By Glyn Caddell, BSME · Author of Digital SAT Math Secrets · Tutoring since 2008 — Updated October 22, 2026
Fifteen Florida universities offer ABET-accredited engineering degrees, and this page lists what they cost and the SAT scores of the students they admit.
Every public one of them requires a test score from every applicant, by state regulation. That rule, and what it means set beside California’s, is covered below the table.
Scores are given by section, and the table is sorted by Math because that is the section engineering programs use.
Table of Contents
- Florida Engineering Colleges by SAT Math Score
- Do Florida’s Public Engineering Schools Require the SAT?
- How Does the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Admit Students?
- Which Florida Universities Have ABET-Accredited Engineering Schools?
- What If Your Score Is Below the Range You Want?
Florida Engineering Colleges by SAT Math Score
The fifteen universities below are the ones in Florida that hold an ABET-accredited bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline. They are sorted by the midpoint of the SAT Math range, so the order can be checked from the table itself.
| College | SAT Reading & Writing | SAT Math | Cost of attendance | Undergraduates | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Miami | 660 to 730 | 660 to 750 | $86,078 | 12,913 | 19% |
| University of Florida | 660 to 730 | 660 to 750 | $22,523 | 35,629 | 24% |
| Florida State University | 640 to 710 | 630 to 700 | $25,720 | 32,212 | 24% |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach | 580 to 670 | 580 to 690 | $64,632 | 7,860 | 65% |
| University of Central Florida | 610 to 680 | 590 to 670 | $23,133 | 59,146 | 40% |
| Florida Polytechnic University | 590 to 670 | 580 to 670 | $21,817 | 1,689 | 58% |
| Florida Institute of Technology | 560 to 660 | 560 to 660 | $62,440 | 3,404 | 58% |
| University of South Florida | 580 to 660 | 550 to 660 | $22,859 | 37,207 | 43% |
| Jacksonville University | 580 to 660 | 520 to 620 | $63,969 | 2,930 | 57% |
| University of North Florida | 550 to 650 | 520 to 620 | $20,983 | 13,359 | 53% |
| Florida International University | 550 to 640 | 520 to 620 | $21,462 | 39,508 | 55% |
| University of West Florida | 520 to 630 | 500 to 600 | $19,947 | 9,330 | 58% |
| Florida Atlantic University | 530 to 610 | 510 to 590 | $21,522 | 23,757 | 66% |
| Florida Gulf Coast University | 530 to 610 | 510 to 590 | $20,807 | 13,874 | 63% |
| Florida A&M University | 520 to 610 | 510 to 570 | $23,970 | 7,582 | 21% |
Each range covers the middle 50% of admitted students who submitted the SAT. A quarter scored below the lower number, and the top quarter scored at or above the upper one. Being under the lower number does not rule a student out, and being just above it is not as safe as it looks.
Where two schools share a Math midpoint, the higher Reading & Writing midpoint is listed first, then the higher ACT composite 25th percentile, then alphabetical order. Only universities with an ABET-accredited engineering bachelor’s degree are listed. Florida State and Florida A&M share one engineering college. Every public university on the list requires a test score from every applicant.
Three things about that table are worth pausing on.
Miami and UF report identical SAT ranges on both sections, 660 to 730 and 660 to 750, at $86,078 and $22,523. The two most selective engineering schools in the state admit students who score the same, and one costs nearly four times the other for a Florida resident.
Florida State and Florida A&M run one engineering college between them, and their Math floors are 120 points apart, 630 against 510. A student in the same lecture hall came through one of two doors, and the next section but one is about them.
Florida Polytechnic’s in-state tuition and fees are $4,940, the lowest for an accredited engineering degree on any page in this series so far, and Central Florida’s 59,146 undergraduates make it the largest university on any page in the series.
A student can see where his Math score sits on this list in the image above.
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University of Miami
The University of Miami’s College of Engineering in Coral Gables holds ABET accreditation across its engineering degrees, and Miami is the most selective and the most expensive school on the page.
Reading & Writing 660 to 730, Math 660 to 750. The top quarter of admitted students scored at or above 730 and 750. Cost of attendance $86,078, with tuition and fees at $62,616 for all students. 12,913 undergraduates, 19% admitted.
Miami is test-optional, the one school in the top three that does not require a score, and its range is listed first on its ACT 25th percentile of 30 against UF’s 29.
