---
title: Is a Materials Engineering degree worth the debt?
cip: 1418
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Materials Engineering degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **35** colleges (35 of 35 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $66,522 ($64,990 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,125 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.35× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $61,344–$69,167 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $66,522 | $23,125 | 0.35× | 35 | 35/35 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA) | $80,203 | — |
| Cornell University (NY) | $74,526 | $16,199 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (MI) | $73,854 | $16,250 |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham (AL) | $73,616 | — |
| University of Florida (FL) | $70,098 | — |
| Purdue University-Main Campus (IN) | $69,257 | $22,111 |
| University of Connecticut (CT) | $69,167 | $27,000 |
| University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus (CT) | $69,167 | $27,000 |
| University of Connecticut-Avery Point (CT) | $69,167 | $27,000 |
| University of Connecticut-Stamford (CT) | $69,167 | $27,000 |
| University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus (CT) | $69,167 | $27,000 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus (GA) | $69,159 | $16,936 |
| Michigan State University (MI) | $68,609 | $24,385 |
| Boise State University (ID) | $68,028 | $21,500 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus (OH) | $67,817 | $19,500 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/materials-engineering.jsonld` · `/education/fields/materials-engineering.json`