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Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

35 Colleges
$24,088 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$67,438 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering School for You

Mechanical Engineering is the #21 most popular major in the country with 46,178 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. 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 35 schools in the Southwest Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for ME 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. 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 Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region

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

Top 10 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Austin Community College District the best value school in the Southwest Region for mechanical 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 top of its placing in our value ranking, Austin Community College District also did well on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Austin Community College District Report

$11,208 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 35 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, West Texas A&M University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the fringe town of Canyon, West Texas A&M University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at West Texas A&M University are $11,208 per year. ME majors at West Texas A&M University take out an average of $19,042 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#3

Lamar University

Beaumont, TX
$18,482 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Lamar University is a great value for mechanical engineering students. Located in the city of Beaumont, Lamar University is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lamar University are $18,482 per year. While working on their degree, ME majors at Lamar University accumulate an average of around $23,056 in student debt.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Lamar University

#4

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, TX

Out of the 35 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas Tech University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public school with a very large student population.

Texas Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $24,121 in tuition and fees each year. ME majors at Texas Tech take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $268, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Texas Tech excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University Report

#5

University of Houston

Houston, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Houston. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region list. UH is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Houston.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UH are $21,891 a year. While working on their degree, ME majors at UH accumulate an average of around $20,000 in student debt.

UH excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of Houston Report

The University of Texas at Austin came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a very large student population.

UT Austin undergraduate students pay an average of $40,996 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, ME graduates from UT Austin carry an average student debtload of $20,500. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $367, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

UT Austin also made our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region list, coming in at #2.

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Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for mechanical engineering students. It came in at #7 on the list. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the midsize city of College Station.

Texas A&M College Station undergraduate students pay an average of $38,855 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that ME majors at Texas A&M College Station take out is $21,500. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $240.

Texas A&M College Station not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region list.

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#8

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX
$11,726 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, MSU Texas did quite well on this year’s best value schools for mechanical engineering students. Located in the medium-sized city of Wichita Falls, MSU Texas is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

MSU Texas undergraduate students pay an average of $11,726 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, ME majors at MSU Texas accumulate an average of around $31,000 in student debt.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at MSU Texas

Oklahoma State University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for mechanical engineering students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the distant town of Stillwater, OSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

OSU undergraduate students pay an average of $24,764 in tuition and fees each year. ME majors at OSU take out an average of $21,500 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $225, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, OSU also did well on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Report

$19,333 Average Tuition & Fees

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the midsize city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UT Rio Grande Valley undergraduate students pay an average of $19,333 in tuition and fees each year. On average, ME graduates from UT Rio Grande Valley take out $14,239 in student loans while working on their degree.

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Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best mechanical engineering colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Texas 3,806
Arizona 804
Oklahoma 521
New Mexico 280

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

Majors Similar to ME

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 26 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 Michel Villeneuve.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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