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Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

27 Colleges
$34,775 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$66,356 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Chemical Engineering School for You

Chemical Engineering is the #72 most popular major in the country with 12,917 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 27 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for chem eng students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Chemical Engineering Colleges.

Top 10 Best Chemical Engineering Schools

$11,880 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named University of Akron Main Campus the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for chemical engineering students. Located in the midsize city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 a year. While working on their degree, chem eng majors at University of Akron Main Campus accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at University of Akron Main Campus

#2

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH
$9,732 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Youngstown State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Youngstown State University are $9,732 per year. On average, chem eng graduates from Youngstown State University take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Chemical Engineering at Youngstown State University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Stevens Point is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Stevens Point.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stevens Point are $17,035 per year. While working on their degree, chem eng majors at UW - Stevens Point accumulate an average of around $27,852 in student debt.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

#4

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Purdue University - Main Campus is a great value for chemical engineering students. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a very large student population.

Purdue undergraduate students pay an average of $28,794 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, chem eng majors at Purdue accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $435, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Purdue excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at Purdue University - Main Campus

$16,768 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Western Michigan University is a great value for chemical engineering students. WMU is a fairly large public school located in the city of Kalamazoo.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WMU are $16,768 per year. On average, chem eng graduates from WMU take out $29,875 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

#6

University of Toledo

Toledo, OH
$20,239 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, University of Toledo did quite well on this year’s best value schools for chemical engineering students. Located in the city of Toledo, University of Toledo is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at University of Toledo are $20,239 a year. Chem Eng majors at University of Toledo take out an average of $23,250 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $259.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of Toledo Report

University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Madison are $38,608 a year. After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from UW - Madison carry an average student debtload of $26,950.

In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Madison is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

$27,111 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UC is a very large public school located in the city of Cincinnati.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC are $27,111 per year. After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from UC carry an average student debtload of $20,500. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $215.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $37,632 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, chem eng majors at UIUC accumulate an average of around $21,470 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $547, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

UIUC also claimed a spot on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Michigan Technological University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #10 on the list. Michigan Tech is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Houghton.

Michigan Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $39,723 in tuition and fees each year. On average, chem eng graduates from Michigan Tech take out $26,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $222.

Michigan Tech excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at Michigan Technological University

Best Chemical Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best chemical engineering schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 523
Ohio 764
Illinois 442
Indiana 381
Wisconsin 147

More Chemical Engineering Rankings in the Great Lakes Region

One of 40 majors within the area of study, chemical engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Biomedical Engineering 12,811

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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Mikulova.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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