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Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools

2023 Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

25 Colleges
$30,112 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$83,917 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Petroleum Engineering School for You

In 2020-2021, 1,256 people earned a degree or certificate in petroleum engineering, making the major the #227 most popular in the United States.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools ranking. This report analyzed 25 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value programs for petroleum engineering students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

Top 10 Best Petroleum Engineering Schools

#1

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

Our 2023 rankings named University of North Dakota the best value school in the United States for petroleum engineering students. UND is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Grand Forks.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UND are $15,037 per year. While working on their degree, petroleum engineering majors at UND accumulate an average of around $27,119 in student debt.

UND excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Petroleum Engineering Schools list.

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The excellent programs at Montana Technological University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best petroleum engineering schools in the United States. Located in the remote town of Butte, Montana Tech is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Montana Tech are $22,509 per year. Petroleum Engineering majors at Montana Tech take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Montana Tech excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Petroleum Engineering Schools list.

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#3

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, TX

Out of the 25 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas Tech University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Texas Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Lubbock.

Texas Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $24,121 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, petroleum engineering graduates from Texas Tech carry an average student debtload of $26,000.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Texas Tech also did well on our Best Petroleum Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means The University of Texas at Austin is a great value for petroleum engineering students. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the large city of Austin.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UT Austin are $40,996 a year. While working on their degree, petroleum engineering majors at UT Austin accumulate an average of around $15,709 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $242.

In addition to its great value ranking, UT Austin is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Petroleum Engineering Schools list.

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$21,474 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best petroleum engineering schools in the United States. UT Permian Basin is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Odessa.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UT Permian Basin are $21,474 per year.

Full Petroleum Engineering at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin Report

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Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for petroleum engineering students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Texas A&M College Station are $38,855 per year. On average, petroleum engineering graduates from Texas A&M College Station take out $20,099 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $385, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

In addition to its great value ranking, Texas A&M College Station is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Petroleum Engineering Schools list.

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#7

University of Wyoming

Laramie, WY
$16,957 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Wyoming came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools ranking. Located in the remote town of Laramie, UW is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW are $16,957 per year. Petroleum Engineering majors at UW take out an average of $27,329 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Colorado School of Mines ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools list. Mines is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Golden.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mines are $40,838 per year. On average, petroleum engineering graduates from Mines take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $505, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Mines also claimed a spot on our Best Petroleum Engineering Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

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Oklahoma State University - Main Campus came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools ranking. OSU is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Stillwater.

OSU undergraduate students pay an average of $24,764 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, OSU also is in the top 20% of our Best Petroleum Engineering Schools ranking.

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#10

University of Tulsa

Tulsa, OK
$45,138 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Tulsa came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools ranking. University of Tulsa is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Tulsa.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Tulsa are $45,138 per year. While working on their degree, petroleum engineering majors at University of Tulsa accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

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Petroleum Engineering by Region

View the Best Value Petroleum Engineering Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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

Majors Similar to Petroleum Engineering

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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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