Quick answer:39 colleges within 100 miles of Ottawa, Illinois award a engineering degree, the nearest about 14 miles away (IPEDS Completions, 2024).
Compare engineering programs you can start from Ottawa:
Engineering Program Access Near Ottawa, Illinois
Distance from Ottawa
Colleges awarding this degree
Within 25 miles
1
Within 50 miles
6
Within 100 miles
39
Within 250 miles
123
Source: IPEDS Completions, 2024, counting institutions that reported awarding this degree, joined to IPEDS institution coordinates. Distances are straight-line.
There are 6 degree-awarding colleges within 50 miles of Ottawa, rising to 39 within 100 miles. The nearest is about 14 miles away, so a hybrid schedule is workable but a daily commute would be a commitment.
Choosing a Engineering Program From Ottawa
The subject matter does not change by location: the calculus and physics sequence, statics and dynamics, materials, and the design coursework specific to your discipline. What changes is how you take it. Ask each college whether the program holds accreditation from ABET, whose accreditation is what makes a graduate eligible for the NCEES examinations and the PE licence, how much of the coursework is delivered online, and which components require you on campus. Credit transfer is decided by the receiving institution and genuinely varies, so request a written transfer evaluation before you enroll.
Colleges Near Ottawa
How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention.
Advertising plays no part.
This page lists 10 schools
within 57 miles, closest group first, then ordered by
BOC Score with the highest at the top.
10 of them carry a score.
LOCAL RANK
Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off
25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher
20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two
15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working
10%
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal
about the institution rather than about this subject.
Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from
this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
Civil Engineers in Illinois earn a median $99,760 per year against $100,840 nationally (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The Illinois median for civil engineers is $99,760 per year, below the national median of $100,840, on state employment of 13,910 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
These are statewide figures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish wages at city level, so no page can tell you what this job pays in Ottawa specifically. For the metro-level picture where it is published, and the full percentile spread, see the Illinois page.
U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Completions, 2024 - institutions awarding this degree, with IPEDS institution coordinates
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 - Civil Engineers (SOC 17-2051)
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
