2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
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 midsize city of Fargo.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Dakota State University are $14,876 per 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.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend South Dakota State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the remote town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at South Dakota State are $12,809 a year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at South Dakota State take out is $27,688.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, South Dakota State also did well on our Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Out of the 23 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Dakota landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Grand Forks, UND is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UND are $15,037 a year. Engineering majors at UND take out an average of $26,549 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Out of the 23 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Rapid City, SD Mines is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SD Mines are $16,530 a 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.
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Out of the 23 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Cloud State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Saint Cloud, St. Cloud State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at St. Cloud State University are $18,010 per year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at St. Cloud State University take out is $29,312.
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Dunwoody College of Technology landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value engineering programs. Dunwoody College of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Minneapolis.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Dunwoody College of Technology are $23,863 per year. While working on their degree, engineering majors at Dunwoody College of Technology accumulate an average of around $35,134 in student debt.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Dunwoody College of Technology also did well on our Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #7, University of Minnesota - Duluth did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering students. Located in the small city of Duluth, UMN Duluth is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UMN Duluth are $19,148 per 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.
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for engineering students. It came in at #8 on the list. UNL is a fairly large public school located in the city of Lincoln.
UNL undergraduate students pay an average of $26,720 in tuition and fees each 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.
UNL 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.
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Iowa State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa State are $25,446 per 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 also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #10, Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering students. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Minnesota State Mankato are $18,200 a year. On average, engineering graduates from Minnesota State Mankato take out $25,345 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Request InformationBest Engineering Colleges by State
Explore the best engineering schools 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 |
More Engineering Rankings in the Plains States Region
Engineering Related Majors for Engineering
Engineering Majors to Study
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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