Industrial Engineering at Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers' Industrial Engineering program charges about $1,000 more in student debt than the state median but delivers graduates earning $78,500—roughly $3,500 above both the New Jersey and national benchmarks. While the 60th percentile state ranking might seem middling, keep in mind there are only two programs in New Jersey, and Rutgers actually outperforms NJIT (the state's other option) by over $7,000 in first-year earnings. Nationally, this program sits at the 79th percentile, placing it well above three-quarters of industrial engineering programs.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.34 is excellent, meaning graduates owe roughly four months of their starting salary—well below the threshold where debt becomes burdensome. Graduates carry about $27,000 in debt, which is actually lower than the national median for this field despite Rutgers being a flagship state university. This combination suggests the program provides solid value without the debt load you'd expect from many engineering schools.

For in-state students paying lower tuition, this represents a particularly strong investment. You're getting access to a program that competes nationally while keeping debt manageable. The moderate sample size (30-100 graduates) is normal for industrial engineering, which tends to have smaller cohorts than more common engineering disciplines, and shouldn't raise concerns about program stability at a flagship institution like Rutgers.