Jun 04, 2016 07:20 AM EDT By Vinay Patel, UniversityHerald Reporter

Without-a-doubt, engineering is among the highest paying degrees, and thus a prevalent choice for students who are keen on developing, building products and those interested in science and maths.

First step in making an impression as an engineer involve finding the right graduate school that can actually help students develop their skills. The U.S. News rankings below sheds light on the top 5 places to get an engineering degree in the United States.

No. 1 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

The application fee for U.S. residents as well as international students is $75, with full time tuition fee of $46,400 per annum. Last year's Ph.D. student-faculty ration is 5:6:1, and it has 376 full-time faculty on staff.

No. 2 - Stanford University, Stanford, CA

With an application fee of $125 for U.S. residents and those coming from other countries, the tuition fees at Stanford University is $48,720 per year. The School of Engineering at Stanford University boasts 248 full-time faculty on staff.

No. 3 - University of California-​Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

The application fee at the College of Engineering at University of California--Berkeley is $90 for U.S. residents and $110 for international students. Tuition (full-time) in state is $11,220 per annum and tuition (full-time) out-of-state is $26,322 per annum. The College of Engineering at University of California-​Berkeley has 255 faculty (full-time) faculty on staff.

No. 4 - California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

With an application fee of $100 for U.S. residents as well as international students, tuition (full-time) fee at the Division of Engineering and Applied Science at California Institute of Technology is $43,710 per annum. As far as the 2015 Ph.D. student-faculty ratio is concerned, it is 5:2:1. The Division of Engineering and Applied Science at California Institute has 97 full-time faculty on staff.

No. 5 - Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

The application fee for both U.S. residents as well as international students is $65, and tuition (full-time) is $42,000 per annum, a part-time tuition is also available for $1,750 annually. In terms of 2015 Ph. D student-faculty ratio, the Carnegie Institute of Technology at Carnegie Mellon University boasts a 4:5:1 ratio with 266 (full-time) faculty on staff.

Some of the other leading Graduate Engineering schools and colleges, listed by Graduates Hotline include:

No. 6 - Georgia Institute of Technology
No. 7 - University of Michigan
No. 8 - Cornell University
No. 9 - Carnegie Mellon University
No. 10 - University of Texas at Austin

For the aforementioned rankings of graduate engineering programs, U.S. News surveyed 215 engineering schools that allot doctoral degrees. Data collection was done in fall last year, and early 2016.

194 schools provided the data required to be ranked, and these were then calculated on the basis of weighted average of indicators such as peer assessment score, recruiter assessment score and student selectivity.

See Now: Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit