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Best Value Engineering Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in North Carolina

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

7 Colleges
$14,855 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$66,976 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Engineering School for You

Engineering is one of the most popular subjects to study in North Carolina. With 5,126 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 8th out of all the majors we track in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Engineering Schools in North Carolina ranking. This report analyzed 7 schools in North Carolina 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.

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.

2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in North Carolina

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

Best North Carolina Schools for Affordable Quality in Engineering

$4,367 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Western Carolina University to be the best value school for engineering students who want to pursue a degree in North Carolina. WCU is a large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

WCU undergraduate students pay an average of $4,367 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Engineering majors at WCU take out an average of $25,600 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Engineering at Western Carolina University Report

The excellent programs at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best engineering schools in North Carolina. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNC Chapel Hill are $9,028 per year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at UNC Chapel Hill take out is $14,750.

UNC Chapel Hill did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Engineering Schools in North Carolina list.

Full Engineering at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

Out of the 7 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, North Carolina State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Raleigh.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NC State are $9,131 a year. Engineering majors at NC State take out an average of $23,710 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $304, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

NC State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Engineering Schools in North Carolina list.

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$6,733 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend North Carolina A & T State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in North Carolina list. NC A&T is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NC A&T are $6,733 a year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at NC A&T take out is $29,583.

Full Engineering at North Carolina A & T State University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Charlotte is a very large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.

UNC Charlotte undergraduate students pay an average of $7,188 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, engineering graduates from UNC Charlotte take out $25,650 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $279.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UNC Charlotte also did well on our Best Engineering Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#6

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

East Carolina University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for engineering students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ECU are $7,297 per year. On average, engineering graduates from ECU take out $24,991 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $351.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, ECU also did well on our Best Engineering Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Engineering at East Carolina University Report

#7

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for engineering students. It came in at #7 on the list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Duke are $60,244 per year. On average, engineering graduates from Duke take out $10,912 in student loans while working on their degree.

Duke also took the #1 spot in our Best Engineering Schools in North Carolina rankings.

Full Engineering at Duke University Report

Best Value Engineering Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Engineering Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
West Virginia 990
South Carolina 2,318
Florida 9,040
Virginia 5,181
Arkansas 1,082
Mississippi 1,512
Louisiana 1,832
Alabama 3,927
Kentucky 1,343
Georgia 5,301
Tennessee 2,281

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811
General Engineering 11,796
Industrial Engineering 9,072
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 8,001
Systems Engineering 3,904
Materials Engineering 3,415
Other Engineering 2,760
Environmental Engineering 2,759
Operations Research 1,698
Agricultural Engineering 1,472
Engineering Science 1,454
Electrical and Computer Engineering. 1,378
Petroleum Engineering 1,256
Robotics Engineering 1,243
Architectural Engineering 1,012
Engineering Physics 994
Manufacturing Engineering 947
Construction Engineering 878
Nuclear Engineering 864
Marine Engineering 445
Biological Engineering 410
Polymer & Plastics Engineering 360
Geoscience Engineering 325
Mining Engineering 314
Textile Engineering 310
Ocean Engineering 285
Engineering Mechanics 272
Metallurgical Engineering 179
Energy Systems Engineering 138
Biochemical Engineering 109
Ceramic Engineering 94
Surveying Engineering 73
Electromechanical Engineering 45
Forest Engineering 41
Paper Science & Engineering 27
Engineering Chemistry 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer & Information Sciences 254,454
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 177,778
Engineering Technologies 85,188
Mathematics & Statistics 52,396
Physical Sciences 50,306

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 7 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 Petty Officer 3rd Class Declan Barnes.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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