2026 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in Colorado
[Materials Engineering](/majors/engineering/materials-engineering/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong materials engineering education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools to find the best return on investment for materials engineering students.
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2026 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in Colorado
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in materials engineering, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools
For return on investment in materials engineering, no school beat Metropolitan State College Of Denver this year. Set in the city of Denver, Metropolitan State College Of Denver is a very large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $11,124, with out-of-state students paying around $30,684. Materials Engineering graduates carry a median of $27,484 in student loans. Early-career materials engineering graduates make about $44,861. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 99% of applicants are accepted.
Colorado School Of Mines is a great value for students pursuing a degree in materials engineering, landing the #2 spot this year. Colorado School Of Mines is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Golden. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $21,914, with out-of-state students paying around $45,824. Students borrow a median of $24,521 to complete the materials engineering program here. Materials Engineering graduates of Colorado School Of Mines earn a median of $76,298 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Colorado School Of Mines admits about 61% of applicants.
More Materials Engineering Rankings
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Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 3 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
