College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Milwaukee School of Engineering

WIMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #391 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth puts the university in the 73rd percentile overall among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Milwaukee School of Engineering is a private nonprofit university in Milwaukee built around a single program family: Engineering dominates the degree mix. The fit is clearest for a student who wants that technical focus and expects to work after the degree.

Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools.

The model attributes more of that gain to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — than to what it cannot explain. Return is among the highest we track.

The price case is mixed. The runs below the median for comparable institutions, but affordability is modestly below average and the published cost is high.

Pell students complete within a few points of the overall rate, though mobility is modestly below average. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools.

A student drawn to the largest department should know it is not the best-paid one.

Milwaukee School of Engineering at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
58.9%
Six-year completion[2]
67.1%
Four-year earnings[3]
$90,607

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,495
Median student debt[4]
$27,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$34,081

Milwaukee School of Engineering rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Milwaukee School of Engineering is a private nonprofit university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, enrolling 2,654 undergraduates. Milwaukee School of Engineering sits well above the median in the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (73rd percentile), though the four behind that standing are not evenly matched.

The university admits 58.9% of applicants, which is below the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 83.8% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 67.1%, compared to a peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 16.4% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes only the first-time, full-time cohort and not the full student body.

The four pillars sit quite far apart. Return is the strongest of the four and affordability is the weakest, with access and mobility sitting between them. That wide spread means no single summary captures the whole picture.

Return is the clear strength in Milwaukee School of Engineering’s profile, with Azimuth placing it in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Access stands in the 49th percentile, and mobility is in the 39th percentile.

Affordability is the weakest pillar at the 29th percentile. The strong return result and lower affordability result point in different directions: earnings measures are favorable, while costs warrant closer attention.

24.2% of all undergraduates receive Pell Grants, the share receiving this federal aid and the primary measure of financial access at this private nonprofit university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Azimuth ranks Milwaukee School of Engineering #742 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar draws on two measures here: the share of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants, and the completion rate among those recipients, which are the components here. Pell students finish at 62.5%, a figure that is 4.6 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks the university #895 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $18,526 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the return pillar rather than in mobility.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Milwaukee School of Engineering rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#391

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 39
Access & reach
National percentile: 49
Affordability
National percentile: 29
Return on investment
National percentile: 94

Top-ranked majors

  1. Biomedical/Medical Engineering#60
  2. Industrial Engineering#67
  3. Computer Engineering#69

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Milwaukee School of Engineering briefing

Milwaukee School of Engineering cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Milwaukee School of Engineering, aid recipients face an average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, of $22,453 against a published cost of attendance of $62,648. The average aid offset is $40,195, which is not a price guaranteed to any particular family.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported required fees of $2,298 and on-campus food and housing of $14,474 as sticker charges. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371, placing the university's average $4,918 below that figure.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,011 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The below-peer average net price and the affordability ranking give a mixed cost picture.

The published cost of attendance at Milwaukee School of Engineering is $62,648 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #1,011 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions, making it the weakest of the four pillars for this school.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $11,607, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $14,495, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $30,292. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $18,685.

Aid covers about 64% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, reducing the sticker price by $40,195 to an average net price of $22,453. That average is $4,918 below the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $27,000 in federal student loans, $2,801 above the $24,199 peer median. 93.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $34,081. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,495

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Milwaukee School of Engineering

Median federal student loan debt for completers is $27,000. 93.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, and the university's median is $2,801 above it. Median Parent PLUS borrowing for parent borrowers is $34,081.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 69% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $32,706 per borrower. Federal loans were held by 68% of graduates, averaging $23,219 per borrower, including some with private loans as well. Private loans were held by 16% of graduates, averaging $40,019 per borrower.

Milwaukee School of Engineering pairs high earnings with debt that sits above the peer midpoint, making the return picture favorable but not cost-free. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $90,607 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, fall in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $18,526 more than the model expects for similar students. The earnings scenarios place typical earnings at $90,607, with a downside scenario of $80,397 and an upside scenario of $102,107.