University of Florida
The University of Florida’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering in Gainesville is the state’s flagship engineering school, and UF requires a test score from every applicant.
Reading & Writing 660 to 730, Math 660 to 750. The top quarter scored at or above 730 and 750. Cost of attendance $22,523, with tuition and fees at $6,381 in-state and $28,659 out-of-state. 35,629 undergraduates, 24% admitted.
UF’s out-of-state tuition is the highest of the public universities on the page by approximately $3,500, and its calculus placement rule is covered below.
Florida State University
Florida State University in Tallahassee is one of the two universities that operate the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, and Florida State has the lowest in-state tuition of the four most selective public universities on the page.
Reading & Writing 640 to 710, Math 630 to 700. The top quarter scored at or above 710 and 700. Cost of attendance $25,720, with tuition and fees at $5,656 in-state and $18,786 out-of-state. 32,212 undergraduates, 24% admitted.
Florida State requires a test score from every applicant. Its engineering students share a building, a faculty and an accreditation with Florida A&M’s, and the two universities’ ranges are set side by side further down.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach campus holds a College of Engineering built around aerospace, and Daytona Beach is the only private university on the page whose Math ceiling clears 680.
Reading & Writing 580 to 670, Math 580 to 690. The top quarter scored at or above 670 and 690. Cost of attendance $64,632, with tuition and fees at $44,249 for all students. 7,860 undergraduates, 65% admitted.
Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide campus is an online university and is not listed. Daytona Beach is the second most expensive school on the page.
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida’s College of Engineering and Computer Science in Orlando is the engineering school at the largest university in the United States by undergraduate enrollment, and Central Florida requires a test score from every applicant.
Reading & Writing 610 to 680, Math 590 to 670. The top quarter scored at or above 680 and 670. Cost of attendance $23,133, with tuition and fees at $6,368 in-state and $22,467 out-of-state. 59,146 undergraduates, 40% admitted.
Central Florida admits 40% with a Math range whose ceiling sits 80 points below UF’s and whose floor sits 70 below.
Florida Polytechnic University
Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland is the state’s all-STEM public university, and Florida Poly has the lowest tuition for an accredited engineering degree in this series.
Reading & Writing 590 to 670, Math 580 to 670. The top quarter scored at or above 670 on both sections. Cost of attendance $21,817, with tuition and fees at $4,940 in-state and $21,005 out-of-state. 1,689 undergraduates, 58% admitted.
Florida Poly is the smallest school on the page and requires a test score from every applicant.
Florida Institute of Technology
The Florida Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering and Science in Melbourne sits beside the Space Coast’s launch and aerospace employers, and Florida Tech is the one private university on the page whose two section ranges are identical.
Reading & Writing 560 to 660, Math 560 to 660. The top quarter scored at or above 660 on both sections. Cost of attendance $62,440, with tuition and fees at $45,900 for all students. 3,404 undergraduates, 58% admitted.
Florida Tech’s Math range matches Embry-Riddle’s at the floor and sits 30 points below it at the ceiling, at $2,200 less in cost of attendance.
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida’s College of Engineering in Tampa holds ABET accreditation across its engineering degrees, and South Florida has the lowest out-of-state tuition of the large public universities on the page.
Reading & Writing 580 to 660, Math 550 to 660. The top quarter scored at or above 660 on both sections. Cost of attendance $22,859, with tuition and fees at $6,410 in-state and $17,324 out-of-state. 37,207 undergraduates, 43% admitted.
South Florida’s out-of-state tuition of $17,324 is $11,335 below UF’s for a Math ceiling 90 points lower, and it requires a test score from every applicant.
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University’s engineering programs hold ABET accreditation in electrical and mechanical engineering, awarded in 2023, and Jacksonville is the newest accredited engineering school on the page.
Reading & Writing 580 to 660, Math 520 to 620. The top quarter scored at or above 660 and 620. Cost of attendance $63,969, with tuition and fees at $47,830 for all students. 2,930 undergraduates, 57% admitted
Jacksonville’s Reading & Writing range sits 60 points above its Math range at both ends, the widest gap in that direction on the page.
University of North Florida
The University of North Florida’s College of Computing, Engineering and Construction in Jacksonville holds ABET accreditation in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, and North Florida shares a city with Jacksonville University at a third of the cost.
