LU engineering graduates remain top in state, third in nation

It’s always a great time to be a Cardinal, but it’s especially great to be a Lamar University graduate. For the second consecutive year, Lamar University engineering graduates remain top in the state of Texas and third in the nation for return on investment, as noted by PayScale.com.  

PayScale, an online salary information company, conducts an annual report that measures the return on tuition investment 20 years after graduation for hundreds of public and private institutions. The report also analyzes in-state and out-of-state tuition costs, graduation rates and the number of years it takes to earn a degree.  
 
The publications recent 2023 rankings show the return on investment, or ROI, of alumni from colleges who work in the engineering field and beyond citing, “if you want to set yourself up for real financial success, you want to choose a college that has a proven track record for producing alumni who receive a solid return on their education investment.” 

According to the 2023 report, the 20-year net income of engineering graduates from Lamar University is $1,143,000. With the new rankings, according to PayScale.com, LU surpasses larger institutions in the country such as Stanford University ($1,001,000), Rice University ($984,000), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology ($926,000) in 20-year net income.  
In comparison, the estimated cost of a four-year degree at Lamar University is $89,000, about a third of the cost at MIT ($276,000), Stanford University ($282,000), and Rice University ($256,000), as reported by PayScale.com. 
 
“The Lamar University College of Engineering maintaining the return-on-investment rankings of No. 1 in Texas and No. 3 in the U.S. further demonstrates the ongoing success of the continuous improvement efforts of our engineering faculty and staff and the resulting impact to our students' educational experience,” said Dr. Brian Craig, dean of the College of Engineering. “Much of this success is also only attainable through working closely with our industrial partners. Our ROI rankings demonstrate the value we provide to our engineering students and how our graduates are valued by the diverse employers that hire them.”
 
With multiple degrees across five departments ranging from bachelor's to doctoral levels, it was no surprise that the Lamar University College of Engineering has retained a top position on the list ahead of MIT and Stanford.

See a full list of rankings