Best Value Colleges for Architectural Engineering
Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.
11
Schools Ranked
$64,811
Avg. Earnings
1.6 yrs
Best Payback
437
Graduates
How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.
| # | School | Major Earnings | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO · Public | $65,066 | 1.6 yrs |
| 2 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public | $69,338 | 1.9 yrs |
| 3 | Kansas State University Manhattan, KS · Public | $65,557 | 2.2 yrs |
| 4 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO · Public | $67,324 | 2.3 yrs |
| 5 | Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI · Private | $67,420 | 2.3 yrs |
| 6 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA · Public | $63,005 | 2.5 yrs |
| 7 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC · Public | $53,810 | 2.7 yrs |
| 8 | Auburn University Auburn, AL · Public | $66,240 | 3 yrs |
| 9 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA · Public | $68,631 | 3.2 yrs |
| 10 | Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL · Private | $63,005 | 3.2 yrs |
| 11 | Drexel University Philadelphia, PA · Private | $63,530 | 4.8 yrs |
Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.