2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Materials Engineering is the 150th most popular major in the country with 3,485 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, materials engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $63,129 and had an average of $23,918 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 154 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,767 and $25,422 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 123 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,786 and $25,576 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in materials engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great materials engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the materials engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Materials Engineering Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region

#1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$12,556 Average Net Price

$61,218 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #1 spot on the list. UMN Twin Cities is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 50 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UMN Twin Cities also made our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend UMN Twin Cities is $12,556 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at UMN Twin Cities

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$14,161 Average Net Price

$67,101 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Iowa State is a large school located in Ames, Iowa that handed out 55 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State University is $14,161 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at Iowa State University

#3

Winona State University

Winona, Minnesota

#3 in overall quality

$15,140 Average Net Price

$66,401 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Winona State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. This medium-sized school is located in Winona, Minnesota, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $48-$75k list, Winona State has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $15,140 for plains states region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Winona State University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at Winona State

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $48-$75k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Panoramedia.

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