Best Automotive Engineering Colleges and Universities in the World
About Automotive Engineering
Automotive Engineering is a subset of Engineering and Technology dealing with developing, designing, manufacturing, and modifying automobiles, motorbikes, cars, trucks, and others. It is a highly research-intensive subject and crosses over with other engineering disciplines such as electrical, mechanical, software, and safety engineering. However, this field can only be exciting for those passionate about designing world-class automobiles and willing to apply advanced mathematical concepts and carry out experiments for developing more efficient automobiles as part of their job.
Duties of an Automotive Engineer
There are three main focus areas of automotive engineering: design, production, and research. However, irrespective of the focus area, a typical automotive engineer’s duties include:
- Using advanced applications for designing models to determine automobile specifications.
- Developing prototypes to assess factors concerning feasibility, performance, and safety.
- Preparing cost estimates to understand the profitability of new projects.
- Making decisions regarding the materials to be used for production.
- Understanding government regulations regarding automobiles and working according to the guidelines.
- Researching the market regularly to discover updates in the industry.
- Carrying out safety tests and inspections to address system or engineering flaws.
- Gathering insights from end consumers to remedy or modify designs and functions.
Qualities of a Good Automotive Engineer
It is essential to have a keen interest in the automotive industry to handle an automotive engineer’s responsibilities. Automotive engineering is a highly specialized field; the work demands significant technical knowledge and wisdom to apply the concepts, especially during the development and design stages. In addition, an engineer must be able to work with complex software programs.
An eye for detail is crucial; it takes excellent observation skills to detect anomalies in formulae or other procedures that may otherwise fail expensive projects or increase safety concerns. Understanding and summarizing insights, data, and additional crucial information come in handy during situations that require problem-solving. Working within time and cost constraints while still delivering excellent quality can prove an engineer resourceful.
Other skills, such as communicating effectively, handling pressure, leading a team, and working comfortably in a team setting, can go a long way in securing successful career paths.
Popular Degrees for Pursuing a Career in Automotive Engineering (h3)
Bachelor’s Level
Automotive Engineering BEng
Bachelor of Automotive Technology
Bachelor of Engineering (Automotive and Motorsport Engineering)
BS in Automotive Design Technology
BA (Hons) Automotive and Transport Design
Master’s Level
Master of Engineering (Automotive Engineering)
Master of Engineering (Automotive Electronics)
MSc Automotive Engineering
MSc Automotive Technology
Specializations under Automotive Engineering
The automotive engineering industry has specializations and departments that overlap because the manufacturing of an automobile demands simultaneous cooperation and constant interaction between multiple departments. As a result, a particular job role or specialization may not be limited to itself but may extend to responsibilities of other functions or may be an aggregation of a variety of job roles. However, the work within automotive engineering can be broadly classified as follows:
Design Engineering
Designing an automobile according to the manufacturer’s requirements is looked after by the design engineer. This function involves working with relevant personnel proficient in software programs such as CAD to create sophisticated blueprints of the intended automobile.
Manufacturing Engineering
Planning the manufacturing process for an automobile and ensuring that the process is being performed efficiently is upon a manufacturing engineer. They oversee the proper implementation of lean manufacturing techniques like Kaizen and Six Sigma to optimize the manufacturing process and minimize errors.
Development Engineering
A development engineer ensures harmony across all the processes and designs of manufacturing an automobile. Different teams may come up with specifications meant to improve the product’s performance. It is up to the development engineer to balance ideas and manufacturability and ensure that automobile components serve their envisioned purpose.
Automotive Body Engineering
The visuals of an automobile significantly impact its demand and saleability. An automotive body engineer controls the aesthetics of the vehicle to add individuality to components such as body metal, fenders, hood, radiators, etc., while also ensuring high safety standards to meet the growing expectations of the market.
Safety Engineering
The work of safety engineers is performed in association with the design engineers. Safety engineering is concerned with incorporating features that promote safety for the vehicle and the driver. These features can include airbags, impact-absorbing chassis, seatbelts, or other innovative measures.
