Engineering at University of Mary

An estimated debt load of $26,500 for an engineering degree that peers suggest leads to nearly $68,000 in first-year earnings produces a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.39—meaning graduates would owe roughly five months of their first year's salary. This positions the program competitively against the national engineering landscape, where similar bachelor's programs typically carry $26,000 in debt but produce the same earnings outcomes. The financial fundamentals look solid based on what comparable programs deliver.

The catch is that University of Mary's engineering program is too small for the Department of Education to report actual graduate outcomes, so these figures reflect what similar engineering programs nationally tend to produce rather than verified results from this specific program. As the only engineering bachelor's program tracked in North Dakota, there's no local peer data for comparison either. The program's 78% admission rate suggests it's reasonably accessible, though the low Pell enrollment (18%) indicates it serves fewer students from lower-income backgrounds than many institutions.

If your child is committed to engineering and interested in a smaller program environment, the estimated numbers suggest reasonable value. Just recognize you're making this decision with less certainty than you'd have at schools with reported outcomes, and the program's small size means fewer alumni connections and possibly more limited on-campus resources than you'd find at larger engineering schools.