In general, across different universities, for which branches of engineering / engineering majors (eg, mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical) are the most generous merit scholarships available?
Just from our experience, the schools that offered merit scholarships from the engineering school, in addition to scholarships from the university, did not seem to specify which engineering discipline it was for. Many students have not quite narrowed that part down yet. That is a question you should ask when you tour though, we found that many schools do not even have departmental scholarships - just from the university.
Several do have major specific awards, but those may vary by school. Colorado school of mines had a benefactor give lots of money to, I think, petroleum or thermo-something, and I think there is quite a bit of money for that.
I don’t know that there is any way to give a fair or comprehensive answer to your question.
Scholarship requirements were different at each school my S applied to. Many were on the basis of engineering in general, but a few were only for specific engineering disciplines. Also, scholarships may be awarded by the the university admissions office, the engineering school, or the engineering department and each may have different requirements. It all depends on the individual university and/or the donor. Also, keep in mind that there are scholarships from outside groups (my son received one from the local chapter of Society of American Military Engineers) that are for engineers in general, and more general STEM scholarships that would be open for a student interested in engineering.
Good luck on your scholarship search.
Different for every school. For instance a local U has a small Materials Science program with only 20 students / year. The Dean of Engineering specifically mentioned that makes the odds better at getting continuing scholarships.
There is no “in general” answer.
You’re gonna have to dig deep into each school’s website. Even then you may not be able to see departmental scholarships.
We found the biggest merit came from the school in general and then a small departmental scholarship.
Ohio University has Engineering specific scholarships. I believe it’s up to $8000 per year.
https://www.ohio.edu/admissions/tuition/scholfinaid/signature.cfm
It is under the Russ Impact Scholarship. If you are OOS you may be eligible for OOS scholarships.