ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2026 Best Mining & Mineral Engineering Schools in the Southeast Region

3 Colleges in the United States
58 Mining & Mineral Engineering Degrees Awarded
$70,086 Avg Early-Career Salary

Mining & Mineral Engineering programs are offered at a focused set of schools across the country. The schools below stand out for the quality of their mining & mineral engineering programs.

For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for mining & mineral engineering students pursuing a degree.

What’s on this page:

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/mining-engineering/mining-mineral-engineering/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/mining-engineering/mining-mineral-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/mining-engineering/mining-mineral-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/mining-engineering/mining-mineral-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/mining-engineering/mining-mineral-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/mining-engineering/mining-mineral-engineering/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering/mining-engineering/mining-mineral-engineering/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 1
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 14.21), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "Geosciences (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Geosciences (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 0
DEBUG: No relevant offers, showing generic ESYOH widget

Best Schools for Mining & Mineral Engineering in the Southeast Region

If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the mining & mineral engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Schools in Mining & Mineral Engineering

1

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University tops our 2026 ranking of the best mining & mineral engineering schools. Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University is a very large public school located in the city of Blacksburg. About 86% of students finish within six years. There were roughly 20 mining & mineral engineering students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University in the most recent data year. Students who receive their mining & mineral engineering degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University earn around $74,793 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $20,907 to complete this degree. Read more about the mining & mineral engineering program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University

2

A rank of #2 makes University Of Kentucky one of the top schools for mining & mineral engineering. Set in the city of Lexington, University Of Kentucky is a very large public institution. Roughly 71% of students complete a degree within six years here. There were roughly 21 mining & mineral engineering students who graduated with this degree at University Of Kentucky in the most recent data year. Students who receive their mining & mineral engineering degree from University Of Kentucky earn around $49,568 in the first couple years of their career. Typical student debt for the program is $24,094. Read more about the mining & mineral engineering program at University Of Kentucky

3

Students looking for a strong mining & mineral engineering program will find one at West Virginia University, which ranked #3. Set in the city of Morgantown, West Virginia University is a very large public institution. About 64% of students finish within six years. West Virginia University awarded about 17 mining & mineral engineering degrees in the most recent data year. Mining & Mineral Engineering graduates of West Virginia University earn a median of $85,897 early in their careers. West Virginia University graduates carry a median of $24,903 in student loans. See the full mining & mineral engineering program report for West Virginia University

ADBLOCK #173
View All Mining & Mineral Engineering Rankings >

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 4 schools evaluated.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options