Materials Engineering at Boise State University

A Materials Engineering degree from Boise State carries an estimated $25,000 in debt—slightly above the national median for this field—while peer programs nationally suggest first-year earnings around $74,000. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.34 means graduates would owe roughly four months' salary, which is manageable territory for an engineering degree. The catch: these earnings figures come from 33 similar programs nationwide since Boise State's graduate sample is too small for the DOE to publish specific outcomes.

Materials Engineering sits in a specialized niche within engineering, and nationally the field shows relatively tight clustering—even the 75th percentile programs only reach about $75,600 in first-year earnings. Idaho offers just two Materials Engineering programs total, so options for comparison are limited. The $25,000 debt load here isn't exceptional but does sit at the 38th percentile nationally, meaning about two-thirds of Materials Engineering programs produce lower debt burdens.

The practical reality: if your child can keep borrowing at or below $25,000 and the national earnings pattern holds in Idaho's market, this becomes a reasonable engineering investment. But you're banking on outcomes that mirror other schools rather than proven results from this specific program. The small graduate cohort could mean anything from a selective program to one still building its track record—worth investigating directly with the department about job placement and industry partnerships in the Mountain West region.