Best Universities for Aviation in the World

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in the World ranked based on their research performance in Aviation. A graph of 816K citations received by 57.7K academic papers made by 565 universities in the World was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

United States Flag

United States | Massachusetts

For Aviation

#1 in North America

#1 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 5%
Average SAT: 1545
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $21,519

2. Beihang University

China | Beijing

For Aviation

#1 in Asia

#1 in China

Founded: 1952

3. Georgia Institute of Technology

United States Flag

United States | Georgia

For Aviation

#2 in North America

#2 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 16%
Average SAT: 1430
Average ACT: 31
Receiving Aid: 73%

4. Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

For Aviation

#2 in Asia

#2 in China

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Enrollment: 29,000
Founded: 1952

5. Delft University of Technology

Netherlands Flag

Netherlands | Delft

For Aviation

#1 in Europe

#1 in the Netherlands

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 24,703
Founded: 1842

6. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach

United States Flag

United States | Florida

For Aviation

#3 in North America

#3 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 66%
Average SAT: 1245
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $41,550

7. Civil Aviation University of China

China | Tianjin

For Aviation

#3 in Asia

#3 in China

Enrollment: 28,000
Founded: 1951

8. Purdue University

United States Flag

United States | Indiana

For Aviation

#4 in North America

#4 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Average SAT: 1325
Average ACT: 31
Receiving Aid: 60%

9. Cranfield University

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#2 in Europe

#1 in the United Kingdom

Acceptance Rate: 59%
Enrollment: 4,825
Founded: 1993

10. National Aviation University

For Aviation

#3 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 50,000
Founded: 1933

11. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

United States Flag

United States | Illinois

For Aviation

#5 in North America

#5 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 44%
Average SAT: 1390
Average ACT: 32
Receiving Aid: 61%

12. University of California - Berkeley

United States Flag

United States | California

For Aviation

#6 in North America

#6 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $25,951
Enrollment: 45,699

13. National School of Civil Aviation

France | Occitanie

For Aviation

#4 in Europe

#1 in France

Enrollment: 3,000
Founded: 1949

14. University of Texas at Austin

United States Flag

United States | Texas

For Aviation

#7 in North America

#7 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 29%
Average SAT: 1360
Average ACT: 30
Receiving Aid: 69%

15. Imperial College London

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#5 in Europe

#2 in the United Kingdom

Enrollment: 17,565
Founded: 1907

16. Northwestern Polytechnical University

For Aviation

#4 in Asia

#4 in China

Acceptance Rate: 20%
Enrollment: 29,000
Founded: 1938

17. San Jose State University

United States Flag

United States | California

For Aviation

#8 in North America

#8 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Receiving Aid: 67%
Average Aid: $11,311
Enrollment: 36,062

18. Stanford University

United States Flag

United States | California

For Aviation

#9 in North America

#9 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1545
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $17,998

19. Ohio State University

United States Flag

United States | Ohio

For Aviation

#10 in North America

#10 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Average SAT: 1405
Average ACT: 31
Receiving Aid: 75%

20. Moscow Aviation Institute

Russia | Moscow

For Aviation

#6 in Europe

#1 in Russia

Acceptance Rate: 14%
Founded: 1930

21. University of Central Florida

United States Flag

United States | Florida

For Aviation

#11 in North America

#11 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Average SAT: 1270
Average ACT: 27
Receiving Aid: 91%

22. George Mason University

United States Flag

United States | Virginia

For Aviation

#12 in North America

#12 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Average SAT: 1240
Average ACT: 28
Receiving Aid: 80%

23. Civil Aviation Flight University of China

China | Guanghan

For Aviation

#5 in Asia

#5 in China

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Founded: 1956

24. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

United States Flag

United States | Michigan

For Aviation

#13 in North America

#13 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 18%
Average SAT: 1440
Average ACT: 33
Receiving Aid: 66%

25. University of Cambridge

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#7 in Europe

#3 in the United Kingdom

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Founded: 1209

26. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

United States Flag

United States | Virginia

For Aviation

#14 in North America

#14 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Average SAT: 1330
Average ACT: 30
Receiving Aid: 69%

