Best Materials Engineering Programs in the Northeast (2026)
Updated
Part of Best Engineering Colleges in the Northeast
Regional list from Materials Engineering Programs in the United States
This page ranks the 7 Materials Engineering programs in the Northeast by median earnings of Materials Engineering graduates four years after completing. Lehigh University leads the list at $97,904, followed by Drexel University at $94,694 and University of Connecticut at $93,464.
Across the listed programs, median earnings range from $97,904 to $65,238, with a median of $82,947. For 3 of the 7 programs the figure is the two-year completion median rather than the four-year one.
The list is predominantly private: 6 of the 7 schools are private nonprofits, while 1 is public. Cornell University ranks 47th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology posts the lowest average net price on the page, at $20,111.
The ranked list
| Rank | School | Program Earnings | Average net price | Net price, families under $30K | Admission rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lehigh University · Bethlehem, PA | $97,904 | $36,931 | $16,917 | 25.9% |
| Lehigh University ranks 1st on this list with median earnings of $97,904 for its Materials Engineering graduates four years after completing, from a cohort of 9. | |||||
| 2 | Drexel University · Philadelphia, PA | $94,694 | $38,509 | $28,055 | 79.4% |
| A private nonprofit university in Philadelphia, Drexel University reports an admission rate of 79% and median school-wide federal debt of $25,325 across all borrowers who completed. | |||||
| 3 | University of Connecticut · Storrs, CT | $93,464 | $25,097 | $15,193 | 52.4% |
| University of Connecticut, a public institution in Storrs, posts median earnings of $93,464 for its Materials Engineering graduates four years after completing and an average net price of $25,097. | |||||
| 4 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · Troy, NY | $82,947 | $36,228 | $24,078 | 63.5% |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ranks 4th on this list and sits at 392nd on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions. | |||||
| 5 | University of Pennsylvania · Philadelphia, PA | $76,460 | $28,699 | -$3,012* | 5.4% |
| With an admission rate of 5%, University of Pennsylvania reports median earnings of $76,460 for its Materials Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 6 | Cornell University · Ithaca, NY | $68,778 | $28,690 | $1,776 | 8.8% |
| Cornell University reports an average net price of $1,776 for families earning under $30,000, alongside median earnings of $68,778 for its Materials Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 7 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Cambridge, MA | $65,238 | $20,111 | -$2,533* | 4.6% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports the lowest average net price on the page at $20,111, and its Materials Engineering graduates four years after completing earn a median of $65,238. | |||||
* Net price can be negative: when grants and scholarships exceed the listed cost of attendance, students can receive the difference as a refund for other expenses.
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their Materials Engineering graduates four years after completing, highest first. Only programs with a reported earnings cohort in the Northeast appear. The figure is the median for federally aided completers of the program who were working and not enrolled, measured four years after completing. For 3 of the 7 listed programs the figure is the two-year completion median rather than the four-year one. The metric does not adjust for graduate school enrollment, cost, or who enrolls, and it is not a measure of teaching quality. Lehigh University reports $97,904, and the gap to second-ranked Drexel University is $3,210.
Job market context in the Northeast
Graduates of Materials Engineering programs in the Northeast enter occupations such as Cost Estimators and Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary. The median annual wage across those occupations is $89,794, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $67,303. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 0.4% higher, with 6,140 projected openings a year, or about 3,655 openings a year for every hundred graduates, more projected openings than graduates. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. The ranking above uses the median earnings of graduates four years after completing, which is a different measure from the occupational wage figures shown here.
Related rankings
- Materials Engineering Programs in the United States
- Best Colleges in the Northeast
- Best Materials Engineering Programs in the Midwest
- Best Materials Engineering Programs in the South
- Best Materials Engineering Programs in the West
- Best Engineering Colleges in the Northeast
- Engineering Colleges in the Northeast for Social Mobility