---
title: Is a Mining and Mineral Engineering degree worth the debt?
cip: 1421
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 Mining and Mineral Engineering degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **7** colleges (7 of 7 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $71,308 ($69,338 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,905 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.33× a first year's pay


**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 | $71,308 | $22,905 | 0.33× | 7 | 7/7 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Arizona (AZ) | $76,657 | $11,000 |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology (MO) | $74,419 | $26,879 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (PA) | $71,938 | — |
| Colorado School of Mines (CO) | $71,308 | — |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA) | $69,045 | $20,907 |
| University of Utah (UT) | $67,359 | — |
| West Virginia University (WV) | $57,766 | $24,903 |

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/mining-and-mineral-engineering.jsonld` · `/education/fields/mining-and-mineral-engineering.json`