2027 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in Virginia

[Materials Engineering](/majors/engineering/materials-engineering/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong materials engineering education at a price that pays off.
College Factual analyzed 2 schools to build this 2027 ranking of the best value materials engineering schools.
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2027 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in Virginia
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in materials engineering, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools
Leading the list is University Of Virginia Main Campus, our #1 best value for materials engineering in Virginia. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University Of Virginia Main Campus is a very large public university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $23,118, while out-of-state students pay about $61,591. Typical student debt for materials engineering graduates is $18,627. Early-career materials engineering graduates make about $69,126. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. University Of Virginia Main Campus admits about 17% of applicants.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University earned it the #2 place for materials engineering. Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University is a very large public school located in the city of Blacksburg. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $15,948, compared with $37,764 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for materials engineering graduates is $27,000. Soon after graduation, materials engineering degree recipients from Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University generally make around $66,888. Set against $27,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University admits about 55% of applicants.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 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 · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 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.