Electrical engineering is the study and design of electronic, electromagnetic, and electrically-powered machines and technologies. It is regarded by some as the largest technical profession in the world, and it encompasses everything from huge systems to tiny electronics. Graduates with degrees in electrical engineering can work in nearly any field that intersects with technology and physical products.
If you’re thinking of studying electrical engineering in college, you need to be preparing far in advance of starting your applications. Plan to take the highest-level math and science courses your high school offers, especially physics, and to ace them. If you want to get into a top engineering program, you need to show admissions teams that you have the chops to thrive in their school far in advance of stepping on campus.
Below we’ve compiled our top ten electrical engineering programs in America, ranging from Ivy League programs rooted in the liberal arts to subject-intensive programs at engineering-focused schools that eat and sleep electrical engineering.
If you aren’t sure which Electrical Engineering program is right for you, send us an email. We help students chart a course to a successful future.
Stanford University — Stanford, California
The electrical engineering department at Stanford is one of the oldest in the world and was founded in 1894 just a few years after Stanford itself was created. The electrical engineering program is intensive and close-knit. There are only about 100 undergraduate majors, who study alongside MS students and PhD candidates. Courses in virtual reality are a perennial favorite, and students rave about the curriculum and faculty.
MIT — Cambridge, Massachusetts
The electrical engineering program at MIT is among the best of the best, and you can expect to be surrounded by many of the best engineering minds in the world on the MIT campus. Interdisciplinary research being conducted by MIT faculty and students is having far-reaching impacts “on almost every field of human activity” including in artificial intelligence, medical devices, energy, nanoscale materials, and robotics.
Harvard University — Cambridge, Massachusetts
Just down the road from MIT is another top choice for electrical engineering. Electrical engineers at Harvard are researching everything from diamond nanofabrication to mapping brain circuits to quantum devices. Housed within the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the undergraduate program in electrical engineering is still linked to the liberal arts environment at the Harvard core, so students are able to explore other subjects and interests outside of engineering while pursuing their degree.
University of Michigan — Ann Arbor, Michigan
The electrical engineering program at Michigan is one of the best programs in the world and allocates more than $75 million in research funding annually. They say that “electrical engineering is all about information and energy,” and that speaks to how broad the degree is and how many doors are opened by having a BS in electrical engineering. Students take part in intensive research and work opportunities parallel to their studies, propping those doors wider before they even get their diplomas.
Cornell University — Ithaca, New York
Cornell says that their BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering is “one of the most intellectually challenging majors at Cornell Engineering,” which is saying a lot for Cornell and more than a little bit intimidating. Students take part in complex in-class and team projects, and have access to the Early Career Research Scholars Program, which gives students between their freshman and sophomore years an intensive research opportunity to a professional standard.
Duke University — Durham, North Carolina
Duke trains creative engineers who are “equipped to make an impact” through its Electrical and Computer Engineering program. Students can concentrate in Computer Engineering and Digital Systems, Signal Processing, Communications and Control Systems, Solid-State Devices and Integrated Circuits, Electromagnetic Fields, or Photonics. Focusing in pays off. Over 90% of recent Electrical and Computer Engineering grads from Duke had accepted jobs or offers at graduation.
University of California Berkeley — Berkeley, California
UC Berkeley is built on a “tradition of collaboration” in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences program (EECS). The physical proximity of California’s high-tech economy provides students with extensive access to off-campus research, internship, and career development opportunities, and Berkeley wants their students to keep their eyes on the world as they study. “Engineering,” they write, is about the application of technology to solve societal needs.”
Princeton University — Princeton, New Jersey
In the Electrical and Computer Engineering program at Princeton, “students combine computer science, materials science, energy, physics, biology, neuroscience, economics, management, public policy, and many other fields.” Which is to say, it’s a liberal arts approach to a technical engineering degree. If you’re considering applying, take note that Princeton expects high school students to have completed math through calculus if at all possible. Also, every semester they hold an open house in the undergraduate lab. If you are at all near the area, try to go to one of these to see first-hand what undergrads are working on while at Princeton.
Carnegie Mellon — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
If you are anxious to get into the workplace, consider pursuing a bachelor’s in electrical engineering that involves a co-op experience. Carnegie Mellon’s electrical and computer engineering degree requires just such a co-op, and students often graduate with months of experience — putting them ahead of their peers from other programs from the moment they officially enter the workforce. You should also consider the integrated MS/BS program, which means more expertise in less time than if you were to pursue a Masters's degree after your Bachelor’s.
California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, California
Established in 1910, the Caltech electrical engineering program is a leading program in the country. It’s an engineer’s engineering program through and through. The graphic design of their website won’t impress you, but it’s not meant to. They want students who care about the meat of things, so dig into the curriculum to see if it’s a good fit. According to Caltech, electrical engineering has “a disproportionate and palpable impact on the technologies that define modern-day life and society,” and they intend to keep their students and faculty at the center of that impact.
Electrical engineering is one of the broadest and most widely applicable engineering degrees you could pursue, which makes it an excellent option for students who excel in STEM and love technology but aren’t quite sure where they want to go with it next.
If you know what you want to study but aren’t sure where to go, send us an email. We help students like you find, and get into, their perfect fit.