Reading & Writing 550 to 650, Math 520 to 620. The top quarter scored at or above 650 and 620. Cost of attendance $20,983, with tuition and fees at $6,389 in-state and $20,793 out-of-state. 13,359 undergraduates, 53% admitted.
North Florida and Jacksonville University report the same Math range, 520 to 620, at $20,983 and $63,969.
Florida International University
Florida International University’s College of Engineering and Computing in Miami holds ABET accreditation across its engineering degrees, and FIU is the second largest university on the page.
Reading & Writing 550 to 640, Math 520 to 620. The top quarter scored at or above 640 and 620. Cost of attendance $21,462, with tuition and fees at $6,565 in-state and $18,964 out-of-state. 39,508 undergraduates, 55% admitted.
FIU and the University of Miami are in the same county with Math floors 140 points apart and a cost gap of approximately $64,600.
University of West Florida
The University of West Florida’s Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering in Pensacola holds ABET accreditation in electrical and mechanical engineering, and West Florida is the cheapest university on the page by cost of attendance.
Reading & Writing 520 to 630, Math 500 to 600. The top quarter scored at or above 630 and 600. Cost of attendance $19,947, with tuition and fees at $6,360 in-state and $19,241 out-of-state. 9,330 undergraduates, 58% admitted.
West Florida sits beside Eglin Air Force Base and the Panhandle’s defense contractors, and it requires a test score from every applicant.
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science in Boca Raton holds ABET accreditation across its engineering degrees, and Florida Atlantic has the lowest in-state tuition on the page.
Reading & Writing 530 to 610, Math 510 to 590. The top quarter scored at or above 610 and 590. Cost of attendance $21,522, with tuition and fees at $4,879 in-state and $17,324 out-of-state. 23,757 undergraduates, 66% admitted.
Florida Atlantic admits two applicants in three, the largest share on the page, and its in-state tuition is $61 below Florida Poly’s.
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida Gulf Coast University’s U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering in Fort Myers holds ABET accreditation in bioengineering, civil, environmental and software engineering, and Gulf Coast reports the same section ranges as Florida Atlantic.
Reading & Writing 530 to 610, Math 510 to 590. The top quarter scored at or above 610 and 590. Cost of attendance $20,807, with tuition and fees at $6,118 in-state and $25,162 out-of-state. 13,874 undergraduates, 63% admitted.
Gulf Coast’s out-of-state tuition of $25,162 is the second highest of the public universities on the page, above Central Florida’s and below only UF’s.
Florida A&M University
Florida A&M University in Tallahassee is the state’s historically Black land-grant university and one of the two universities that operate the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, and Florida A&M admits a smaller share of applicants than any public university on the page.
Reading & Writing 520 to 610, Math 510 to 570. The top quarter scored at or above 610 and 570. Cost of attendance $23,970, with tuition and fees at $5,785 in-state and $17,725 out-of-state. 7,582 undergraduates, 21% admitted.
Florida A&M’s 21% admit rate is lower than Florida State’s 24%, with a Math floor 120 points lower, for the same engineering college.
Fifteen ranges, and every public one of them describes a class in which every student submitted a score, because in Florida there is no other way in.
Do Florida's Public Engineering Schools Require the SAT?
Every Florida public university requires a test score from every first-year applicant, under Florida Board of Governors Regulation 6.002, and an applicant may submit the SAT, the ACT or the Classic Learning Test.
The regulation’s words are that first-time-in-college students applying for admission must submit SAT scores from the College Board, ACT scores from ACT, Inc., or CLT scores from Classic Learning Initiatives. It applies to all twelve universities in the State University System, including the eleven on this page that hold engineering degrees. The regulation sets no minimum score for standard admission. A student with a 2.50 to 2.99 high school GPA presents a score and a student with a 3.00 or higher presents a score, and each university sets its own standard above that. The state names a number only for applicants whose schooling is not measured in Carnegie units, who need a 1060 SAT, a 21 ACT or a 67 CLT. The current version of the regulation is dated November 6, 2025.
California is the other large state a New York engineering applicant looks at, and it is the opposite. No University of California or California State University campus reads a test score, and our page on engineering colleges in California lists its public campuses by admit rate because there is no range to sort them by. In Florida the score is required at all eleven public engineering campuses, and the same score decides the state scholarship.
