[Engineering-Related Fields](/majors/engineering-technologies/engineering-related-fields/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools to find the best return on investment for engineering-related fields students.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in engineering-related fields, balancing cost against outcomes.
For return on investment in engineering-related fields, no school beat Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University this year. Set in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $15,948, while out-of-state students pay about $37,764. Students borrow a median of $23,750 to complete the engineering-related fields program here. Early-career engineering-related fields graduates make about $56,513. Set against $23,750 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 55%.
Liberty University is a great value for students pursuing a degree in engineering-related fields, landing the #2 spot this year. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $16,173. Typical student debt for engineering-related fields graduates is $27,414. Early-career engineering-related fields graduates make about $45,877. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Liberty University admits about 99% of applicants.
Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