Median Salary of Automotive Engineers
The median annual automotive engineering salary can be summarized as follows:
USA – $100,404 USD
Canada – $88,854 USD
UK – $75,534 USD
Australia – $97,800 USD
Duration of Completing Automotive Engineering Studies
| Country | Bachelor’s Program | Master’s Program |
| United States | 3-4 years | 2 years |
| Canada | 4 years | 2 years |
| United Kingdom | 3-4 years | 1-3 years |
| Australia | 4 years | 2 years |
Top Automotive Engineering Universities in the World
| QS Ranking | Shanghai Ranking | University | Country | Bachelor’s Program | Master’s Program |
| 17 | 28 | Tsinghua University | China | Click here | Click here |
| 21 | 12 | Cornell University | United States | Click here | Click here |
| 23 | 26 | University of Michigan Ann Arbor | United States | Click here | Click here |
| 27 | 76 | The Australian National University | Australia | Click here | Click here |
| 50 | 59 | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | China | Click here | Click here |
| 50 | 52 | Technical University of Munich | Germany | Click here | Click here |
| 92 | 101-150 | University of Leeds | United Kingdom | Click here | Click here |
| 108 | 100 | University of California Davis | United States | Click here | Click here |
| 118 | 84 | Nagoya University | Japan | Click here | Click here |
| 121 | 401-500 | Chalmers University of Technology | Sweden | Click here | Click here |
| 126 | 301-400 | Eindhoven University of Technology | Netherlands | Click here | Click here |
| 166 | 201-300 | Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna | Italy | Click here | Click here |
| 197 | 301-400 | The University of Newcastle | Australia | Click here | Click here |
| 206 | 301-400 | RMIT University | Australia | Click here | Click here |
| 226 | 151-200 | University of Sussex | United Kingdom | Click here | Click here |
| 334 | 501-600 | Polytechnic University of Turin | Italy | Click here | Click here |
| 403 | 801-900 | Czech Technical University in Prague | Czech Republic | Click here | Click here |
| 423 | NA | Hochshule Mannheim University of Applied Sciences | Germany | Click here | Click here |
| 429 | NA | Oxford Brookes University | United Kingdom | Click here | Click here |
| 541-550 | 201-300 | University of Tennessee | United States | Click here | Click here |
| 751-800 | 901-1000 | Vilnius Gediminas Technical University | Lithuania | Click here | Click here |
| 1001-1200 | NA | Birmingham City University | United Kingdom | Click here | Click here |
| 1201+ | NA | Indiana State University | United States | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | University of South Wales | United Kingdom | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | Ferris State University | United States | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | Centennial College | Canada | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | Georgian College | Canada | Click here | Click here |
| NA | 801-900 | Cranfield University | United Kingdom | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | Saskatchewan Polytechnic | Canada | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | Technical University of Ingolstadt | Germany | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | HAN University of Applied Sciences | Netherlands | Click here | Click here |
| NA | 801-900 | Ontario Tech University | Canada | Click here | Click here |
Top Automotive Engineering Universities in the USA
| QS Ranking | Shanghai Ranking | University | Bachelor’s Program | Master’s Program |
| 21 | 12 | Cornell University | Click here | Click here |
| 23 | 26 | University of Michigan Ann Arbor | Click here | Click here |
| 108 | 100 | University of California Davis | Click here | Click here |
| 541-550 | 201-300 | University of Tennessee | Click here | Click here |
| 1201+ | NA | Indiana State University | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | Ferris State University | Click here | Click here |
Top Automotive Engineering Universities in Canada
| QS Ranking | Shanghai Ranking | University | Bachelor’s Program | Master’s Program |
| NA | NA | Centennial College | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | Georgian College | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | Saskatchewan Polytechnic | Click here | Click here |
| NA | 801-900 | Ontario Tech University | Click here | Click here |
Top Automotive Engineering Universities in the UK
| QS Ranking | Shanghai Ranking | University | Bachelor’s Program | Master’s Program |
| 92 | 101-150 | University of Leeds | Click here | Click here |
| 226 | 151-200 | University of Sussex | Click here | Click here |
| 429 | NA | Oxford Brookes University | Click here | Click here |
| 1001-1200 | NA | Birmingham City University | Click here | Click here |
| NA | NA | University of South Wales | Click here | Click here |
Top Automotive Engineering Universities in Australia
| QS Ranking | Shanghai Ranking | University | Bachelor’s Program | Master’s Program |
| 27 | 76 | The Australian National University | Click here | Click here |
| 197 | 301-400 | The University of Newcastle | Click here | Click here |
| 206 | 301-400 | RMIT University | Click here | Click here |
Academic Requirements for Studying Automotive Engineering in Top-Ranked Universities
Bachelor’s Level
The entry requirements for pursuing a bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering may differ for each university, but the guidelines generally state that the applicant must:
- Have passed 12the grade with a minimum score of 60%
- Have studied subjects of Mathematics, Physics, and English.
- Prove English Proficiency through IELTS, with a minimum score of 6.0, TOEFL paper (minimum score: 550), or other equivalent exams.
- Furnish scores for entrance examinations such as SATs or other relevant ones.
Master’s Level
Applicants who wish to study Master’s in automotive engineering must ensure they meet the below-listed minimum entry requirements:
- Applicants must have pursued a four-year undergraduate engineering degree with an accredited university.
- Applicant must have scored a minimum GPA of 3.0 or 75% and above
- The applicant must prove sufficient English proficiency.
- Depending on the university of choice, applicants may be required to furnish GRE scores or other relevant entrance examination scores.
