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2025 Best Petroleum Engineering Schools

19 Colleges in the United States
1,111 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$70,564 Avg Early-Career Salary
When it comes to popularity, petroleum engineering sits in the middle of the road, ranking #223 out of 395 majors in the country. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.

College Factual reviewed 19 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of petroleum engineering. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,111 degrees in petroleum engineering during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Petroleum Engineering School

Best Petroleum Engineering Schools Your choice of petroleum engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Petroleum Engineering School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Petroleum Engineering Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Petroleum Engineering
Master's Degrees in Petroleum Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Petroleum Engineering

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Petroleum Engineering Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Petroleum Engineering in the United States

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the petroleum engineering degree levels they offer.

10 Top Schools in Petroleum Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
175 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$96,126 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Texas A&M University - College Station if you want to pursue a degree in petroleum engineering. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the city of College Station. A Best Colleges rank of #42 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were roughly 175 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the petroleum engineering degree program at Texas A&M University - College Station get $25,562 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
117 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$86,761 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in petroleum engineering has to check out The University of Texas at Austin. UT Austin is a very large public university located in the city of Austin. A Best Colleges rank of #46 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were about 117 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Those petroleum engineering students who get their degree from The University of Texas at Austin make $16,197 more than the standard petroleum engineering grad.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
110 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
21.8% Growth in Graduates

Colorado School of Mines is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in petroleum engineering. Mines is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Golden. A Best Colleges rank of #87 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Mines is a great school overall.

There were roughly 110 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Mines in the most recent data year. Those petroleum engineering students who get their degree from Colorado School of Mines earn $6,836 more than the average petroleum engineering graduate.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Colorado School of Mines

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$61,223 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in petroleum engineering has to take a look at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Norman. A Best Colleges rank of #191 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were approximately 76 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the petroleum engineering program state that they receive average early career earnings of $61,223.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
54 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
7.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Texas Tech is a great university overall.

There were about 54 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas Tech in the most recent data year. Petroleum Engineering degree recipients from Texas Tech University get an earnings boost of approximately $9,896 above the typical income of petroleum engineering majors.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Texas Tech University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$73,821 Median Starting Salary

UND is a fairly large public university located in the city of Grand Forks. A Best Colleges rank of #335 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UND is a great university overall.

There were approximately 24 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at UND in the most recent data year. Petroleum Engineering degree recipients from University of North Dakota earn a boost of about $3,257 over the average income of petroleum engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from University of North Dakota

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
58 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$56,605 Median Starting Salary

Louisiana State University is a fairly large public university located in the city of Baton Rouge. A Best Colleges rank of #357 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Louisiana State University is a great university overall.

There were about 58 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Louisiana State University in the most recent data year. After graduation, petroleum engineering degree recipients usually earn an average of $56,605 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$69,670 Median Starting Salary

Located in the remote town of Rolla, Missouri University of Science and Technology is a public university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #259 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Missouri University of Science and Technology is a great university overall.

There were approximately 29 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at Missouri University of Science and Technology in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, petroleum engineering degree recipients typically make about $69,670 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$52,295 Median Starting Salary

UH is a fairly large public university located in the city of Houston. A Best Colleges rank of #369 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UH is a great university overall.

There were approximately 50 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at UH in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the petroleum engineering program report average early career wages of $52,295.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from University of Houston

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
71 Petroleum Engineering Degrees Awarded
$68,913 Median Starting Salary

WVU is a very large public university located in the city of Morgantown. This university ranks 2nd out of 25 colleges for overall quality in the state of West Virginia.

There were roughly 71 petroleum engineering students who graduated with this degree at WVU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, petroleum engineering degree recipients usually make around $68,913 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in petroleum engineering from West Virginia University

Petroleum Engineering by Region

View the Best Petroleum Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Petroleum Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

Petroleum Engineering Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Petroleum Engineering 1,111

View All Petroleum Engineering Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 44,794
Electrical Engineering 26,528
Civil Engineering 20,655
Computer Engineering 16,954
Biomedical Engineering 13,222
Chemical Engineering 12,248
General Engineering 11,534
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 8,671
Industrial Engineering 8,087
Systems Engineering 3,802

View All Petroleum Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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