27. University of Maryland - College Park

United States Flag

United States | Maryland

For Aviation

#15 in North America

#15 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Average SAT: 1445
Average ACT: 34
Receiving Aid: 65%

28. Nanyang Technological University

Singapore | Singapore City

For Aviation

#6 in Asia

#1 in Singapore

Enrollment: 33,000
Founded: 1955

29. University of New South Wales

Australia | Sydney

For Aviation

#1 in Australia

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 63,864
Founded: 1949

30. Loughborough University

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#8 in Europe

#4 in the United Kingdom

Enrollment: 19,449
Founded: 1966

31. RMIT University

Australia | Melbourne

For Aviation

#2 in Australia

Founded: 1887

32. University of Washington - Seattle

United States Flag

United States | Washington

For Aviation

#16 in North America

#16 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 43%
Receiving Aid: 55%
Average Aid: $14,390
Enrollment: 55,620

33. University of Toronto

Canada | Ontario

For Aviation

#17 in North America

#1 in Canada

Enrollment: 27,651
Founded: 1827

34. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

Switzerland Flag

Switzerland | Zurich

For Aviation

#9 in Europe

#1 in Switzerland

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 23,420

35. University of Oxford

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#10 in Europe

#5 in the United Kingdom

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1096

36. Tsinghua University

China | Beijing

For Aviation

#7 in Asia

#6 in China

Enrollment: 48,739
Founded: 1911

37. Harvard University

United States Flag

United States | Massachusetts

For Aviation

#18 in North America

#17 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $17,900

38. University of British Columbia

Canada | British Columbia

For Aviation

#19 in North America

#2 in Canada

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Enrollment: 71,201
Founded: 1908

39. Arizona State University - Tempe

United States Flag

United States | Arizona

For Aviation

#20 in North America

#18 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Receiving Aid: 93%
Average Aid: $11,992
Enrollment: 79,593

40. University of Southampton

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#11 in Europe

#6 in the United Kingdom

Enrollment: 21,335
Founded: 1952

41. Technical University of Madrid

For Aviation

#12 in Europe

#1 in Spain

Founded: 1971

42. University of Belgrade

Serbia | Belgrade

For Aviation

#13 in Europe

#1 in Serbia

Enrollment: 75,047

43. University College London

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#14 in Europe

#7 in the United Kingdom

Enrollment: 42,000
Founded: 1826

44. Technical University of Kosice

Slovakia | Kosice

For Aviation

#15 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Enrollment: 9,714
Founded: 1952

45. Czech Technical University in Prague

Czech Republic Flag

Czech Republic | Prague

For Aviation

#16 in Europe

#1 in the Czech Republic

Acceptance Rate: 65%
Enrollment: 19,080
Founded: 1707

46. Texas A&M University - College Station

United States Flag

United States | Texas

For Aviation

#21 in North America

#19 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Average SAT: 1260
Average ACT: 28
Receiving Aid: 77%

47. Sapienza University of Rome

For Aviation

#17 in Europe

#1 in Italy

Enrollment: 100,155
Founded: 1303

48. Hong Kong Polytechnic University

China | Hong Kong

For Aviation

#8 in Asia

#7 in China

Founded: 1937

49. University of California - Santa Cruz

United States Flag

United States | California

For Aviation

#22 in North America

#20 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $21,564
Enrollment: 19,764

50. University of Tokyo

For Aviation

#9 in Asia

#1 in Japan

Acceptance Rate: 36%
Enrollment: 28,479
Founded: 1877

51. University of Southern California

United States Flag

United States | California

For Aviation

#23 in North America

#21 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Average SAT: 1495
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $41,496

52. Johns Hopkins University

United States Flag

United States | Maryland

For Aviation

#24 in North America

#22 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Average SAT: 1555
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $22,844

53. University of Manchester

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#18 in Europe

#8 in the United Kingdom

Founded: 1824

54. University of Florida

United States Flag

United States | Florida

For Aviation

#25 in North America

#23 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 24%
Average SAT: 1390
Average ACT: 31
Receiving Aid: 92%

