by our College Data Analytics Team
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 3,415 people earned their degree in materials engineering, making the major the 154th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, materials engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $65,007 and had an average of $23,030 in loans still to pay off.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,519 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,682 and $26,217 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major” ranking looked at 57 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in materials engineering. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in materials engineering.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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.
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.
Out of the 57 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Alfred University landed the #1 spot on the list. This small school is located in Alfred, New York, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. New Mexico Tech is a small school located in Socorro, New Mexico that handed out 5 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Materials Engineering at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Michigan Technological University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major. Michigan Technological University is a medium-sized public school situated in Houghton, Michigan. It awarded 23 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major. Troy, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 25 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Materials Engineering Report
Out of the 57 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Lehigh University landed the #5 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
With a ranking of #6, Winona State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. Winona State is a medium-sized school located in Winona, Minnesota that handed out 20 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking, coming in at #7. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 41 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking. MIT is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 24 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.3% 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 impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Materials Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Virginia Tech did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking, coming in at #9. Virginia Tech is a public institution located in Blacksburg, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 66 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad 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%.
Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, this large public school handed out 55 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Clemson University ranked #11 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. Clemson University is a large public school situated in Clemson, South Carolina. It awarded 44 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
With a ranking of #12, University of California - Merced did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. University of California - Merced is a public institution located in Merced, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Iowa State University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking. Iowa State University is a large school located in Ames, Iowa that handed out 42 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 68 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Boise State University ranked #15 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. This large school is located in Boise, Idaho, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 73 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
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 undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Connecticut ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. This large school is located in Storrs, Connecticut, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Washington State University ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. This large school is located in Pullman, Washington, and it awarded 35 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #19, Drexel University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. Drexel University is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 27 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #20, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. Caltech is located in Pasadena, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
University of Florida did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking, coming in at #21. Gainesville, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 61 students in 2020-2021.
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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Cornell University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking. Cornell University is a large school located in Ithaca, New York that handed out 28 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Materials Engineering at Cornell University
Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #23 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major list. Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 44 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking, coming in at #24. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% 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%.
Read full report on Materials Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major ranking, coming in at #25. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this large public school handed out 53 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
