2026 Best Mining & Mineral Engineering Schools in the Southeast Region
Mining & Mineral Engineering programs are offered at a focused set of schools across the country. The schools below stand out for the quality of their mining & mineral engineering programs.
For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for mining & mineral engineering students pursuing a degree.
What’s on this page:
Best Schools for Mining & Mineral Engineering in the Southeast Region
If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the mining & mineral engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.
Top Schools in Mining & Mineral Engineering
Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University tops our 2026 ranking of the best mining & mineral engineering schools. Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University is a very large public school located in the city of Blacksburg. About 86% of students finish within six years. There were roughly 20 mining & mineral engineering students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University in the most recent data year. Students who receive their mining & mineral engineering degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University earn around $74,793 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $20,907 to complete this degree.
Read more about the mining & mineral engineering program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University
A rank of #2 makes University Of Kentucky one of the top schools for mining & mineral engineering. Set in the city of Lexington, University Of Kentucky is a very large public institution. Roughly 71% of students complete a degree within six years here. There were roughly 21 mining & mineral engineering students who graduated with this degree at University Of Kentucky in the most recent data year. Students who receive their mining & mineral engineering degree from University Of Kentucky earn around $49,568 in the first couple years of their career. Typical student debt for the program is $24,094.
Read more about the mining & mineral engineering program at University Of Kentucky
Students looking for a strong mining & mineral engineering program will find one at West Virginia University, which ranked #3. Set in the city of Morgantown, West Virginia University is a very large public institution. About 64% of students finish within six years. West Virginia University awarded about 17 mining & mineral engineering degrees in the most recent data year. Mining & Mineral Engineering graduates of West Virginia University earn a median of $85,897 early in their careers. West Virginia University graduates carry a median of $24,903 in student loans.
See the full mining & mineral engineering program report for West Virginia University
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Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 4 schools evaluated.
- 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.
