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2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region

11 Ranked Colleges
269 Degrees Awarded
$20,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in the Great Lakes Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 2,802 people earned their degree in environmental engineering, making the major the 166th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, environmental engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,600 and had an average of $23,573 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 433 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $55,000 and $21,495 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 269 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in environmental engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great environmental 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 environmental 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college decision.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

Top 11 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

#1

University of Wisconsin - Platteville

Platteville, Wisconsin

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 Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. University of Wisconsin - Platteville is a medium-sized school located in Platteville, Wisconsin that handed out 26 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Platteville also took the #8 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $15,718 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Platteville.

Full University of Wisconsin - Platteville Environmental Engineering Report

#2

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Purdue is a public institution located in West Lafayette, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Purdue, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Purdue is $13,986 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students.

The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Purdue Environmental Engineering Report

#3

University of Toledo

Toledo, Ohio
#10 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Toledo landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Toledo, Ohio, this fairly large public school awarded 8 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s environmental engineering students in 2019-2020.

University of Toledo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Toledo is $17,630 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students.

Full University of Toledo Environmental Engineering Report

#9 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is $21,843 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Full University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Environmental Engineering Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Ohio State is a public institution located in Columbus, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 33 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Ohio State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Ohio State is $17,616 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default 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.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at Ohio State

#6

Indiana Institute of Technology

Fort Wayne, Indiana
#11 in overall quality

Indiana Institute of Technology ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Indiana Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Indiana Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Indiana Institute of Technology is $19,305 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at Indiana Tech

Michigan Technological University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. Michigan Technological University is located in Houghton, Michigan and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 38 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees to qualified students.

Michigan Tech also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend Michigan Tech is $16,463 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at Michigan Technological University

#8

Marquette University

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
#6 in overall quality

Marquette University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Marquette University is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees to qualified students.

Marquette also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $29,756 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students per year to attend Marquette.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at Marquette

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large public school situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It awarded 34 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is $15,336 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#10

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, Indiana

University of Notre Dame landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Notre Dame is a fairly large school located in Notre Dame, Indiana that handed out 16 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Notre Dame did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Notre Dame is $33,025 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

The low student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at University of Notre Dame

#11

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 12 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s environmental engineering students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $24,664 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 Environmental Engineering at Northwestern 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

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