Historically, women have not been encouraged to pursue STEM careers, which has been reflected in abysmal gender ratios in the engineering departments of elite universities across both student bodies and faculty. But have these numbers improved in recent years? According to the most recently available data on the gender makeup of engineering cohorts at the top 25 national universities on the 2024 Best National Universities ranking from U.S. News & World Report, the answer is not by much.

A Breakdown of the Gender Ratio at Top 25 Engineering Programs

School	U.S. News Ranking	Percent of Undergraduate Engineering Students that are Women	Percent of Engineering Faculty that are Women
Princeton University	#1	41%	23%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	#2	49%	17%
Harvard University	#3 (tie)	39%	24%
Stanford University	#3 (tie)	38%	N/A
Yale University	#5	34.5%	21%
University of Pennsylvania	#6	40%	21.8%
California Institute of Technology	#7 (tie)	41%	N/A
Duke University	#7 (tie)	37%	16%
Brown University	#9 (tie)	42%	N/A
Johns Hopkins University	#9 (tie)	42.4%	22.8%
Northwestern University	#9 (tie)	48%	N/A
Columbia University	#12 (tie)	51%	N/A
Cornell University	#12 (tie)	47%	N/A
University of Chicago	#12 (tie)	N/A	N/A
University of California, Berkeley	#15 (tie)	33%	26.7%
University of California, Los Angeles	#15 (tie)	30.6%	N/A
Rice University	#17	35.2%	20.9%
Dartmouth College	#18 (tie)	49%	N/A
Vanderbilt University	#18 (tie)	50.1%	N/A
University of Notre Dame	#20	N/A	N/A
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor	#21	31%	N/A
Georgetown University	#22 (tie)	N/A	N/A
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	#22 (tie)	N/A	N/A
Carnegie Mellon University	#24 (tie)	44.3%	24.4%
Emory University	#24 (tie)	N/A	N/A
University of Virginia	#24 (tie)	34%	N/A
Washington University in St. Louis	#24 (tie)	37%	17%

Nearly all of the schools on this list have recorded a small but steady increase in female engineering students and faculty in the last few years, but considering that the most recently available data across programs suggests that women in the field are still overwhelmingly outnumbered by men, so much more progress must be made! The only schools that reported that female undergraduates made up the majority of engineering students were Columbia and Vanderbilt (although even at these schools that are leading the charge of gender equity in engineering, women are by no means a healthy majority. The ratio is nearly 50/50!). 

Many of these schools fail to report any data on the gender composition of their engineering departments. Could this mean that these schools — including such prestigious institutions as the University of Chicago, Georgetown University, and Emory University — are attempting to conceal the state of female representation in these departments? Elite universities are usually no stranger to boasting about their diversity whenever possible. 

Future Female Engineers Must be Encouraged and Supported

Department of Education data suggests that women currently make up 58% of all undergraduates across the nation. In other words, despite making up a majority of the student bodies at these schools, women are still underrepresented in the engineering major. This should be considered a great failure on the part of elite universities. Especially disappointing is the lagging proportion of engineering faculty who are women. Even the University of California, Berkeley, which reported the highest percentage of female faculty on this list (26.7%), still lags behind its counterparts when it comes to female undergraduate enrollment, which stands at a mere 33%. 

The state of the gender disparity calls for one of these elite universities to rise up as a leader in the fight for equitable recruitment and enrollment efforts. In the meantime, Ivy Coach is committed to helping future female engineers attend the best schools possible. 

If you are interested in optimizing your child’s case for admission to an elite engineering program, fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch!