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2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

13 Ranked Colleges
173 Degrees Awarded
$32,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master's in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 3,485 people earned their degree in materials engineering, making the major the 150th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, materials engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $63,129 and had an average of $23,918 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 781 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $67,850 and $23,267 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 173 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in materials engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great materials engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the materials engineering program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region master’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 13 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at Northwestern University

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 31 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, U-M has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor are $49,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Materials Engineering Report

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 20 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Madison also made our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UW - Madison

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 14 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083.

Full UIUC Materials Engineering Report

#5

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, this large public school handed out 5 diplomas to qualified masters’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Purdue, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Purdue University - Main Campus are $28,794, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Purdue University - Main Campus

#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Michigan Technological University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Michigan Technological University is a public institution located in Houghton, Michigan. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 5 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Michigan Tech has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Michigan Technological University are $21,996, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Michigan Tech Materials Engineering Report

#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Ohio State University - Main Campus is located in Columbus, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 30 masters’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

Ohio State also made our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio State are $37,141, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Ohio State University - Main Campus

#11 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 5 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #11 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at UIC

#7 in overall quality

Case Western Reserve University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Cleveland, Ohio. It awarded 6 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Case Western also took the #7 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Case Western are $47,958.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Case Western

#12 in overall quality

Wright State University - Main Campus came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Wright State University - Main Campus is located in Dayton, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 masters’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Wright State University - Main Campus has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Wright State University - Main Campus are $24,286, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Wright State University - Main Campus

#10 in overall quality

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UC is a large public school situated in Cincinnati, Ohio. It awarded 11 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus are $26,644, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UC

#12

University of Dayton

Dayton, Ohio

University of Dayton came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of Dayton is a private not-for-profit institution located in Dayton, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 14 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UDayton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UDayton are $17,780.

Full University of Dayton Materials Engineering Report

Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #13. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 4 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech also took the #0 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology are $30,695, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology

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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 Panoramedia.

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