2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering in the Plains States 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 Plains States Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Plains States region, there were 154 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,767 and $25,422 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 123 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,786 and $25,576 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in materials engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality materials engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the 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

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 Plains States Region”.

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. 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 Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region

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

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering in the Plains States Region

#1

Winona State University

Winona, Minnesota

#3 in overall quality

$17,656 Average Net Price

$66,401 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Winona State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region. Winona, Minnesota is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Winona State, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Winona State University is $17,656 for plains states region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Winona State

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$15,496 Average Net Price

$67,101 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region. Iowa State University is a large school located in Ames, Iowa that handed out 55 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State is $15,496 for plains states region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Iowa State University

#3

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$17,740 Average Net Price

$61,218 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 50 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students list, UMN Twin Cities has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is $17,740 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%.

Full University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Materials Engineering Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials 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 Panoramedia.

Featured Engineering Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >