by our College Data Analytics Team
[Value](/majors/engineering/general-engineering/applied-engineering/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong value education at a price that pays off.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 1 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for value students.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the value degrees they offer, see the list below.
For return on investment in value, no school beat University Of Colorado Boulder this year. Set in the city of Boulder, University Of Colorado Boulder is a very large public institution. In-state tuition and fees average $15,214, compared with $42,970 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for value graduates is $20,373. Early-career value graduates make about $115,924. Set against $20,373 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 78%.
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 1 school evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.