55. Free University Amsterdam

Netherlands Flag

Netherlands | Amsterdam

For Aviation

#19 in Europe

#2 in the Netherlands

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1880

56. University of Bristol

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#20 in Europe

#9 in the United Kingdom

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Enrollment: 27,513
Founded: 1909

57. Braunschweig University of Technology

Germany | Lower Saxony

For Aviation

#21 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Enrollment: 17,794
Founded: 1745

58. Polytechnic University of Milan

Italy | Lombardy

For Aviation

#22 in Europe

#2 in Italy

Acceptance Rate: 28%
Enrollment: 48,645
Male:Female: 65:35
Founded: 1863

59. University of Otago

New Zealand Flag

New Zealand | Dunedin

For Aviation

#1 in New Zealand

Enrollment: 21,240
Founded: 1869

60. National University of Defense Technology

China | Changsha

For Aviation

#10 in Asia

#8 in China

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Enrollment: 20,000
Founded: 1953

61. Shanghai Jiao Tong University

China | Shanghai

For Aviation

#11 in Asia

#9 in China

Enrollment: 47,000
Founded: 1896

62. Federico II University of Naples

Italy | Campania

For Aviation

#23 in Europe

#3 in Italy

Enrollment: 73,553
Founded: 1224

63. National University of Singapore

Singapore | Singapore City

For Aviation

#12 in Asia

#2 in Singapore

Enrollment: 30,098
Founded: 1905

64. Technical University of Munich

Germany | Bavaria

For Aviation

#24 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Enrollment: 44,000
Male:Female: 63:37
Founded: 1868

65. Pennsylvania State University

United States Flag

United States | Pennsylvania

For Aviation

#26 in North America

#24 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Average SAT: 1310
Average ACT: 30
Receiving Aid: 66%

66. Warsaw University of Technology

Poland | Warsaw

For Aviation

#25 in Europe

#1 in Poland

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Enrollment: 27,072
Founded: 1826

67. Monash University

Australia | Clayton

For Aviation

#3 in Australia

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Enrollment: 78,000
Founded: 1958

68. University of Birmingham

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#26 in Europe

#10 in the United Kingdom

Founded: 1900

69. Yale University

United States Flag

United States | Connecticut

For Aviation

#27 in North America

#25 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 5%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $26,044

70. University of Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Aviation

#4 in Australia

Enrollment: 63,602
Founded: 1850

71. Anadolu University

Turkey | Eskisehir

For Aviation

#13 in Asia

#1 in Turkey

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Enrollment: 4,678
Founded: 1982

72. University of Nottingham

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#27 in Europe

#11 in the United Kingdom

Founded: 1948

73. Tohoku University

For Aviation

#14 in Asia

#2 in Japan

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Enrollment: 17,591
Founded: 1907

74. University of South Florida

United States Flag

United States | Florida

For Aviation

#28 in North America

#26 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 41%
Average SAT: 1235
Average ACT: 27
Receiving Aid: 88%

75. Iowa State University

United States Flag

United States | Iowa State

For Aviation

#29 in North America

#27 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Average SAT: 1230
Average ACT: 25
Receiving Aid: 89%

76. Polytechnic University of Turin

Italy | Piedmont

For Aviation

#28 in Europe

#4 in Italy

Founded: 1859

77. Korea Aerospace University

South Korea Flag

South Korea | Goyang

For Aviation

#15 in Asia

#1 in South Korea

Enrollment: 6,465
Founded: 1952

78. Carnegie Mellon University

United States Flag

United States | Pennsylvania

For Aviation

#30 in North America

#28 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Average SAT: 1535
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $32,964

79. National Cheng Kung University

Taiwan | Tainan

For Aviation

#16 in Asia

#1 in Taiwan

Enrollment: 21,292
Founded: 1931

80. University of Queensland

Australia | St Lucia

For Aviation

#5 in Australia

Enrollment: 48,771
Founded: 1909

81. Technical University of Catalonia

Spain | Barcelona

For Aviation

#29 in Europe

#2 in Spain

Enrollment: 29,812

82. University of Hong Kong

China | Hong Kong

For Aviation

#17 in Asia

#10 in China

Acceptance Rate: 17%
Enrollment: 21,652
Founded: 1911

83. University of California-San Diego

United States Flag

United States | California

For Aviation

#31 in North America

#29 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 25%
Receiving Aid: 70%
Average Aid: $24,176
Enrollment: 42,376

