Best Schools for Mining Engineering in 2026
These are the top schools offering Mining Engineering, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Mining Engineering graduate earns $84,287/yr across 5 schools.
All Mining Engineering Programs Ranked
Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.
| # | Program | DW Score | Earnings | AI Risk | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mining Engineering
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology · Rapid City, SD |
73
67–74 |
$90,514/yr | High | 20.8x |
| 2 |
Mining Engineering
West Virginia University · Morgantown, WV |
73
67–74 |
$85,897/yr | High | 22.9x |
| 3 |
Mining Engineering
University of Arizona · Tucson, AZ |
71
66–71 |
$86,924/yr | High | 17.9x |
| 4 |
Mining Engineering
Colorado School of Mines · Golden, CO |
66
60–68 |
$83,309/yr | High | 13.3x |
| 5 |
Mining Engineering
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Blacksburg, VA |
67
61–68 |
$74,793/yr | High | 14.6x |
Methodology
Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.