The Best Private Engineering Colleges

Some of the best engineering colleges in the nation are small private colleges. The top rated engineering programs are located at those colleges that have math, science and engineering at the core of their primary focus. Engineering programs are generally ranked in separate lists according to their highest degree offered. MIT, Stanford and UC-Berkeley rate among the highest university programs that offer doctorates, but there are small colleges that offer only bachelor's degrees that have the same level of impact on the engineering field.

Some of the best engineering colleges in the nation are small private colleges. The top rated engineering programs are located at those colleges that have math, science and engineering at the core of their primary focus. Engineering programs are generally ranked in separate lists according to their highest degree offered. MIT, Stanford and UC-Berkeley rate among the highest university programs that offer doctorates, but there are small colleges that offer only bachelor's degrees that have the same level of impact on the engineering field.

The Cooper Union

One of the best private colleges for the study of engineering is located in New York, New York. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers only undergraduate degrees in the field of engineering. Cooper Union graduates are highly recruited by employers as some the best-trained engineers in the industry. U.S. News & World Report ranked the program at Cooper Union as the No. 3 program in the nation for 2010.

Engineering is integral to the entire curriculum at Cooper Union and its Albert Nerken School of Engineering comprises a significant portion of the student body, at some 550 students annually. All students at Cooper Union are provided with full scholarships to pay for the cost of attendance. For this reason, students within the department are among the best and brightest from around the country. The college offers bachelor's degrees in the fields of civil, mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering, along with an interdisciplinary degree as well.

Cooper Union 30 Cooper Square New York, NY 10003 212-353-4120 www.cooper.edu

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) is the highest rated private engineering college in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report rankings for 2010. Located in Terre Haute, Indiana, the RHIT, like Cooper Union, is a college focused on the disciplines of science, engineering and mathematics.

Rose-Hulman's academic divisions consist of multiple engineering departments, which emphasize mechanical, environmental, optical, civil, chemical, software, biological and medical engineering. The college also houses a department of engineering management as part of its program.

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 5500 Wabash Ave Terre Haute, IN 47803 812-877-8213 www.rose-hulman.edu

Harvey-Mudd College

Recognized as the top undergraduate college in the areas of science, engineering and math, Harvey-Mudd College (HMC) in Claremont, California, tied with Rose-Hulman on the U.S. News & World Report 2010 rankings for best engineering colleges.

As a private institution of higher learning, Harvey-Mudd has distinguished itself as one of the most successful undergraduate programs for the production of later PhD graduates across all disciplines (http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html). HMC is widely respected in the engineering community both for the well prepared graduates it sends into the field, and its emphasis upon continuing education at the graduate level. Much of the Harvey-Mudd curriculum is designed to prepare students for eventual graduate study in the field, even if they enter into the workforce beforehand.

Harvey Mudd College 301 Platt Blvd Claremont, CA 91711 909-621-8011 www.hmc.edu