College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Materials Engineering degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 35 colleges (35 of 35 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$66,522

Graduates only, early career.$64,990 two years out.

Median federal debt

$23,125

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.35×

35% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well under a single year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Materials Engineering report early-career pay between $61,344 and $69,167 — a spread of $7,823 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $61,344 median $66,522 75th pct $69,167

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA $80,203 —

Cornell University NY $74,526 $16,199 debt

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $73,854 $16,250 debt

University of Alabama at Birmingham AL $73,616 —

University of Florida FL $70,098 —

Purdue University-Main Campus IN $69,257 $22,111 debt

University of Connecticut CT $69,167 $27,000 debt

University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus CT $69,167 $27,000 debt

University of Connecticut-Avery Point CT $69,167 $27,000 debt

University of Connecticut-Stamford CT $69,167 $27,000 debt

University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus CT $69,167 $27,000 debt

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA $69,159 $16,936 debt

Michigan State University MI $68,609 $24,385 debt

Boise State University ID $68,028 $21,500 debt

Ohio State University-Main Campus OH $67,817 $19,500 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Materials Engineering, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard