Bachelor's · San Antonio, Texas
Is Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at San Antonio 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 1.3 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $79,611
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $93,515
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $25,000
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $42k (likely $42k – $58k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $57k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TX
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 1.3 years (likely 1.1–1.7)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $357k (likely $285k – $424k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $1.03M (likely $868k – $1.22M)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 52%
- 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 / ≤ 10%
- 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 San Antonio
- Information Science/Studies (Master's)$132,174
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's)$128,404
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$109,260
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's)$106,358
- Civil Engineering (Master's)$103,805
- Accounting and Related Services (Master's)$93,114
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's)$90,846
- Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and Inspection (Bachelor's)$90,691
- Business/Managerial Economics (Master's)$90,432
- Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's)$90,049
- Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Bachelor's)$88,585
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$87,983
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