Median federal debt of $27,000 is $2,801 above the $24,199 peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

High and above-expected earnings point one way, while above-peer debt points another.

Among parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $34,081. For borrowers with median federal student loan debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$27,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$34,081

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$307/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$433/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Milwaukee School of Engineering briefing

Milwaukee School of Engineering career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Milwaukee School of Engineering has a strong return picture, with graduates earn about $18,526 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, sit in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth places its return pillar in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Of that gap, the model attributes $11,656 to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market), a share that adds to expected earnings.

It attributes $6,870 to a remainder it does not explain, which adds. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $11,360.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $90,607 four years after completion, in the 94th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250.

The school stands $22,357 above that figure, so the above-peer median and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

The earnings picture is unusually high: among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, Milwaukee School of Engineering records median earnings of $90,607 four years after completion. Azimuth places those earnings in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 793 completers.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offers a separate modeled check. Graduates earn about $18,526 more than the model expects for similar students.

The program-mix model sets a typical earnings scenario at $90,607, with a downside scenario of $80,397 and an upside scenario of $102,107. An estimated 24.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

High observed median earnings and higher-than-expected modeled earnings point in the same direction.

Milwaukee School of Engineering posts a high median of $90,607 four years after completion, in the 94th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, leaving the university $22,357 above that mark.

Graduates earn about $18,526 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 94th percentile.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. From the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $80,397 and the upside scenario is $102,107.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,656. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,870.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $11,360. The peer comparison and the modeled expectation point in the same direction.

Computer Engineering is the highest-earning listed program, with 73 degrees awarded and median earnings of $103,360 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #69 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Civil Engineering adds 23 degrees awarded and median earnings of $92,809, showing that several listed programs sit near the institution-level median.

The program mix at Milwaukee School of Engineering leaves a clear range in earnings scenarios: $80,397 on the downside and $102,107 on the upside. These are earnings scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

Among individual programs, median earnings four years after completion are $103,360 in Computer Engineering, $95,147 in Construction Management, and $93,229 in Biomedical Engineering. Those program results help explain the range between the earnings scenarios.

Milwaukee School of Engineering pairs high earnings with borrower debt that is above its peer benchmark, so both sides of the financial picture matter. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $27,000.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $24,199, and the university's figure is above it. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $22,453, which is below the $27,371 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Aid covers about 64% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Graduates earn about $18,526 more than the model expects for similar students. Below-peer average net price and higher-than-expected earnings point favorably, but debt above the peer median remains part of the decision.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$11,656
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$6,870
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$18,526

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Milwaukee School of Engineering briefing

Milwaukee School of Engineering acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Milwaukee School of Engineering admitted 58.9% of its reported applicant pool, below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 5,020 first-year applicants, 3,369 admitted applicants, and 744 enrolled students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
58.9%
25th percentile
1205
Median
1310
75th percentile
1375

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Milwaukee School of Engineering briefing

What are the largest majors at Milwaukee School of Engineering?[12]

At Milwaukee School of Engineering, program earnings place Computer Engineering at the higher-earning end, with $103,360 in median earnings four years after completion and 73 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks the field #69 nationally among nonprofit four year institutions.

Biomedical Engineering recorded $93,229 and 29 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks that field #60 nationally among nonprofit four year institutions. Computer Engineering had median earnings of $103,360 four years after completion across 73 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks the field #69 nationally among nonprofit four year institutions. The contrast between these fields shows that earnings vary within the university's engineering offerings.

Engineering accounts for 70.5% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and Azimuth assigns national field rankings to 6 bachelor’s programs at Milwaukee School of Engineering among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Biomedical Engineering #60 nationally in its field; it awarded 29 degrees, and median earnings were $93,229 four years after completion.

Industrial Engineering ranks #67 in its field, with 22 degrees awarded and $87,279 in median earnings four years after completion. Computer Engineering ranks #69 in its field, awarded 73 degrees, and shows $103,360 in median earnings four years after completion.

Milwaukee School of Engineering is an engineering school by design. Engineering accounts for 70.5% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Health Professions a distant second at 11.8% and Business third at 8.9%.

