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Best Value Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

23 Colleges
$27,647 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$66,381 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Engineering School for You

In 2020-2021, 198,468 engineering students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #7 most popular in the country.

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 Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 23 schools in the Plains States Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for engineering 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 Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region

Check out the engineering programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Engineering Schools

Our analysis found North Dakota State University - Main Campus to be the best value school for engineering students who want to pursue a degree in the Plains States Region . North Dakota State University is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Fargo.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at North Dakota State University are $14,876 a year. While working on their degree, engineering majors at North Dakota State University accumulate an average of around $24,395 in student debt.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, North Dakota State University also is in the top 20% of our Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

Full Engineering at North Dakota State University - Main Campus Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means South Dakota State University is a great value for engineering students. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

South Dakota State undergraduate students pay an average of $12,809 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at South Dakota State take out is $27,688.

South Dakota State also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Engineering at South Dakota State University Report

#3

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND
$15,037 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Dakota. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Grand Forks, UND is a public college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UND are $15,037 per year. Engineering majors at UND take out an average of $26,549 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Engineering at University of North Dakota

$16,530 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best engineering schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the city of Rapid City, SD Mines is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SD Mines are $16,530 per year. After completing their degree, engineering graduates from SD Mines carry an average student debtload of $28,325. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $251.

Full Engineering at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Report

#5

Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud, MN
$18,010 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Cloud State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Saint Cloud, St. Cloud State University is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at St. Cloud State University are $18,010 a year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at St. Cloud State University take out is $29,312.

Read More…

With a ranking of #6, Dunwoody College of Technology did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering students. Dunwoody College of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

Dunwoody College of Technology undergraduate students pay an average of $23,863 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, engineering majors at Dunwoody College of Technology accumulate an average of around $35,134 in student debt.

Dunwoody College of Technology also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Engineering at Dunwoody College of Technology

University of Minnesota - Duluth landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value engineering programs. Located in the city of Duluth, UMN Duluth is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UMN Duluth are $19,148 a year. On average, engineering graduates from UMN Duluth take out $25,650 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $209, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Engineering at University of Minnesota - Duluth

With a ranking of #8, University of Nebraska - Lincoln did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering students. UNL is a very large public school located in the city of Lincoln.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNL are $26,720 per year. Engineering majors at UNL take out an average of $22,640 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $236, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

Read full report on Engineering at University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Iowa State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public school with a very large student population.

Iowa State undergraduate students pay an average of $25,446 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, engineering majors at Iowa State accumulate an average of around $24,347 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $298, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Iowa State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Read full report on Engineering at Iowa State University

Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for engineering students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Minnesota State Mankato undergraduate students pay an average of $18,200 in tuition and fees each year. On average, engineering graduates from Minnesota State Mankato take out $25,345 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Engineering at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report

Best Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best engineering colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 1,618
Minnesota 2,350
Iowa 2,616
South Dakota 569
Missouri 3,253
Nebraska 699
North Dakota 787

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 23 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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