The Best Universities for Civil Engineering in the USA (2024)

There are many reasons why someone might want to study Civil Engineering at a university in the USA. Here are just a few:

• The USA is considered a global leader in the field of Civil Engineering due to its contributions towards technological advancements, creating an environment ripe for students to learn from the forefront of innovation.
• American universities frequently update their Civil Engineering programmes to include the latest industry trends and technologies, which ensures that graduates are well-equipped with relevant up-to-date skills.
• With numerous leading research institutions, US universities and higher education institutions often are at the forefront of innovation and sustainability through smart city planning and other emerging areas within Civil Engineering.
• Most American universities have solid career support services and networking platforms that are tailored to helping foreign nationals navigate the US job market and help to secure relevant work post-study possibly through Optional Practical Training (OPT) programmes.

The following tables gives the 10 top universities in the USA for Civil Engineering, according to global and local university rankings. It can show you which American universities are amongst the best in the world - and help you compare institutions on an international level.

This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Times Higher Education, QS and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

Each ranking system uses its own methodology, with different factors having more or less influence on a university's result.

If you're wondering how these rankings affect your decision, our guide has more information on how to use international rankings as a postgraduate.

The Times Higher Education rankings are strong in academic focus and diverse teaching metrics, but do not include employer-specific metrics. Additionally, the rankings may not include all specialist institutions.

The QS World University Rankings are designed to meet the needs of prospective students, with more weight given to student-centric metrics such as staff/student ratio, international recruitment and employer opinion. The rankings are balanced between qualitative and quantitative data, but give less weight to research than some other rankings.

The ARWU rankings reflect the presence of elite academics and the future academic success of graduates. However, they do not directly assess the quality of education at a university or take into account other aspects of university performance.