Milwaukee School of Engineering

Private · Moderately Selective · WI

Photo: Michael Barera (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationWI · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads2,654

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate47.5%

6-yr grad rate67.1%

Drop-out rate16.2%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$50k

Out-of-state tuition$50k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity32.9%

Gender diversity29.2%

International4.8%

Identity—

Overview

The Milwaukee School of Engineering is a specialized private university in downtown Milwaukee built almost entirely around engineering, nursing, and business, rather than a broad liberal arts curriculum. Its identity is intensely practical: small classes, lab-heavy coursework, and close ties to Wisconsin's manufacturing and engineering employers.

Academics

MSOE's engineering programs emphasize direct, hands-on application over theory-first instruction, with faculty who bring industry experience into the classroom and curricula built around co-op and internship placements with regional employers. Nursing and business round out the university's other core programs, but engineering remains the institutional center of gravity, and undergraduate lab access is unusually strong for a school this size.

Campus & student life

The downtown Milwaukee location puts students within walking distance of the city's businesses and cultural life, a different setting than the suburban or rural campus most engineering-focused colleges occupy. Class sizes stay small across the university, and student life is organized around a tight-knit, technically minded community rather than a large traditional campus quad culture.

Getting in

MSOE looks for students who are seriously committed to engineering or a related technical field from the outset — the curriculum is specialized enough that admissions and advising both assume a clear pre-professional direction rather than an undecided liberal-arts path.

After graduation

Job placement into regional Wisconsin engineering and manufacturing firms is MSOE's signature outcome and a major reason many students choose it — its co-op and internship pipeline translates directly into employment, and the university's reputation with Midwest engineering employers is a real asset.

Worth knowing

This is not a broad liberal-arts experience — students should expect an intensely technical, co-op-oriented curriculum from year one, which is exactly the draw for students who already know they want engineering, nursing, or a business-technology path.

msoe.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate58.9%

Enrolled mid-50%1300

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying