Materials Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, VA · Bachelor's Degree · about 53 graduates a year

$66,888
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$90,828
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$91,449
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#20 of 34
Rank by pay
#29 of 34
Rank, wage-adjusted
$27,000
Median federal debt

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University graduates in materials engineering earn 1% less than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 30% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Virginia Polytechnic Institute and 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
…
17Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI$92,070$97,077#5$63,135
18Winona State University Winona, MN$91,528$87,429#21$72,944
19University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI$91,265$94,966#14$76,662
20Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA$90,828$82,707#29$66,888
21University of California-Davis Davis, CA$89,983$81,879#30$74,110
22North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC$89,968$96,548#7$74,058
23Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ$89,913$92,387#16$77,646

Other Materials Engineering Credentials at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Credential1 yr after4 yrs afterMedian debt
Master's Degree—$108,485—

Other Majors at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer and Information Sciences$144,103$96,432#19 of 459
Computer Engineering$122,026$86,636#33 of 189
Applied Mathematics$117,990$82,275#8 of 45
Industrial Engineering$116,641$82,437#5 of 94
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods$108,726$77,877#16 of 126
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering$106,633$76,856#9 of 59
Chemical Engineering$106,011$82,382#25 of 158
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$104,839$83,364#63 of 258
Finance and Financial Management Services$102,902$66,601#38 of 452
Construction Engineering$102,699$82,627#5 of 13
Engineering Mechanics$101,509$81,735—
Accounting and Related Services$99,528$70,303#54 of 796
Mechanical Engineering$96,376$78,280#70 of 318
Real Estate$95,576$68,078#7 of 25
Business/Managerial Economics$95,271—#13 of 84
Construction Management$95,165$76,246#23 of 57
Mining and Mineral Engineering$94,397$74,793#5 of 7
Statistics$94,300$62,598#20 of 50
Physics$92,746$58,061#18 of 107
Economics$92,653$56,261#92 of 368
Agricultural Engineering$88,315$75,434#8 of 26
Civil Engineering$88,142$74,285#73 of 233
Marketing$86,338$56,417#43 of 516
Engineering-Related Fields$81,618$56,513#30 of 33
Food Science and Technology$80,161$56,274#5 of 29
Business Administration, Management and Operations$80,023$60,678#140 of 1176
Political Science and Government$75,687$42,114#59 of 565
Architecture$75,074$56,708#12 of 78
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services$74,005$25,414#1 of 50
Chemistry$73,395$45,513#49 of 209

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University materials engineering graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $66,888 one year after graduating and $90,828 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University rank for materials engineering?

Among 34 colleges reporting earnings for materials engineering graduates, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ranks #20 by median pay four years after graduation, and #29 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is materials engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University worth it?

Its graduates earn 1% less than the national median for materials engineering ($91,449), and the median federal debt at graduation is $27,000.

← All data for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and 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.