Bachelor's · Richardson, Texas
Is Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas worth it?
High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.9 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $77,236
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $96,780
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $22,250
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $65k (likely $65k – $83k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $60k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TX
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 1.9 years (likely 1.7–2.3)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $353k (likely $283k – $422k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $1.06M (likely $888k – $1.25M)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 79%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in
- not reported / ≤ 20%
- NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20
Change income, residency or loans Compare Mechanical Engineering at other schools
🏗️ Getting ready in high school
Students heading toward engineering & architecture majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.
AP classes
- AP Calculus AB or BC
- AP Physics 1
- AP Physics C: Mechanics
- AP Chemistry
IB Higher Level
- Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches HL
- Physics HL
Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.
Other majors at The University of Texas at Dallas
- Systems Engineering (Master's)$144,307
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$142,523
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$140,481
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Graduate certificate)$136,888
- Applied Mathematics (Master's)$132,383
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's)$130,924
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's)$124,603
- Information Science/Studies (Master's)$122,669
- Computer Engineering (Master's)$114,875
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$112,666
- Accounting and Related Services (Master's)$105,357
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's)$104,448
Mechanical Engineering at other schools in Texas
- Rice University$108,970
- The University of Texas at Austin$104,523
- Texas Tech University$98,113
- Texas A&M University-College Station$97,903
- Lamar University$97,159
- West Texas A & M University$93,938
- University of Houston$93,275
- Baylor University$92,990
- Southern Methodist University$90,649
- The University of Texas at Arlington$90,158