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Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

19 Colleges
$27,185 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$60,656 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Civil Engineering School for You

Civil Engineering is the #50 most popular major in the country with 21,388 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in the Plains States Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for civil eng students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for civil eng majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Civil Engineering Schools

Our 2023 rankings named North Dakota State University - Main Campus the best value school in the Plains States Region for civil 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. On average, civil eng graduates from North Dakota State University take out $23,600 in student loans while working on their degree.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, North Dakota State University also did well on our Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at North Dakota State University - Main Campus

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend South Dakota State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. South Dakota State is a fairly large public school located in the town of Brookings.

South Dakota State undergraduate students pay an average of $12,809 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, civil eng majors at South Dakota State accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, South Dakota State also did well on our Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

#3

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND
$15,037 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Dakota. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. UND is a large public school located in the small city of Grand Forks.

UND undergraduate students pay an average of $15,037 in tuition and fees each year. On average, civil eng graduates from UND take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Civil Engineering at University of North Dakota Report

$16,530 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best civil engineering schools in the Plains States Region . SD Mines is a small public school located in the small city of Rapid City.

SD Mines undergraduate students pay an average of $16,530 in tuition and fees each year. Civil Eng majors at SD Mines take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Civil Engineering at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Duluth. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. UMN Duluth is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Duluth.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UMN Duluth are $19,148 a year. While working on their degree, civil eng majors at UMN Duluth accumulate an average of around $25,000 in student debt.

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Lincoln, UNL is a public college with a very large student population.

UNL undergraduate students pay an average of $26,720 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that civil eng majors at UNL take out is $24,625. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $183.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UNL also did well on our Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of Nebraska - Lincoln

With a ranking of #7, Iowa State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for civil engineering students. Iowa State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Ames.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa State are $25,446 per year. The average amount in student loans that civil eng majors at Iowa State take out is $26,125. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $183.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Iowa State also did well on our Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Civil Engineering at Iowa State University Report

Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value civil engineering programs. Minnesota State Mankato is a large public school located in the small city of Mankato.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Minnesota State Mankato are $18,200 a year. After completing their degree, civil eng graduates from Minnesota State Mankato carry an average student debtload of $28,061.

Read More…

#9

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS
$28,034 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Kansas landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value civil engineering programs. Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at KU are $28,034 per year. On average, civil eng graduates from KU take out $25,875 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Civil Engineering at University of Kansas Report

Missouri University of Science and Technology came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Missouri University of Science and Technology is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Rolla.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Missouri University of Science and Technology are $31,099 a year. While working on their degree, civil eng majors at Missouri University of Science and Technology accumulate an average of around $25,125 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $273.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Missouri University of Science and Technology also did well on our Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology

Best Civil Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best civil engineering schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 322
Minnesota 201
Kansas 150
Iowa 264
Nebraska 130
North Dakota 123
South Dakota 110

Civil Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 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 Master Sgt. Roger Parsons.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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