Best programs to become a mechanical engineer in District of Columbia
4 District of Columbia schools offer programs that train mechanical engineers, graduating 129 people a year. Mechanical engineers in the District of Columbia earn a median of $133,300 across about 510 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for mechanical engineers. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in the District of Columbia is Mechanical Engineering (IPEDS completions).
Perform engineering duties in planning and designing tools, engines, machines, and other mechanically functioning equipment.
1 program in District of Columbia that leads to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in the District of Columbia (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own District of Columbia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mechanical Engineeringmain feeder CIP 14.1901In District of Columbia → | 129 | 100.0% | 4 | $70,724 | $24,833 |
Top 4 schools in District of Columbia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 4 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Washington University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 65 | Mechanical Engineering | $82,361 | 84% | $29,789 | 47% |
| 2 | The Catholic University of America Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 29 | Mechanical Engineering | $76,409 | 79% | $27,724 | 83% |
| 3 | Howard University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 19 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 70% | $48,194 | 41% |
| 4 | University of the District of Columbia Washington, DC Public · 1 feeder program | 16 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 33% | — | — |
All 4 schools in District of Columbia
Every school in District of Columbia with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington University | Washington | Private not-for-profit | 65 | 1 |
| The Catholic University of America | Washington | Private not-for-profit | 29 | 1 |
| Howard University | Washington | Private not-for-profit | 19 | 1 |
| University of the District of Columbia | Washington | Public | 16 | 1 |
Fields of study in District of Columbia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What mechanical engineers earn in District of Columbia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $104,110. District of Columbia pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in District of Columbia
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Mechanical Engineers page.
How to become a mechanical engineer
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in District of Columbia
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Mechanical Engineers3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.1101Engineering Mechanics
- 14.1901Mechanical Engineering
- 14.4101Electromechanical Engineering
Common questions
Answers for people weighing mechanical engineers programs in District of Columbia.
What degree do you need to become a mechanical engineer?+
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for mechanical engineers. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in the District of Columbia is Mechanical Engineering (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a mechanical engineer?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job in the District of Columbia is Mechanical Engineering (IPEDS completions). In all, 1 feeder program graduates about 129 people a year in the District of Columbia (IPEDS completions).
How much do mechanical engineers earn in District of Columbia?+
The median is $133,300 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 28.0% above the U.S. median of $104,110. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for mechanical engineers growing?+
BLS projects a +9.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 18,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in District of Columbia?+
4 institutions in District of Columbia reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do mechanical engineers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Engineer, Stack Engineer, Design Engineer, Product Engineer, Project Engineer, Research Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-2141.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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