Mechanical Engineering at Roger Williams University

Roger Williams mechanical engineering graduates start about $5,000 below the national median for their field, landing at the 20th percentile nationally—concerning for a degree that typically commands strong starting salaries. Within Rhode Island's small market of just two programs, it sits at the 40th percentile, trailing URI by roughly $5,000 annually. While the moderate sample size suggests caution, the pattern is clear: students here aren't launching with the typical mechanical engineering salary advantage.

The silver lining is debt. At $27,000, borrowing sits well below both national and state medians, giving graduates a manageable 0.41 debt-to-earnings ratio. That's genuinely low for any engineering program. Plus, earnings grow 24% by year four to nearly $81,000, showing the degree does build earning power over time. For students who can access RWU's smaller class sizes and high admission rate (88%), this might work as an alternative path into mechanical engineering.

The tradeoff is straightforward: you're financing a degree that starts behind the typical mechanical engineering graduate but won't bury your child in debt. If they're drawn to RWU's environment and can stomach graduating in the bottom fifth of their field nationally—at least initially—the reasonable debt load means it's not a financial catastrophe. But if maximizing early career earnings matters, URI offers stronger outcomes at similar debt levels.