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Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

3 Colleges
$17,722 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$69,226 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Engineering School for You

Engineering is one of the most popular subjects to study in Iowa. With 2,616 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 5th out of all the majors we track in the state.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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.

The Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 3 schools in Iowa 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.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for engineering majors pursuing a .

Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality in Engineering

$9,634 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Iowa State University the best value school in Iowa for engineering students. Iowa State is a very large public school located in the city of Ames.

Iowa State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,634 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, engineering graduates from Iowa State take out $24,347 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 $298.

Iowa State also took the #4 spot in our Best Engineering Schools in Iowa rankings.

Read More…

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA
$9,942 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa list. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa are $9,942 per year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at Iowa take out is $26,098. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $535.

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

Full Engineering at University of Iowa Report

#3

Dordt University

Sioux Center, IA
$33,590 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Dordt University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in Iowa list. Located in the remote town of Sioux Center, Dordt is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Dordt are $33,590 per year.

Full Engineering at Dordt University Report

Best Value Engineering Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 1,618
Minnesota 2,350
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

Majors Similar to Engineering

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 3 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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