2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering in the Plains States Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

General Engineering is the 78th most popular major in the country with 11,925 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $66,152 and had an average of $20,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 559 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $61,000 and $14,944 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 63 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,438 and $39,783 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in general engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region master’s degree engineering students.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering in the Plains States Region

#1

Minnesota State University - Mankato

Mankato, Minnesota

#3 in overall quality

$8,788 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region list. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large school located in Mankato, Minnesota that handed out 4 masters’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Minnesota State Mankato also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Minnesota State University - Mankato are $8,788, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on General Engineering at Minnesota State Mankato

#2

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Lincoln, Nebraska

#1 in overall quality

$19,513 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nebraska - Lincoln landed the #2 spot on the list. UNL is a public institution located in Lincoln, Nebraska. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UNL did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Nebraska - Lincoln are $19,513.

Full University of Nebraska - Lincoln General Engineering Report

#3

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota

#5 in overall quality

$16,743 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota State University landed the #3 spot on the list. South Dakota State University is a fairly large school located in Brookings, South Dakota that handed out 4 masters’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region master’s degree engineering students list, South Dakota State has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at South Dakota State are $16,743, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full South Dakota State University General Engineering Report

#4

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis, Missouri

#2 in overall quality

$22,074 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$54,869 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Saint Louis University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region. This fairly large school is located in Saint Louis, Missouri, and it awarded 27 masters’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

SLU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at SLU are $22,074.

Read full report on General Engineering at SLU

#5

University of Missouri - Columbia

Columbia, Missouri

#4 in overall quality

$27,193 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Missouri - Columbia. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region. University of Missouri - Columbia is a large school located in Columbia, Missouri that handed out 6 masters’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mizzou, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Missouri - Columbia are $27,193, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Engineering at Mizzou

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering

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 Rémi Kaupp.

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