Take a student with a 1390 who applies to UC San Diego and to UF. At UC San Diego the score is not opened. At UF it is required, read against a Math range of 660 to 750, and, if the student is a Florida resident, measured against the Bright Futures line as well. One score, nothing on one coast, admission and money on the other.
The image above shows one score, not read on one coast and required on the other.
Bright Futures is the money, and our page on pre-med colleges in Florida carries the full arithmetic. The short version for an engineering applicant: Florida Academic Scholars pays 100% of tuition and fees at a Florida public university at an SAT of 1330, and Florida Medallion Scholars pays 75% at 1190, each with a GPA and a service-hours requirement. The Florida Department of Education has raised both lines for students graduating in 2028, to 1350 and 1200, with the Medallion ACT minimum rising to 25. For most readers of this page the scholarship line is the higher of the two numbers they are chasing, because 1330 sits above the floor of every engineering school on the table except UF, Miami and Florida State.
The score is required for admission and does nothing after it at the flagship. UF places students into MAC 2311, Calculus 1, on one of three routes: an ALEKS placement score of 76 or higher, a grade of C in precalculus at UF, or AP or IB credit. The SAT and ACT are not among them. So a Florida engineering applicant’s score opens the door and then stops, and the assessment he takes after admission decides whether his first semester starts in calculus.
Families who have read the regulation frequently ask which of the three tests to take.
Does Florida Accept the ACT or the CLT Instead of the SAT?
Florida’s public universities accept the SAT, the ACT or the Classic Learning Test from every applicant, by regulation, and Bright Futures accepts all three as well.
Every university on this page reports both an SAT and an ACT range, and most Florida applicants take the SAT. A student should take whichever test he scores higher on, and a student who takes the CLT should check that each private university on his list reads it, because the regulation binds only the public ones.
The regulation makes the score a condition of entry at every public engineering school in the state. One of those schools has two entrances.
How Does the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Admit Students?
The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering admits students through either Florida A&M University or Florida State University, and a student takes the same engineering courses in the same building whichever university he enrolls at.
The college is one institution operated jointly by the two universities. Its own description is that students are enrolled in either FAMU or FSU, take their prerequisites at their home university, then study, research and learn together on the shared campus, and graduate from their home university. Every faculty member holds a joint appointment at both. The engineering degrees are the college’s, and a student’s diploma carries the name of the university he enrolled at.
| Door | SAT Math, middle 50% | Admit rate | In-state tuition and fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State University | 630 to 700 | 24% | $5,656 |
| Florida A&M University | 510 to 570 | 21% | $5,785 |
Scores and admit rates from the College Scorecard, 2025-26. Both universities require a test score from every applicant.
The Math floor at Florida A&M is 120 points below the floor at Florida State, and the admit rates are three points apart. Take a student with a 580 Math. He is 50 points below Florida State’s floor and in the top quarter at Florida A&M, and in his sophomore year he sits in the same engineering classroom either way.
The image above shows one college, two universities, two ranges.
What differs between the two doors is the home campus, the student body around the engineering courses, and the name on the diploma. Florida A&M is the state’s historically Black land-grant university, and its 7,582 undergraduates are a quarter of Florida State’s. What does not differ is the college, the faculty, the building and the accreditation. A student choosing between the two doors should know both lists.
Two universities share one of the fifteen engineering schools on this page. The next section lists all of them.
Which Florida Universities Have ABET-Accredited Engineering Schools?
Fifteen Florida universities hold ABET-accredited engineering bachelor’s degrees, eleven of them public and four private, and all fifteen are in the table above.
In North Florida, UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering in Gainesville is the largest engineering college in the state, the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in Tallahassee serves both universities, and Jacksonville holds two engineering schools, North Florida’s and Jacksonville University’s. In the Panhandle, West Florida’s Hal Marcus College in Pensacola sits beside Eglin Air Force Base and its contractors.
In Central Florida, Central Florida’s college in Orlando is the state’s largest by enrollment and sits beside Lockheed Martin’s Orlando operations, Florida Poly in Lakeland is the all-STEM public, and the Space Coast holds Florida Tech in Melbourne and Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach, with Kennedy Space Center and the launch industry between them. In Tampa Bay, South Florida’s college holds degrees across the standard disciplines.
In South Florida, Miami’s college in Coral Gables and FIU’s in Miami are in the same county, Florida Atlantic’s in Boca Raton serves Palm Beach County, and Gulf Coast’s Whitaker College in Fort Myers holds the newest public programs. The construction and port industries of Miami-Dade are the largest civil engineering employers in the state.