The largest single program is Mechanical Engineering, at 134 degrees awarded a year, followed by Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering, each at 73 degrees awarded. The university has 6 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 11 with published four-year earnings data.

The highest-ranked program is Biomedical Engineering, with 29 degrees awarded and median earnings of $93,229 four years after completion; Azimuth ranks it #3 in Wisconsin within its field. The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where graduates earn $103,360 four years out.

Azimuth ranks it #69 nationally and #2 in Wisconsin within its field. Construction Management, a smaller program at 11 degrees awarded, follows at $95,147.

Strength is concentrated in the engineering core, and the earnings figures follow the program mix. 78.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, and the top-earning programs are concentrated in engineering and related disciplines.

Mechanical Engineering, the largest program, earns a benchmark ratio of 0.93x against the national median for its field.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Mechanical Engineering 134 degrees awarded
$85,791
Computer Engineering 73 degrees awarded
$103,360
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering 73 degrees awarded
$93,201
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 66 degrees awarded
$82,822
Computer Science 35 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Biomedical/Medical Engineering 29 degrees awarded
$93,229

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Milwaukee School of Engineering briefing

How does Milwaukee School of Engineering serve students from different backgrounds?

Graduates earn about $18,526 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in Azimuth’s 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Within the first-time full-time cohort, 67.1% is the six-year graduation rate. Pell recipients complete within six years at 62.5%, below the overall rate by 4.6 percentage points.

Azimuth places mobility in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Higher-than-expected earnings sit alongside lower completion for Pell recipients than for the cohort overall.

At Milwaukee School of Engineering, admission is 58.9%, and undergraduate enrollment is 2,654 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients account for 24.2% of undergraduates, with an estimated 16.4% entering as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Those measures place the university near the middle of the access distribution among covered institutions.

06 / Milwaukee School of Engineering briefing

What colleges are similar to Milwaukee School of Engineering?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Admissions peerBeloit College63.0% admitted
Comparison with Milwaukee School of Engineering
MeasureMilwaukee School of EngineeringBeloit College
Peer earnings · 4 years$90,607$48,801-$41,806 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering
Average annual net price$22,453$21,526-$927 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering · lower cost
Admission rate58.9%63.0%
Explore Beloit College →
Higher-admission alternativeMarquette University81.3% admitted
Comparison with Milwaukee School of Engineering
MeasureMilwaukee School of EngineeringMarquette University
Peer earnings · 4 years$90,607$80,228-$10,379 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering
Average annual net price$22,453$31,487+$9,034 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering · higher cost
Admission rate58.9%81.3%
Explore Marquette University →
Nearby alternativeIllinois Institute of TechnologyNearby option · IL
Comparison with Milwaukee School of Engineering
MeasureMilwaukee School of EngineeringIllinois Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$90,607$91,312+$705 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering
Average annual net price$22,453$18,425-$4,028 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering · lower cost
Admission rate58.9%54.9%
Explore Illinois Institute of Technology →
Higher-earnings alternativeMaine Maritime Academy$113,298 earnings
Comparison with Milwaukee School of Engineering
MeasureMilwaukee School of EngineeringMaine Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$90,607$113,298+$22,691 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering
Average annual net price$22,453$23,414+$961 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering · higher cost
Admission rate58.9%54.1%
Explore Maine Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeIllinois Institute of Technology$18,425 average net price
Comparison with Milwaukee School of Engineering
MeasureMilwaukee School of EngineeringIllinois Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$90,607$91,312+$705 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering
Average annual net price$22,453$18,425-$4,028 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering · lower cost
Admission rate58.9%54.9%
Explore Illinois Institute of Technology →
Similar profileIllinois Institute of TechnologyMatched across several measures
Comparison with Milwaukee School of Engineering
MeasureMilwaukee School of EngineeringIllinois Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$90,607$91,312+$705 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering
Average annual net price$22,453$18,425-$4,028 vs Milwaukee School of Engineering · lower cost
Admission rate58.9%54.9%
Explore Illinois Institute of Technology →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings