Best Universities for Mechanical Engineering

The skills developed on mechanical engineering courses are in demand across many sectors, providing ample career opportunities for graduates. As such, there are many universities across the country that offer courses in mechanical engineering, allowing students the chance to establish a base of knowledge in the subject and eventually work in the industry. However, this can make it tough to find out which universities are the best for studying mechanical engineering. We have put together this guide to the best UK universities of mechanical engineering, looking at a variety of factors, which should help students with their search. 

CONTENTS 

• Best Universities for Mechanical Engineering
• Top Choice for Student Satisfaction
• Top Choice for Graduate Prospects
• Top Choice for Research Quality
• Ranking Information Source
• Student Reviews
• More Universities for Studying Mechanical Engineering

Best Universities for Mechanical Engineering 

The Complete University Guide’s 2024 league tables lists the following three institutions as the top ranked universities for mechanical engineering, taking into account graduate prospects, research quality, student satisfaction and more. Students searching for a place to start their research could take a look at these three universities to find out what they can expect from mechanical engineering courses in terms of assessment, coursework and modules. 

• University of Cambridge
• University of Oxford 
• Imperial College London 

Top Choice for Student Satisfaction  

The highest-ranked university for student satisfaction within mechanical engineering subjects was Teesside University. This measure looks at how happy students have been with the teaching quality at institutions, which is important to consider when planning to study somewhere for potentially a year or more. 

Go to: Search mechanical engineering courses at Teesside University

Top Choice for Graduate Prospects  

Graduate prospects is another factor to thoroughly consider when applying to university, as it looks at how successful students have been at finding work or further education following study at an institution. The highest-ranked university in graduate prospects for mechanical engineering was the University of Cambridge, which also ranked top overall for the subject. 

Go to: Search mechanical engineering courses at the University of Cambridge

Top Choice for Research Quality  

For students considering taking a research-based course in mechanical engineering, research quality is an important aspect to acknowledge. It can help to indicate universities that offer good opportunities to make big impacts in the field that students are studying. Imperial College London, also ranked highly overall, had the highest score for research quality. 

Go to: Search mechanical engineering courses at Imperial College London

Ranking Information Source  

The ranking information for these selections comes from the 2024 Complete University Guide league table. The data for the league table is sourced from the National Student Survey, the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the Higher Education Statistics Agency, with the rankings calculated using Complete University Guide’s own methodology.  

Go to: See the 2024 Complete University Guide mechanical engineering subject league table

Student Reviews  

Kingston University has received many positive reviews on Whatuni from students who have student mechanical engineering at the institution, including a number of five-star ratings. One of the students had this to saying about Kingston; “Best aspects I can say with conviction, are the laboratories and the vast majority of equipment within the campus.” 

Go to: Search mechanical engineering courses at Kingston University

More Universities for Studying Mechanical Engineering 

To look at more universities with mechanical engineering courses, please use our course search tool, which can be filtered by region, qualification type, subject and more. 

Next: Search for mechanical engineering courses