Structural design engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a structural design engineer. Structural design engineers usually study civil engineering, mechanical engineering, or aerospace engineering. 76% of structural design engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 14% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 2,241 real structural design engineer resumes to see exactly what structural design engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for structural design engineers are the Wichita State University and the Wichita State University.

There are also many online structural design engineer courses to help get the education required to be a structural design engineer.

There are certain structural design engineer certifications that you should consider. These structural design engineer certifications include Engineer In Training Certification (EIT) and Structural Engineer (SE).

What education do you need to become a structural design engineer?

What degree do you need to be a structural design engineer?

The most common degree for structural design engineers is bachelor's degree, with 76% of structural design engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 14% and master's degree degree at 6%.

Bachelor's, 76%

Master's, 14%

Associate, 6%

Doctorate, 1%

Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a structural design engineer?

You should major in civil engineering to become a structural design engineer. 43% of structural design engineers major in civil engineering. Other common majors for a structural design engineer include mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering.

Civil Engineering, 43%

Mechanical Engineering, 26%

Aerospace Engineering, 10%

Engineering, 5%

Other Majors, 16%

Most common colleges for structural design engineers

Structural design engineers often get their degrees at Wichita State University, University of Washington, and The University of Texas at Arlington. Here are the most common colleges for structural design engineers in the US based on their resumes.

Structural design engineer common college	Percentages
Wichita State University	11.26%
University of Washington	7.21%
The University of Texas at Arlington	6.76%
Texas A&M University	6.31%
Pennsylvania State University	5.86%

Show more common structural design engineer colleges

Best majors for structural design engineers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Civil Engineering	43.0%
2	Mechanical Engineering	26.1%
3	Aerospace Engineering	9.8%
4	Engineering	5.0%
5	Drafting And Design	3.9%

Show more common structural design engineer majors

Best colleges for structural design engineers

The best colleges for structural design engineers are Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

A structural design engineer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for structural design engineers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become structural design engineers.

1. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,465

Enrollment

6,483

2. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

3. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

5. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

6. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

7. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

8. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, VA • Private

In-state tuition

$13,620

Enrollment

27,730

9. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,816

Enrollment

21,047

10. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

20 best online courses for structural design engineers

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3. STAAD Pro. - Structural Design of Steel Building (PEB)

4.5

(326)

Structural Analysis and Structural Design of Pre Engineered Building in Staad Pro with Real World Project...

4. CSi SAP2000: Structural Analysis Program for Engineers

4.1

(276)

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5. Robot Structural Analysis Professional course

4.2

(291)

Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis : From Beginning to Pro...

6. Robot structural Analysis (RC building)

4.5

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7. ETABS: For Structural Design of Buildings

4.5

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8. Fundamentals of Structural Analysis

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14. Data Structures A-Z: Data Structures + Algorithms Bootcamp

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15. Data Structures in Python

(318)

Practical Implementation of Python data structures to perform complex Data Analysis, Store and Retrieve Data Efficiently...

16. Easy to Advanced Data Structures

4.3

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A complete guide to learning everything there is to know about data structures...

17. Data Structures and Algorithms In C# ( DSA )

4.2

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Data Structures and Algorithms in C# Using DSA C# Data Structures Algorithms DSA Leetcode C# Data Structures Algorithms...

18. Data Structures and Algorithms In Python ( DSA )

4.4

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19. The Complete Data Structures and Algorithms Course in Java

4.4

(420)

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20. Data Structures and Algorithms: In-Depth using Python

4.5

(1,661)

Implement Data Structures and Algorithms in Python...

Top 10 most affordable universities for structural design engineers

The most affordable schools for structural design engineers are University of Florida, florida state university, and florida atlantic university.

If the best universities for structural design engineers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for structural design engineers.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

3. Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$4,831

Cost of attendance

19,559

4. California State University - Northridge

Northridge, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,893

Cost of attendance

18,870

5. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

6. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

7. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,310

Cost of attendance

19,807

8. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,140

Cost of attendance

14,430

9. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

10. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Cost of attendance

21,302

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for structural design engineers

The hardest universities for structural design engineers to get into are Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Some great schools for structural design engineers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for structural design engineers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

2. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

3. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,512

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

5. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

6. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,566

7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,545

8. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,465

9. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

10. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for structural design engineers

The easiest schools for structural design engineers to get into are Oregon Institute of Technology, saint martin's university, and washington state university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a structural design engineer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for structural design engineers.

1. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

2. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

3. Washington State University

Pullman, WA • Private

Admissions rate

77%

SAT average

1,123

4. Alabama A & M University

Normal, AL • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

957

5. Portland State University

Portland, OR • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,111

6. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

7. Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,111

8. South Dakota State University

Brookings, SD • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,149

9. Lamar University

Beaumont, TX • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,043

10. North Dakota State University

Fargo, ND • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,170

Average structural design engineer salary by education level

According to our data, structural design engineers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $82,547 annually. Structural design engineers with a Doctorate degree earn an average annual salary of $81,970.

Structural design engineer education level	Structural design engineer salary
Master's Degree	$82,547
Bachelor's Degree	$74,611
Doctorate Degree	$81,970

Structural design engineer education FAQs

What is the best college for Structural Design Engineers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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