2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region
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 Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” 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.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 2,726 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,345 and $24,513 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,827 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 39 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in civil engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great civil engineering programs and 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.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Civil Engineering in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Platteville. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Located in Platteville, Wisconsin, this medium-sized public school handed out 83 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.
UW - Platteville also took the #16 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $15,718 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students per year to attend UW - Platteville.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a fairly large public school situated in Edwardsville, Illinois. It awarded 30 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $14,423 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students per year to attend SIUE.
Read more about Civil Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Purdue University Northwest. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Purdue University Northwest is a medium-sized public school situated in Hammond, Indiana. It awarded 29 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Purdue University Northwest is $11,250 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students.
Out of the 39 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Michigan University landed the #4 spot on the list. Kalamazoo, Michigan is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s civil eng degrees to 33 students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Western Michigan University is $19,433 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
Read more about Civil Engineering at Western Michigan University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Purdue University - Main Campus. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 161 bachelors’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students list, Purdue has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Purdue University - Main Campus is $13,986 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend SIUC is $16,945 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Civil Engineering Report
Youngstown State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Youngstown State University is a fairly large school located in Youngstown, Ohio that handed out 22 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Youngstown State University is $11,947 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
Read more about Civil Engineering at Youngstown State University
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is a public institution located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 57 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UWM also made our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #25. The yearly cost to attend UWM is $17,876 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
With a ranking of #9, University of Toledo did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Toledo, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s civil eng degrees to 43 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for University of Toledo is $17,630 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students.
University of Akron Main Campus came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Akron, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s civil eng degrees to 52 students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $17,792 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students per year to attend University of Akron Main Campus.
Read more about Civil Engineering at University of Akron Main Campus
University of Southern Indiana ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Evansville, Indiana, this fairly large public school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $13,437 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students per year to attend University of Southern Indiana.
The low student loan default rate of 5.0% 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%.
Cleveland State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #12. This fairly large school is located in Cleveland, Ohio, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Cleveland State University is $17,278 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
Read more about Civil Engineering at Cleveland State University
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a large public school situated in Cincinnati, Ohio. It awarded 43 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students list, UC has also earned the #22 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is $21,843 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.
Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Baker College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Owosso, Michigan, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Baker College is $15,049 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
With a ranking of #15, Purdue University Fort Wayne did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $10,912 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students per year to attend PFW.
Ohio University - Athens Campus ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio University - Athens Campus is a large public school situated in Athens, Ohio. It awarded 32 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus is $22,906 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
Full Ohio University - Athens Campus Civil Engineering Report
University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #17. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 79 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students list, UIC has also earned the #20 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $13,312 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #18, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 180 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ohio Northern University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio Northern University is located in Ada, Ohio and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 24 bachelors’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.
ONU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Ohio Northern University is $24,072 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Columbus, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s civil eng degrees to 143 students in 2019-2020.
Ohio State also made our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #13. It costs about $17,616 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students per year to attend Ohio State.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #21, Bradley University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Bradley University is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 31 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
Bradley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley is $25,634 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
University of Mount Union ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Alliance, Ohio is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s civil eng degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.
Mount Union not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #23 on our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Mount Union is $23,501 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree civil eng students.
Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of Mount Union
Wayne State University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Wayne State is a public institution located in Detroit, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 37 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Wayne State is $13,965 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #24. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, this large public school handed out 108 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison also took the #7 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW - Madison is $17,708 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #25, Michigan Technological University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan Tech is a medium-sized public school situated in Houghton, Michigan. It awarded 66 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.
Michigan Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Michigan Tech is $16,463 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Civil Engineering at Michigan Technological University
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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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Master Sgt. Roger Parsons.
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