2023 Best Value Agricultural Engineering Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Agricultural Engineering School for You
In 2020-2021, 1,472 people earned a degree or certificate in agricultural engineering, making the major the #209 most popular in the United States.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Agricultural Engineering Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 31 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best value experiences for AE students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Agricultural Engineering Schools
Our 2023 rankings named South Dakota State University the best value school in the United States for agricultural engineering students. South Dakota State is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Brookings.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Dakota State are $12,809 per year. After completing their degree, AE graduates from South Dakota State carry an average student debtload of $27,000.
In addition to its great value ranking, South Dakota State is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Agricultural Engineering Schools list.
Full Agricultural Engineering at South Dakota State University Report
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means North Dakota State University - Main Campus is a great value for agricultural engineering students. Located in the midsize city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Dakota State University are $14,876 per year. AE majors at North Dakota State University take out an average of $26,875 in student loans while working on their egree.
In addition to its great value ranking, North Dakota State University is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Agricultural Engineering Schools list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Agricultural Engineering Schools list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $28,105 a year. While working on their degree, AE majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo accumulate an average of around $16,460 in student debt.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also is in the top 5% of our Best Agricultural Engineering Schools ranking.
Full Agricultural Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - River Falls is a great value for agricultural engineering students. UW - River Falls is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of River Falls.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - River Falls are $15,661 per year. While working on their degree, AE majors at UW - River Falls accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - River Falls also did well on our Best Agricultural Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full Agricultural Engineering at University of Wisconsin - River Falls Report
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Out of the 31 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University - Main Campus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Purdue is a very large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Purdue are $28,794 a year. While working on their degree, AE majors at Purdue accumulate an average of around $21,000 in student debt.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Purdue also did well on our Best Agricultural Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Iowa State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Agricultural Engineering Schools list. Iowa State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Ames.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Iowa State are $25,446 a year. While working on their degree, AE majors at Iowa State accumulate an average of around $21,988 in student debt.
Iowa State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Agricultural Engineering Schools list.
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value agricultural engineering programs. Located in the large city of Lincoln, UNL is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNL are $26,720 per year.
UNL excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Agricultural Engineering Schools list.
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With a ranking of #8, University of Arkansas did quite well on this year’s best value schools for agricultural engineering students. Located in the small city of Fayetteville, UARK is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UARK are $26,390 per year.
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With a ranking of #9, Virginia Tech did quite well on this year’s best value schools for agricultural engineering students. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Virginia Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $33,857 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, AE majors at Virginia Tech accumulate an average of around $25,250 in student debt.
In addition to its great value ranking, Virginia Tech is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Agricultural Engineering Schools list.
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North Carolina State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Agricultural Engineering Schools list. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Raleigh.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NC State are $29,916 a year. On average, AE graduates from NC State take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, NC State also did well on our Best Agricultural Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full report on Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University
Request InformationAgricultural Engineering by Region
View the Best Value Agricultural Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Agricultural Engineering Rankings
Majors Related to AE
Agricultural Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to AE
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering | 46,178 |
| Electrical Engineering | 28,844 |
| Civil Engineering | 21,388 |
| Computer Engineering | 17,987 |
| Chemical Engineering | 12,917 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 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 the rest 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.
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