Top 10 Automotive Colleges and Universities in the U.S

We have no doubt that many of you reading our blog are either aspiring or already pursuing a career in the automotive world. In the past, we have received several BMW unofficial designs from our readers and published them each time, hoping to draw some attention to their work and also to receive constructive criticism from all of us. One of these talented artists and a very close friend of ours, Giom, came up with some exciting BMW 3D renderings in the past.

So, when I came across an article on Edmunds about the Top 10 Automotive Colleges and Universities in the U.S., I naturally thought about you and how this list might help your future choices. Now of course, the list only applies to U.S. based schools, but I’m hoping in the near future to write a similar article on some European automotive/design schools as well.

1. University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University: It’s a toss-up as to whether Michigan, Michigan State or Michigan Tech will produce the best automotive engineers in the future. Alumni from all three can be found at most automotive-related companies. Potential students will have to decide which best fits their needs, but any of these three have to be considered a top choice.
2. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) : Purdue has long produced top engineers for Detroit and its suppliers. IUPUI boasts a motorsports engineering program. Ryan Newman, one of the very few NASCAR drivers who graduated from college, holds an engineering degree from Purdue.
3. Cornell University: The Ithaca, New York, institution is not a traditional automotive school, but any university that has eight FSAE championships to its credit has to be on this list. In addition, Cornell is one of the few colleges to enter both the Automotive X Prize competition and the DARPA driverless vehicle event.
4. Kettering University: Despite having fewer than 3,000 students, Kettering University produces far more than its share of industry personnel. Located in Flint, Michigan, the school formerly known as General Motors Institute offers degrees in management as well as engineering.
5. University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Arlington and Texas A&M University: At least as heated as the debate among Michigan-based schools is that involving UT Austin, UT Arlington and Texas A&M. The three have combined for more than a dozen wins in FSAE, FSAE West and FSAE Japan competition, so you’ll have to make your own choice among them.

Full Top 10 Automotive Colleges list at Edmunds