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Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

15 Colleges
$40,556 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$69,386 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Materials Engineering School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, materials engineering was ranked #158 in the country. In fact 3,415 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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.

The Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for materials engineering 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. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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

Top 10 Best Materials Engineering Schools

#1

University of Dayton

Dayton, OH

Our 2023 rankings named University of Dayton the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for materials engineering students. Located in the medium-sized city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

UDayton undergraduate students pay an average of $44,890 in tuition and fees each year.

UDayton also claimed a spot on our Best Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of Dayton

#2

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

The excellent programs at Purdue University - Main Campus helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best materials engineering schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a very large student population.

Purdue undergraduate students pay an average of $28,794 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, materials engineering graduates from Purdue carry an average student debtload of $18,125.

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

Full Materials Engineering at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Materials 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.

UW - Madison undergraduate students pay an average of $38,608 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, materials engineering graduates from UW - Madison carry an average student debtload of $26,535.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Madison also is in the top 5% of our Best Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Madison

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Michigan Technological University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan Tech is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Houghton.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Michigan Tech are $39,723 per year. While working on their degree, materials engineering majors at Michigan Tech accumulate an average of around $26,750 in student debt.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Michigan Tech also did well on our Best Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Materials Engineering at Michigan Technological University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIUC are $37,632 per year. While working on their degree, materials engineering majors at UIUC accumulate an average of around $21,000 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $453, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

Full Materials Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

$21,475 Average Tuition & Fees

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

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UWM are $21,475 per year. The average amount in student loans that materials engineering majors at UWM take out is $27,125.

Full Materials Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Report

Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ohio State are $35,019 a year. The average amount in student loans that materials engineering majors at Ohio State take out is $23,421.

Ohio State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read More…

#8

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for materials engineering students. It came in at #8 on the list. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the small city of East Lansing.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Michigan State are $41,290 a year. After completing their degree, materials engineering graduates from Michigan State carry an average student debtload of $24,692.

In addition to its great value ranking, Michigan State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at Michigan State University

$19,252 Average Tuition & Fees

Wright State University - Main Campus landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value materials engineering programs. Wright State University - Main Campus is a large public school located in the suburb of Dayton.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Wright State University - Main Campus are $19,252 a year.

Full Materials Engineering at Wright State University - Main Campus Report

#10

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Northwestern are $60,768 a year.

Northwestern did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Materials Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at Northwestern University

Best Materials Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best materials engineering colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 183
Ohio 179
Illinois 203
Indiana 98
Wisconsin 77

One of 40 majors within the area of study, materials 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
Chemical Engineering 12,917

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 15 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 Panoramedia.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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