3 US engineering schools with strong industry links

Going to a good university with strong industry links can boost your employability. These connections often translate to internships, projects, case studies, and more. They enhance what you already know, foster the development of practical skills, promote research collaboration, and more. They allow universities to align their curriculum with industry needs, stay up-to-date with advancements and design new courses. 

Real-world experience lets you do more than just put theory into action. You’ll also gain exposure to the industry, meet future colleagues and recruiters, and sharpen the soft skills that let you move smoothly into professional life. If this is the progress you envision, here are three engineering schools that boast incredible industry links:

William States Lee College of Engineering is ranked in the top 100 by US News and World Report. Source: UNC Charlotte

William States Lee College of Engineering

William States Lee College of Engineering at UNC Charlotte prepares students to be real-world ready. Students benefit from the school’s well-established partnerships with over 200 industrial organisations with a global presence, from large and mid-sized to start-ups. From research projects and internships to seminar presentations and course instruction, they ensure students get to network and potentially land future jobs with industry partners after graduation. Graduate appointments are available at research centres, such as Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC), Center for Precision Metrology (CPM), North Carolina Battery Complexity, Autonomous Vehicle and Electrification Research Center (BATT CAVE), and Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education.

A stellar faculty, 70% of whom have industry experience themselves, provides support every step of the way. They pass along knowledge of new concepts, devices, methodologies, and processes while training students to apply them to real-world problems. They ensure programmes here are impactful — as seen in how they perform in rankings.

The W.S. Lee College of Engineering is ranked in the top 100 by U.S. News for its graduate degree programmes, including Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. The master’s and Ph.D. programmes in Electrical and Computer Engineering set students up for a successful career in numerous areas, from wireless communication and networking to traffic modelling and more. The master’s and Ph.D. programmes in Mechanical Engineering allow you to focus on precision metrology, advanced manufacturing, battery safety, and new battery materials. The College is also home to the top academic Precision Metrology facility in the US and the top three globally. Being part of the Center for Precision Metrology gives students a close relationship with industry partners.

The MS in Applied Energy and Electromechanical Engineering (AEEE) can be tailored to a student’s interest as either a broad study of the intersection between the energy sector and electromechanical domain, or can be more discipline-specific, focused mostly in one of the two areas. MS and Ph.D. programmes in Civil Engineering students can conduct research in incredible facilities such as the US Department of Transportation-funded Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education. Meanwhile, the MS in Computer Engineering is ideal for those seeking to advance their knowledge in cybersecurity, cyber-physical systems, computer vision, edge computing, embedded systems, IoT, robotics, smart grids and other areas alongside nationally-recognised experts in both hardware and software technologies.

Industry engagement is a big part of Cockrell School of Engineering’s teaching. Source: University of Texas at Austin

Cockrell School of Engineering

The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering has 14 undergraduate and graduate programmes ranked in the top 10. It holds the seventh spot in US News and World Report’s Best Graduate Engineering Programme in the US and Academic Ranking of World Universities’ 10th Best Engineering Programme in the World. The school has one of the nation’s largest and strongest engineering communities, with 280 tenure/tenure-track faculty members, 680 staff members, 8,000 students, and 70,000 alumni living worldwide. 

Cockrell School of Engineering’s alumni are part of numerous high-profile positions, including former US Secretary of State to the former Senior Vice President of Apple. It is what makes the school part of a globally respected community of engineers. This also opens the door to various working experiences, as the school is committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship between companies and the Cockrell School’s intellectual and material resources.

Industry engagement is a big part of  Cockrell School of Engineering’s teaching. With over 6,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students, the school advertises student recruitment, matching talented engineering students with an organisation’s needs through the Cockrell School’s Engineering Career Assistance Center (ECAC).  There is a range of student projects and programmes to take advantage of. 

University of Washington’s College of Engineering features award-winning faculty who are leaders in their field. Source: University of Washington

University of Washington College of Engineering

University of Washington’s College of Engineering is ranked #25 in US News and World Report’s Best Engineering School list. With a wide range of programmes to choose from, the school boasts strong links with industries. For instance, the Electrical and Computer Engineering department (ECE) is the #1 startup generator for any UW department. 

ECE professor and chair Eric Klavins notes how the department has strong links with other UW College of Engineering departments, the UW Medical School, the UW College of Arts and Sciences, and the UW School of Public Health. It benefits from being part of the incredible tech scene in the Pacific Northwest, with leaders in conglomerates like Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, WiBotic, Jeeva Wireless, Just Biotherapeutics, and Nanostring. “These factors have helped UW ECE become the number one producer of new spinouts at the University of Washington, with our faculty and students starting five new companies in the last two years alone,” he says. “We embrace and support our role in the regional, national, and international technology sectors, and see it as a wonderful way to not only transition technologies to the public, but to support the careers of our students.”

Students can learn much from the wealth of information the stellar faculty can provide. ECE department educators include one MacArthur Fellow, one Guggenheim Fellow, five NAE Members, seven Sloan Fellows, 29 IEEE Fellows, and 17 faculty with research publications cited over 1,000 times. 

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International