2023 Best Value General Engineering Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best General Engineering School for You
In 2020-2021, 11,796 people earned a degree or certificate in general engineering, making the major the #80 most popular in the United States.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
The Best Value General Engineering Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 179 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value programs for engineering 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.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality in General Engineering
Our 2023 rankings named Wake Technical Community College the best value school in the United States for general engineering students. Located in the suburb of Raleigh, Wake Technical Community College is a public school with a very large student population.
Wake Technical Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,912 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, engineering graduates from Wake Technical Community College carry an average student debtload of $8,000.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Austin Community College District is a great value for general engineering students. Austin Community College District is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Austin Community College District are $10,590 a year. On average, engineering graduates from Austin Community College District take out $14,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Monroe Community College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value General Engineering Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Rochester, Monroe Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Monroe Community College are $10,368 a year. While working on their degree, engineering majors at Monroe Community College accumulate an average of around $10,000 in student debt.
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Out of the 179 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, West Texas A&M University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the town of Canyon, West Texas A&M University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at West Texas A&M University are $11,208 a year.
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The excellent programs at Youngstown State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best general engineering schools in the United States. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Youngstown State University are $9,732 a year.
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Arizona State University - Skysong came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Engineering Schools ranking. Located in the city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 a year.
ASU - Skysong also claimed a spot on our Best General Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
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Western Carolina University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general engineering programs. Located in the distant town of Cullowhee, WCU is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WCU are $8,367 a year. After completing their degree, engineering graduates from WCU carry an average student debtload of $25,600.
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Louisiana Tech University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general engineering students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the distant town of Ruston, Louisiana Tech is a public school with a large student population.
Louisiana Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $16,806 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #9, University of Nebraska - Lincoln did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general engineering students. UNL is a very large public school located in the city of Lincoln.
UNL undergraduate students pay an average of $26,720 in tuition and fees each year.
UNL also claimed a spot on our Best General Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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Massachusetts Maritime Academy landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general engineering programs. Maritime is a small public school located in the midsize suburb of Buzzards Bay.
Maritime undergraduate students pay an average of $25,104 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Maritime also did well on our Best General Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #11, University of Wisconsin - Platteville did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general engineering students. Located in the distant town of Platteville, UW - Platteville is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Platteville are $16,483 per year.
UW - Platteville excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best General Engineering Schools list.
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University of Akron Main Campus landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general engineering programs. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a fairly large student population.
University of Akron Main Campus undergraduate students pay an average of $11,880 in tuition and fees each year.
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Villanova University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value General Engineering Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Villanova are $59,020 a year.
Villanova also claimed a spot on our Best General Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #14, Purdue University Northwest did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general engineering students. Located in the suburb of Hammond, Purdue Northwest is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Purdue Northwest are $14,349 per year.
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With a ranking of #15, Grand Valley State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general engineering students. Located in the suburb of Allendale, GVSU is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GVSU are $19,628 per year.
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Oklahoma Christian University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Engineering Schools ranking. Located in the city of Edmond, OC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
OC undergraduate students pay an average of $25,090 in tuition and fees each year.
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Lake Superior State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general engineering students. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the remote town of Sault Ste Marie, Lake Superior State University is a public college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lake Superior State University are $13,200 per year.
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Lamar University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general engineering students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the city of Beaumont, Lamar University is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Lamar University undergraduate students pay an average of $18,482 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general engineering students. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.
UW - Madison undergraduate students pay an average of $38,608 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Madison also is in the top 5% of our Best General Engineering Schools ranking.
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San Jose State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general engineering students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $19,732 in tuition and fees each year.
San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best General Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #21, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general engineering students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $43,012 in tuition and fees each year.
UCLA also claimed a spot on our Best General Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Central Michigan University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Engineering Schools ranking. Central Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Central Michigan are $13,094 a year.
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With a ranking of #23, South Dakota State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general engineering students. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Dakota State are $12,809 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, South Dakota State also is in the top 15% of our Best General Engineering Schools ranking.
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Michigan Technological University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general engineering students. It came in at #24 on the list. Michigan Tech is a moderately-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.
Michigan Tech excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best General Engineering Schools list.
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Rowan University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value General Engineering Schools list. Rowan is a large public school located in the suburb of Glassboro.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Rowan are $23,408 a year.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for General Engineering students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value General Engineering Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR |
| 28 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | Rapid City, SD |
| 29 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | Birmingham, AL |
| 30 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 31 | Purdue University Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne, IN |
| 32 | Olin College | Needham, MA |
| 32 | Arkansas State University - Main Campus | Jonesboro, AR |
| 34 | California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 35 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | Pomona, CA |
General Engineering by Region
View the Best Value General 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 General Engineering Rankings
Majors Related to Engineering
One of 40 majors within the area of study, general engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Rémi Kaupp.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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