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

12 Ranked Colleges
450 Degrees Awarded
$19,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in the Great Lakes Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Materials Engineering is the 150th most popular major in the country with 3,485 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 450 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in materials engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent materials engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the materials 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.

More Ways to Rank Materials Engineering Schools

The materials engineering school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region”.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Materials 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 materials engineering students.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #1 spot on the list. Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 64 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

Purdue not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Purdue is $13,986 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Purdue University - Main Campus

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 16 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

UWM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $17,876 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.

Full UWM Materials Engineering Report

#12 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wright State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Wright State University - Main Campus is located in Dayton, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wright State University - Main Campus, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wright State University - Main Campus is $16,823 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students.

Full Wright State University - Main Campus Materials Engineering Report

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 87 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students list, UIUC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at UIUC

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 Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this large public school awarded 72 degrees to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students list, Ohio State has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $17,616 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students per year to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%.

Full Ohio State University - Main Campus Materials Engineering Report

With a ranking of #6, University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 50 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Madison not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison is $17,708 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at UW - Madison

Michigan Technological University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. Michigan Technological University is a medium-sized public school situated in Houghton, Michigan. It awarded 30 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Michigan Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Michigan Technological University is $16,463 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at Michigan Tech

#8

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

With a ranking of #8, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan State University is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 30 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Michigan State, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Michigan State is $19,173 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Michigan State Materials Engineering Report

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 47 students in 2019-2020.

U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is $15,336 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at U-M

#11 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 5 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech also took the #11 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $22,831 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students per year to attend Illinois Tech.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Illinois Tech

#9 in overall quality

Case Western Reserve University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Cleveland, Ohio, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Case Western not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Case Western Reserve University is $35,428 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%.

Full Case Western Reserve University Materials Engineering Report

#12

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at Northwestern

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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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