Is a mechanical engineering degree from Quinnipiac University worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 41% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%. Compare the cost with other Connecticut programs before deciding.

Quinnipiac University Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Quinnipiac University mechanical engineering graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 6 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Connecticut. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Private nonprofit university
Hamden, CT
About 21 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Quinnipiac University mechanical engineering graduates earn less than graduates of most mechanical engineering programs nationally, $65,640 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,730. Several Connecticut programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$65,64018th percentile of 302 programs nationally

Median federal debt$27,0004th lowest of 6 Connecticut programs

Debt-to-earnings41%Connecticut median 39%, national 35%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Connecticut and national columns are the medians across all mechanical engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Quinnipiac University	Connecticut	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$65,640	$69,756	$70,725
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$26,938	$24,730
Debt as share of first-year pay	41%	39%	35%
Programs compared		6	302

Debt and first-year pay at every Connecticut mechanical engineering program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Connecticut medians.

Quinnipiac UniversityOther Connecticut programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 5.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the New Haven area are about 5% above the national average, so a $65,640 salary here buys what about $62,778 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to mechanical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Mechanical Engineers

$105,090

Median pay in Connecticut. 4,600 people work in this job in Connecticut. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $77,340Top 10%: $157,980

Cost Estimators

$81,030

Median pay in Connecticut. 2,350 people work in this job in Connecticut. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $50,020Top 10%: $136,830

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$175,490

Median pay in Connecticut. 4,970 people work in this job in Connecticut. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $122,200Top 10%: $245,970

Aerospace Engineers

$129,500

Median pay in Connecticut. 1,160 people work in this job in Connecticut. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $86,420Top 10%: $163,930

About Quinnipiac University

Tuition and fees	$55,480 / year
Average net price after aid	$40,675 / year
Admission rate	72%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	76%
Undergraduate students	6,531

Mechanical Engineering ranks 5th of 22 bachelor's programs at Quinnipiac University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($84,856), Accounting ($75,566), and Civil Engineering ($73,064).

Other mechanical engineering bachelor's programs near Hamden

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Quinnipiac UniversityHamden, CT · private nonprofit		$65,640	$27,000
University of New HavenWest Haven, CT · private nonprofit	9 mi	$62,534	$27,000
Central Connecticut StateNew Britain, CT · public	20 mi	$74,676	$22,534
Fairfield UniversityFairfield, CT · private nonprofit	26 mi	$62,846	$26,876
University of HartfordWest Hartford, CT · private nonprofit	28 mi	$73,871	$27,000
Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook, NY · public	37 mi	$68,729	$20,008
UConnStorrs, CT · public	43 mi	$74,869	$23,000
New York Institute of TechnologyOld Westbury, NY · private nonprofit	56 mi	$56,254	$27,225

Common questions

The median graduate earns $65,640 one year after graduating. The median across mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Connecticut is $69,756.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Connecticut comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the mechanical engineering program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's programs in Connecticut, ranked6 programs by pay and debt Mechanical Engineering bachelor's programs in the US, ranked302 programs by pay and debt All Quinnipiac University programs, ranked22 programs by pay and debt