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2024 Best Petroleum Engineering Schools

22 Colleges in the United States
1,256 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$83,917 Avg Early-Career Salary
When it comes to popularity, petroleum engineering sits in the middle of the road, ranking #223 out of 395 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 22 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Petroleum Engineering Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,256 degrees in petroleum engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Petroleum Engineering School

Best Petroleum Engineering Schools Your choice of petroleum engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Petroleum Engineering School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Petroleum Engineering Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Petroleum Engineering
Master's Degrees in Petroleum Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Petroleum Engineering

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Petroleum Engineering Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Petroleum Engineering in the United States

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the petroleum engineering degree levels they offer.

10 Top Schools in Petroleum Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
195 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$120,565 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Texas A&M University - College Station if you wish to pursue a degree in petroleum engineering. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of College Station. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were roughly 195 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Petroleum Engineering degree recipients from Texas A&M University - College Station receive an earnings boost of about $36,648 above the typical income of petroleum engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$94,022 Median Starting Salary

Colorado School of Mines is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in petroleum engineering. Mines is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Golden. A Best Colleges rank of #48 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Mines is a great school overall.

There were roughly 86 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Mines in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the petroleum engineering major at Colorado School of Mines make $10,105 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Colorado School of Mines

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA

University of Southern California is a good option for students pursuing a degree in petroleum engineering. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 21 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from University of Southern California

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
123 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
13.8% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in petroleum engineering has to check out The University of Texas at Austin. UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Austin. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were approximately 123 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Petroleum Engineering degree recipients from The University of Texas at Austin earn a boost of approximately $3,376 over the average income of petroleum engineering majors.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
84 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$78,626 Median Starting Salary

University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the suburb of Norman. A Best Colleges rank of #140 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were roughly 84 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, petroleum engineering degree recipients usually earn around $78,626 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$85,730 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Tulsa, University of Tulsa is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 32 colleges for overall quality in the state of Oklahoma.

There were roughly 50 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at University of Tulsa in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, petroleum engineering degree recipients generally earn an average of $85,730 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from University of Tulsa

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$89,229 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #168 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Texas Tech is a great university overall.

There were about 50 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas Tech in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the petroleum engineering major at Texas Tech University make $5,312 above the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Texas Tech University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
34 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$80,601 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Rolla, Missouri University of Science and Technology is a public university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #97 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Missouri University of Science and Technology is a great university overall.

There were roughly 34 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Missouri University of Science and Technology in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the petroleum engineering program state that they receive average early career wages of $80,601.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
15.1% Growth in Graduates

UND is a large public university located in the city of Grand Forks. A Best Colleges rank of #218 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UND is a great university overall.

There were roughly 53 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at UND in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the petroleum engineering program earn around $84,111 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from University of North Dakota

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$75,560 Median Starting Salary

Louisiana State University is a fairly large public university located in the city of Baton Rouge. A Best Colleges rank of #271 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Louisiana State University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 74 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Louisiana State University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the petroleum engineering program make around $75,560 for their early career.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

Petroleum Engineering by Region

View the Best Petroleum Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Petroleum Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

Petroleum Engineering Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Petroleum Engineering 1,256

View All Petroleum Engineering Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811
General Engineering 11,796
Industrial Engineering 9,072
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 8,001
Systems Engineering 3,904

View All Petroleum Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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