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2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k

189 Ranked Colleges
5,042 Degrees Awarded
$40,900 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master's For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 21,561 people earned their degree in civil engineering, making the major the 45th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, civil engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $60,122 and had an average of $23,807 in loans still to pay off.

At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 5,042 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,398 and $43,194 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 189 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in civil engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent civil engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the civil engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Civil Engineering Schools

The civil eng school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 25 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $30-$48k)

#1

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Out of the 189 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Massachusetts Institute of Technology landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it awarded 42 masters’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

MIT also made our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at Massachusetts Institute of Technology are $56,719, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

#2

Stanford University

Stanford, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 177 degrees to qualified masters’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Stanford Civil Engineering Report

#3

Duke University

Durham, North Carolina
#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Durham, North Carolina is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s civil eng degrees to 31 students in 2019-2020.

Duke did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Duke University are $59,140, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Duke Civil Engineering Report

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 189 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #4 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 45 masters’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our master’s degree civil eng students whose families make $30-$48k list, Northwestern has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Civil Engineering at Northwestern

#5

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 189 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Princeton University landed the #5 spot on the list. Princeton University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Princeton, New Jersey. It awarded 10 masters’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our master’s degree civil eng students whose families make $30-$48k list, Princeton has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Princeton University are $56,470.

Full Princeton University Civil Engineering Report

#6

Rice University

Houston, Texas

Rice University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Houston, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s civil eng degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

Rice also took the #0 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Rice University are $47,913, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Rice University Civil Engineering Report

Columbia University in the City of New York ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in New York, New York, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 113 degrees to qualified masters’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our master’s degree civil eng students whose families make $30-$48k list, Columbia has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia University in the City of New York are $51,194.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Columbia

#8

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland

Johns Hopkins University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Johns Hopkins University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Baltimore, Maryland. The school has a large population, and it awarded 25 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Johns Hopkins, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Johns Hopkins are $59,425, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Johns Hopkins University Civil Engineering Report

#9

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York

With a ranking of #9, Cornell University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Cornell is located in Ithaca, New York and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 41 masters’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.

Cornell not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Cornell are $30,042.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Cornell University

#10

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee
#17 in overall quality

Vanderbilt University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Nashville, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s civil eng degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our master’s degree civil eng students whose families make $30-$48k list, Vanderbilt has also earned the #17 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Vanderbilt University are $50,624, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Civil Engineering at Vanderbilt

#11

University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida

University of Florida ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Florida is located in Gainesville, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 61 masters’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.

UF excels when it comes to civil eng quality. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Florida are $30,130, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Civil Engineering at UF

#12

Northeastern University

Boston, Massachusetts

Northeastern University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Northeastern University is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 91 masters’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.

Northeastern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northeastern are $25,558.

Full Northeastern Civil Engineering Report

#13

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #13. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this large public school awarded 35 degrees to qualified masters’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our master’s degree civil eng students whose families make $30-$48k list, U-M has also earned the #18 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at U-M are $49,548.

Full University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Civil Engineering Report

University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large public school situated in Seattle, Washington. It awarded 166 masters’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle also took the #12 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UW Seattle are $30,294.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

With a ranking of #15, University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, this large public school handed out 31 degrees to qualified masters’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Madison is also in the top of our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523.

Full University of Wisconsin - Madison Civil Engineering Report

#16

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana

Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This large school is located in West Lafayette, Indiana, and it awarded 68 masters’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at Purdue University - Main Campus are $28,794, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Purdue

#17

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

University of California - Berkeley landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 227 masters’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of California - Berkeley Civil Engineering Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 151 diplomas to qualified masters’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Civil Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#19

Tufts University

Medford, Massachusetts

Tufts University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #19. Medford, Massachusetts is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s civil eng degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

On top of its placing in this ranking, Tufts also did well on our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. Average graduate tuition and fees at Tufts University are $55,168, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Civil Engineering at Tufts

#20

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, Indiana

With a ranking of #20, University of Notre Dame did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. This fairly large school is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, and it awarded 1 masters’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

Notre Dame also made our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #0. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Notre Dame are $57,522, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Notre Dame Civil Engineering Report

#21

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

University of California - Los Angeles ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s civil eng degrees to 79 students in 2019-2020.

UCLA also made our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #14. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

With a ranking of #22, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. California State University - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 16 masters’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Los Angeles are $17,723, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full California State University - Los Angeles Civil Engineering Report

#23

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia
Top 20% in overall quality

University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it awarded 18 masters’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on this list, University of Virginia is in the top on our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Virginia are $32,394, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Civil Engineering at University of Virginia

University of California - Irvine landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of California - Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 32 masters’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on this list, UC Irvine is in the top on our “Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Irvine are $28,456.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of California - Irvine

#25

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, North Carolina

North Carolina State University landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, this large public school awarded 66 degrees to qualified masters’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at North Carolina State University are $28,999, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at NC State

Rest of the Best 29 in Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $30-$48k

Not only did these schools make the top 29 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

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Notes and References

References

  • 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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