Milwaukee School of Engineering

Key Highlights

• Private nonprofit university founded in 1903
• Fall 2025 enrollment was 3,066, including 2,837 undergraduates
• Awards bachelor’s and master’s degrees
• Publishes active 2026–27 undergraduate and graduate catalogs

Student Life & Environment

MSOE combines a small-campus environment with a downtown setting. The university reports more than 100 student organizations covering professional and STEM interests, cultural and faith groups, service, student government, Greek life, recreation, and social activities. This breadth gives students ways to pursue technical interests outside class, including design-and-build teams, while also providing outlets unrelated to their majors. Raider athletics includes more than 20 NCAA Division III teams, alongside club and intramural sports. University housing includes Margaret Loock Hall, Mellowes Hall, Hermann Viets Tower, and Grohmann Tower. Room styles range from conventional double and single rooms to suites and apartments. MSOE has a two-year residency requirement for first- and second-year students, with exemptions that include being at least 21, being married, living with a guardian within 30 miles, or entering as a transfer student. Residence-hall residents generally must purchase the unlimited meal plan. Living-learning communities provide themed residential options, including a nursing community and the Carter Academy. The Kern Center brings together athletics, recreation, counseling, and health services and includes an ice arena, basketball arena, fitness center, field house, running track, and wrestling area. Students who value a large residential campus or extensive Greek system should compare MSOE’s scale and urban layout with other institutions, while those who prefer close access to classes, city activities, and technical clubs may find the arrangement practical.

Location & Surroundings

MSOE occupies a 23-acre campus in Milwaukee’s downtown East Town area at 1025 North Broadway. The campus is a few blocks from Lake Michigan and close to the Milwaukee River, theaters, museums, sports and music venues, restaurants, parks, and shopping. This is an integrated city campus: students can walk into surrounding neighborhoods rather than relying on a self-contained college town. The setting can be useful for students pursuing internships and employer connections in engineering, manufacturing, technology, health care, and business. MSOE explicitly presents Milwaukee’s industrial and commercial base as an extension of its career-oriented education. Campus laboratories, residences, athletic facilities, and the Grohmann Museum remain concentrated within the university footprint, helping preserve a recognizable campus center amid the downtown streets. Applicants should evaluate the practical implications of urban study, including transportation, parking, off-campus rent, and their comfort navigating a city environment. Winters are cold, and Lake Michigan influences the local climate. The location is best suited to students who want access to a major metropolitan area while studying at a comparatively small institution.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For 2026–27, full-time undergraduate tuition is $25,901 per semester for 12–19 credits. Mandatory per-semester charges are an $881 technology-package fee and a $311 student-support-services fee. These direct charges exclude housing, meals, books, transportation, and personal expenses. Residence-hall pricing varies: published semester room rates run from $4,001 for a double room in Margaret Loock Hall to $8,002 for an approved single room in Viets Tower or Mellowes Hall. The required unlimited meal plan costs $2,807 per semester. Students should build a personal budget from these current charges rather than use the older 2025–26 cost-of-attendance estimate. MSOE offers institutional merit and need-based aid, housing assistance, and scholarships connected to specified activities or backgrounds. U.S. undergraduates seeking a comprehensive aid offer must file the FAFSA annually; institutional gift aid generally requires full-time enrollment and satisfactory academic progress. International students have separate scholarship information. Actual net price will therefore vary, and applicants should compare official aid offers rather than tuition alone. For the 2024–25 graduating class, MSOE reports that 96% of reported graduates were employed full time, enrolled in graduate school, or serving in the military. Its Career Connections Center reports an average salary of $77,161 for domestic bachelor’s graduates and hosts employer recruiting and career fairs. These are institution-reported outcomes for respondents, not guarantees for every major or student. Prospective students should consult the program-level tables in the 2026 Career Connections Center report and consider response counts when comparing results.