2026 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in Iowa
[Materials Engineering](/majors/engineering/materials-engineering/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. 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 1 schools to find the best return on investment for materials engineering students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in Iowa
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in materials engineering, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools
Leading the list is Iowa State University, our #1 best value for materials engineering in Iowa. Set in the city of Ames, Iowa State University is a very large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $10,787, while out-of-state students pay about $28,881. Materials Engineering graduates carry a median of $23,125 in student loans. Soon after graduation, materials engineering degree recipients from Iowa State University generally make around $65,831. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Iowa State University admits about 89% of applicants.
More Materials Engineering Rankings
View All Materials Engineering Rankings >
Notes and References
This ranking is produced 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 · 1 school evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 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.
