Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering at Colorado State University-Fort Collins

Colorado State's environmental engineering program delivers solid financial outcomes with unusually manageable debt. Graduates earn $66,109 their first year—ahead of the $64,675 national median and roughly matching the Colorado median. More impressive is the debt picture: at $27,500, students here borrow just slightly more than typical for this field, placing them in the 5th percentile nationally for debt (meaning 95% of similar programs saddle students with more). That translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.42, well within comfortable repayment territory.

Among Colorado's four environmental engineering programs, this sits solidly in the middle, trailing Colorado School of Mines by about $3,000 but leading CU Boulder by roughly the same margin. The 90% admission rate means this option is accessible to most applicants, making it particularly attractive for in-state students who can benefit from resident tuition rates while avoiding the debt loads common at more selective programs.

The practical takeaway: This program offers a reliable path into environmental engineering without the financial strain that often accompanies technical degrees. Parents should feel confident that their child can enter a growing field with earnings that comfortably exceed the debt burden—a straightforward value proposition for a land-grant university engineering program.