Most Affordable Online Petroleum Engineering Degrees

A petroleum engineering degree can lead to new and exciting career opportunities. Here, we list the most affordable degrees.

Updated on February 6, 2023

87, 89, 93.

Recognize those numbers? You have probably seen them every week since you were a teenager. Give up?

That's right—they're numbers that go with the "regular," "super," and "premium" gas options at your local gas station. Now, this article isn't about what exactly those numbers really mean or which one you should choose for your sweet ride. We'll leave that work to the petroleum engineers, who specialize in producing the fuels that run our lives.

What kind of Petroleum Engineering degree should you get?

The main thing we want to know, like you, is the bottom line: how much is this going to set me back? That's why we've narrowed down this list to only the most affordable petroleum engineering degrees in the country.

The schools on this list vary. Some are state schools while others are regional institutions. Some feature concentrations and specialized tracks while others focus on mastering the fundamentals. But the one thing in common is the fact that none of these schools will break the bank.

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What can you do with a Petroleum Engineering degree?

Petroleum engineers are a lot of different things. At any given time, they are geologists, physicists, engineers, chemists, and environmentalists.

Their profession requires them to be well versed in all these disciplines so that they can extract raw fossil fuels from the earth responsibly, safely, and sustainably and turn them into the stuff that powers our cars, airplanes, farm tools, and other machines.

This is easier said than done! Locating, drilling, extracting, refining, and transporting these resources is a costly, complex, and in some cases risky endeavor, and the training involved in order to do so is extensive.

Most petroleum engineers specialize in one of three primary areas—drilling, production, or reservoir engineering. These are all necessary steps in transforming raw materials into usable products.

How much can you make with a degree in Petroleum Engineering?

The demand for petroleum engineers is expected to not only remain steady but in fact increase over the next several years. The median wage for a petroleum engineering is right around $130,000 per year, and the profession is expected to continue to grow at a faster-than-average rate of approximately 10 percent between now and 2024.

What are the best degrees in petroleum engineering?

For those of you interested in this exciting career path, we've compiled a list of the 10 most affordable petroleum engineering schools (and also an entire list dedication to the most affordable onlinecolleges).

So we've based this list exclusively on the cost of attendance. Don't worry though—we've done our homework, and these are all top-quality schools that will point you in the right direction for your career!

So what'll it be? 87? 89? 93?

Rankings

See our rankings methodology page.

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