This article proposes an approach for the classification of industrial engineering programs offered by different higher education institutions (HEIs) in Colombia, using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and validating the results with cluster analysis. To perform this classification, data from 5318 industrial engineering students from 93 higher education institutions are used as a basis for classification based on the Saber11 and SaberPro state tests. The state tests are used to measure graduates' academic performance in the data envelopment analysis. With the efficiency results it was possible to classify higher education institutions (HEIs) into three large groups. Subsequently, this classification was validated through cluster analysis. The results show a correct classification of 77%.