Materials Engineering at Iowa State University

Ames, IA · Bachelor's Degree · about 37 graduates a year

$65,831
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$83,416
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$91,449
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#31 of 34
Rank by pay
#19 of 34
Rank, wage-adjusted
$23,000
Median federal debt

Iowa State University graduates in materials engineering earn 9% less than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 28% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Iowa State University Compares for Materials Engineering

All 34 colleges reporting materials engineering earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN$107,557$115,389#1$78,265
2University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA$106,547$96,951#6$58,177
3California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA$100,599$91,538#18$74,496
4University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI$98,879$104,256#2$75,041
5University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL$97,924$96,210#9$75,080
6Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA$97,904$99,569#4$74,971
7University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD$97,714$85,755#22—
8Michigan State University East Lansing, MI$95,761$100,969#3$78,276
9University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA$95,314$87,669#20$71,174
10Drexel University Philadelphia, PA$94,694$96,305#8$78,623
…
28University of Kentucky Lexington, KY$84,796$96,015#10—
29University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL$83,985$95,330#12$69,498
30University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN$83,945$80,185#31$60,445
31Iowa State University Ames, IA$83,416$87,743#19$65,831
32Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY$82,947$78,948#34$66,927
33University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI$82,131$85,461#23$69,175
34University of North Texas Denton, TX$78,250$79,557#32—

Other Majors at Iowa State University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer Engineering$105,753$79,182#96 of 189
Computer Science$104,211$78,517#143 of 349
Construction Engineering$100,676$77,845#8 of 13
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$99,705$84,913#111 of 258
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering$94,089$75,036#41 of 59
Business/Managerial Economics$93,379—#16 of 84
Industrial Engineering$92,914$74,310#65 of 94
Chemical Engineering$92,773$76,184#109 of 158
Agricultural Engineering$88,576$72,376#6 of 26
Management Information Systems and Services$87,413—#64 of 166
Mechanical Engineering$85,938$72,900#276 of 318
Civil Engineering$85,427$72,502#112 of 233
Computer and Information Sciences$83,267$60,397#243 of 459
Engineering-Related Fields$82,548$62,416#28 of 33
Agricultural Mechanization$78,890$63,321#1 of 10
Business Administration, Management and Operations$78,304$57,188#173 of 1176
Finance and Financial Management Services$75,360$56,974#254 of 452
Economics$75,355$57,619#224 of 368
Statistics$72,581$53,132#46 of 50
Accounting and Related Services$70,706$58,479#466 of 796
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies$69,673—#4 of 137
Architecture$69,310$54,957#31 of 78
Agricultural Business and Management$67,529$53,967#27 of 77
Chemistry$66,486$43,870#105 of 209
Marketing$66,482$48,304#262 of 516
Food Science and Technology$65,943$60,351#21 of 29
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences$65,204$50,150#47 of 138
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology$63,026$43,520#70 of 110
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication$62,965$42,530#82 of 178
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies$62,341—#8 of 19

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Iowa State University materials engineering graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $65,831 one year after graduating and $83,416 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Iowa State University rank for materials engineering?

Among 34 colleges reporting earnings for materials engineering graduates, Iowa State University ranks #31 by median pay four years after graduation, and #19 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is materials engineering at Iowa State University worth it?

Its graduates earn 9% less than the national median for materials engineering ($91,449), and the median federal debt at graduation is $23,000.

← All data for Iowa State University · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.