Accreditation matters for a reason that is easy to miss at seventeen. Licensure as a professional engineer normally requires a degree from an ABET-accredited engineering program. Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide campus and UF Online appear in the federal data as separate institutions and are not on the page because they are online. Nova Southeastern, Stetson, Rollins, Tampa, Florida Southern, Lynn and Eckerd report score ranges and are not on the page because none awards an accredited engineering degree.
Nothing on this page ranks the fifteen. The table’s order is a stated, verifiable number, and the choice among accredited programs comes down to cost, discipline and where a student’s score places him.
What If Your Scores Are Below the Range You Want?
A Florida engineering applicant cannot sidestep the score, because every public university requires one, so the question is only how high, and he is normally chasing two numbers rather than one.
The first number is the range at the school he wants, and the second is the Bright Futures line, 1330 now and 1350 for the class of 2028. For most readers of this page the scholarship line is the higher of the two, and the difference between 1330 and the floor at Central Florida or South Florida is approximately 100 to 150 points on the total. A New York applicant has one number, the range, and out-of-state tuition the score does not change: $28,659 at UF, $22,467 at Central Florida, $17,324 at South Florida.
The first step is finding out where the score actually is, section by section. A free diagnostic SAT gives a Math score that can be set against the table above and a total that can be set against the Bright Futures line.
The Math section rewards the same handful of topics on every test date, and a student who knows which of them he is missing can close a gap of 50 to 100 points in weeks rather than months. The method is on our page on improving your SAT score.
Being below a school’s published range doesn’t disqualify anyone. A quarter of the students admitted to every school on this list scored below its lower number.
It does mean the score isn’t helping the application, and at a selective school that matters more than at a less selective one. The number worth aiming for is the upper end of a school’s range, the one the top quarter cleared, rather than the middle. The reasoning behind that is on what SAT score you need for college.
Reading the sections separately is the useful part. If your Math sits inside a school’s range and your Reading & Writing doesn’t, you know which section your hours should go to, and that’s a more specific answer than a total score gives you.
The gap is measurable and so is the work to close it. A 70 to 130 point improvement takes approximately 40 hours of effective studying, based on the students we’ve worked with since 2008, and a 130 to 250 point improvement takes approximately 80.
How to improve your SAT score covers the method, including how to work out which topics are actually costing you points. If you don’t have a recent score to compare against this list, a free diagnostic SAT gives you one, broken down by section and by topic.
How to Read These Score Ranges
Every range on this page covers the middle 50% of admitted students who submitted the SAT. The lower number is the 25th percentile and the upper number is the 75th, so a quarter of admitted students scored at or above it.
At a university that requires a score from every applicant, the published range describes everyone admitted, not only those who chose to submit. Florida’s eleven public ranges are more complete than most states’ for that reason, and the four private ranges carry the usual caveat.
Because most colleges elsewhere are test-optional, the ranges they publish describe only the students who chose to submit at all. Students with strong scores submit and students with weak ones don’t, so a published range sits higher than the range for everyone who was actually admitted. More on what SAT score you need for college and on test-optional colleges.
Should You Take the ACT Instead?
Florida accepts the SAT, the ACT and the CLT at every public university, as the section above explains, and every university on this page reports both an SAT and an ACT range.
A student should take whichever test he scores higher on. Twenty-six Florida universities report SAT sections and twenty-five report an ACT range, and the SAT is the more common test among Florida applicants.
Engineering Programs in Nearby States
Florida borders only Georgia and Alabama, and Florida students apply across those lines in numbers even with fifteen accredited programs at home.
See engineering colleges in Georgia, engineering colleges in Alabama, and engineering colleges in South Carolina.
Engineering Colleges in Other States
We publish the same breakdown for engineering programs in every state.
See engineering colleges by state for the full list.
Glyn Caddell
Glyn Caddell holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from NJIT and has been tutoring New York City students since 2008. He founded Caddell Prep in 2012 and is the author of Digital SAT Math Secrets: Lessons & Tricks to Quickly Improve to a Perfect 800 on the Math Test, which contains over 900 practice problems and is used in Caddell Prep’s SAT math classes. He is founding president of the Staten Island Technical High School alumni association and teaches every lesson on this site personally.
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