2023 Best Value Colleges for General Materials Engineering in the Great Lakes Region
14
Ranked Colleges
740
Degrees Awarded
$19,900
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
General Materials Engineering is the 199th most popular major in the country with 3,415 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 740 general materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general materials engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general materials engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general materials engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students.
Top 14 Best Value Colleges for General Materials Engineering in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Dayton. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region. UDayton is a private not-for-profit institution located in Dayton, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 16 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students list, UDayton has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Dayton is $29,928 for great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, 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 91%.
Read full report on General Materials Engineering at University of Dayton
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. West Lafayette, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees to 97 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students list, Purdue has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Purdue University - Main Campus is $13,377 for Great Lakes Region Materials Processing and Manufacturing students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Purdue University - Main Campus General Materials Engineering Report
Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, this large public school handed out 60 diplomas to qualified ’s materials processing and manufacturing students in 2020-2021.
UW - Madison also made our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $17,234 for great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students per year to attend UW - Madison.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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 General Materials Engineering at UW - Madison
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 109 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2020-2021.
UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $14,321 for great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students per year to attend UIUC.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full UIUC General Materials Engineering Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Michigan Technological University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region. This medium-sized school is located in Houghton, Michigan, and it awarded 36 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2020-2021.
Michigan Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $15,384 for Great Lakes Region Materials Processing and Manufacturing students per year to attend Michigan Technological University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Read more about General Materials Engineering at Michigan Technological University
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a large school located in Cincinnati, Ohio that handed out 14 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2020-2021.
UC also took the #12 spot in our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC is $22,415 for great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Materials Engineering at UC
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a large school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 112 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2020-2021.
Ohio State also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State is $16,845 for Great Lakes Region Materials Processing and Manufacturing students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, 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 94%.
Read more about General Materials Engineering at Ohio State
With a ranking of #8, Wright State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Wright State University - Main Campus is located in Dayton, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 17 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wright State University - Main Campus, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $15,962 for Great Lakes Region Materials Processing and Manufacturing students per year to attend Wright State University - Main Campus.
Full Wright State University - Main Campus General Materials Engineering Report
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #9. UWM is a large public school situated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It awarded 11 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students list, UWM has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $17,486 for great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
Read more about General Materials Engineering at UWM
With a ranking of #10, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 28 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Michigan State, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Michigan State University is $19,058 for great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Michigan State University General Materials Engineering Report
Illinois Institute of Technology came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Illinois Institute of Technology is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees to qualified students.
Illinois Tech also made our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $23,772 for Great Lakes Region Materials Processing and Manufacturing students per year to attend Illinois Tech.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Illinois Institute of Technology General Materials Engineering Report
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 119 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students list, U-M has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is $14,878 for great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full U-M General Materials Engineering Report
Case Western Reserve University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #13. Case Western is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 20 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Case Western did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $34,214 for great lakes region materials processing and manufacturing students per year to attend Case Western Reserve University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Materials Engineering at Case Western
With a ranking of #14, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 82 ’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees to qualified students.
Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $23,279 for Great Lakes Region Materials Processing and Manufacturing students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on General Materials Engineering at Northwestern
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
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
- *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
college factual
