2026 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in South Carolina
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in materials engineering, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools
For return on investment in materials engineering, no school beat Clemson University this year. Clemson University is a very large public school located in the suburb of Clemson. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $15,554, with out-of-state students paying around $40,866. Typical student debt for materials engineering graduates is $25,243. Early-career materials engineering graduates make about $69,763. Set against $25,243 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 38% of applicants are accepted.
Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 1 school evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
[Materials Engineering](/majors/engineering/materials-engineering/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
