---
title: Colorado School of Mines — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Golden, CO
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Colorado School of Mines

Golden, CO · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $97,335 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $69,672 – $130,454 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $17,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 82% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $40,560 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 89% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.18× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $69,335 | derived |

**82% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $17,500 (≈ 18% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $43,721 to $119,159 across 19 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Geological/Geophysical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $119,159 | not reported |
| Economics. | Master's Degree | $94,804 | not reported |
| Petroleum Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $94,022 | $26,500 |
| Engineering-Related Fields. | Master's Degree | $81,719 | $23,150 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $78,554 | $30,500 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,556 | $21,500 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,458 | $22,500 |
| Mining and Mineral Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,308 | not reported |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,029 | $26,798 |
| Metallurgical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,679 | $25,745 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,670 | $23,000 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,521 | $21,500 |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $65,422 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,074 | $23,402 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Master's Degree | $62,256 | not reported |
| Geological/Geophysical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,937 | $27,000 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,753 | $23,370 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,990 | $23,250 |
| Engineering Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,721 | $21,500 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Colorado School of Mines by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?126775

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/colorado-school-of-mines-co.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`