis · $123,110 Northeastern University · $113,776 University of Miami · $105,505 University of California, Berkeley · $119,070 Georgia Tech · $131,508 University of Virginia · $158,735 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $131,371 Florida A&M University · $86,678 United States Air Force Academy · $109,014 United States Military Academy · $104,798 Stanford University · $125,050 Princeton University · $139,817 Columbia University · $166,706 Johns Hopkins University · $133,052 Brown University · $131,232 Northwestern University · $150,109 Rice University · $127,400 Cornell University · $148,080 United States Naval Academy · $105,744 STEM, Business & Military: mean $104,365 Public University: mean $101,808 Religious University: mean $94,822 Private University: mean $99,162 20–30%: mean $113,625 10–20%: mean $119,447 0–10%: mean $136,354 All colleges: p10 $90,509 All colleges: p90 $125,881
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Industrial Engineering 137 5,421 65% / 36% 11% $107,556 96%
Industrial Engineering 102 3,612 65% / 35% 12% $102,183 97%
Industrial and Systems Engineering 8 650 65% / 35% 8% $115,184 96%
Systems Engineering 15 451 61% / 39% 4% $110,045 94%
Operations Research 6 209 68% / 32% 11% $120,174 86%
Industrial and Operations Engineering 1 153 64% / 36% 15% $131,371 99%
Operations Research & Engineering 1 73 51% / 49% 12% $148,080 98%
Management Science and Engineering 1 69 62% / 38% 6% $125,050 100%
Operations Research and Financial Engineering 1 67 70% / 30% 15% $139,817 90%
Industrial Engineering and Operations Research 1 50 44% / 56% 26% $119,070 100%
Systems Science & Engineering 1 32 66% / 34% 22% $123,110 96%
Industrial and Management Engineering 1 29 69% / 31% 7% $99,267 98%
Industrial & Systems Engineering 2 15 80% / 20% 0% $109,387 95%
Engineering Management 1 11 100% / 0% 9% $94,720
Human Factors Engineering 1 0 $123,380