84. Linkoping University

Sweden | Linkoping

For Aviation

#30 in Europe

#1 in Sweden

Acceptance Rate: 41%
Enrollment: 22,441
Founded: 1975

85. Manchester Metropolitan University

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#31 in Europe

#12 in the United Kingdom

Founded: 1992

86. Polytechnic University, Rzeszow

Poland | Rzeszow

For Aviation

#32 in Europe

#2 in Poland

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 17,700
Founded: 1951

87. Sichuan University

China | Chengdu

For Aviation

#18 in Asia

#11 in China

Enrollment: 44,200
Founded: 1896

88. Griffith University

Australia | Brisbane

For Aviation

#6 in Australia

Founded: 1971

89. University of Oklahoma - Norman

United States Flag

United States | Oklahoma State

For Aviation

#32 in North America

#30 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Average SAT: 1235
Average ACT: 26
Receiving Aid: 99%

90. Air Force Institute of Technology - Graduate School of Engineering & Management

United States Flag

United States | Ohio

For Aviation

#33 in North America

#31 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 42%
Enrollment: 1,005
Male:Female: 82:18
Founded: 1919

91. Brigham Young University - Provo

United States Flag

United States | Utah

For Aviation

#34 in North America

#32 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Average SAT: 1370
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $14,643

92. Massey University

New Zealand Flag

New Zealand | Palmerston North

For Aviation

#2 in New Zealand

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1963

93. Queensland University of Technology

Australia | Brisbane

For Aviation

#7 in Australia

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1989

94. University of North Dakota

United States Flag

United States | North Dakota

For Aviation

#35 in North America

#33 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Receiving Aid: 93%
Average Aid: $5,840
Enrollment: 14,172

95. University of Pennsylvania

United States Flag

United States | Pennsylvania

For Aviation

#36 in North America

#34 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 6%
Average SAT: 1535
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $26,017

96. University of Leeds

United Kingdom Flag

United Kingdom | England

For Aviation

#33 in Europe

#13 in the United Kingdom

Founded: 1904

97. Lund University

For Aviation

#34 in Europe

#2 in Sweden

Enrollment: 40,000
Founded: 1666

98. United States Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs

United States Flag

United States | Colorado

For Aviation

#37 in North America

#35 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 14%
Average SAT: 1350
Average ACT: 30
Enrollment: 4,124

99. Beijing Jiaotong University

China | Beijing

For Aviation

#19 in Asia

#12 in China

Founded: 1896

100. Rutgers University - New Brunswick

United States Flag

United States | New Jersey

For Aviation

#38 in North America

#36 in the United States

Acceptance Rate: 65%
Average SAT: 1375
Average ACT: 31
Receiving Aid: 71%

Engineering subfields in the World

Acoustical Engineering4702

Aerospace Engineering4547

Agricultural Engineering1024

Applied/Engineering Physics1488

Architectural Engineering1743

Architecture1387

Automation and Control engineering1916

Automotive Engineering2369

Biochemical Engineering1346

Biomedical Engineering1803

Biotechnology3326

Chemical Engineering4419

Civil Engineering3701

Computer Engineering2154

Computer Networking4638

Construction Management1202

Electrical Engineering5074

Electronic Engineering3524

Engineering Management1577

Environmental Engineering2968

Firefighting and Fire Science1010

Geotechnical Engineering3520

Human-Computer Interaction2987

Industrial Engineering1027

Landscape Architecture1106

Marine Engineering1065

Materials Science5843

Mechanical Engineering5484

Metallurgical Engineering5002

Mining Engineering1000

Nanotechnology4181

Nuclear Engineering1096

Operations Research2300

Optical Engineering5380

Petroleum Engineering1388

Polymer science and Plastics engineering1015

Product and Industrial Design1014

Reliability and Quality Engineering2121

Remote Sensing2403

Renewable Energy Engineering2297

Structural Engineering4056

Systems Engineering3462

Technical Drawing1117

Telecommunications4757

Transportation Engineering1845