University of Denver Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
- Private nonprofit university
- Denver, CO
- About 25 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Denver mechanical engineering graduates earn less than graduates of most mechanical engineering programs nationally, $65,014 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,248 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,730. Several Colorado programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Colorado and national columns are the medians across all mechanical engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Denver graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Colorado median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Colorado mechanical engineering program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Colorado medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 42% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $278 a month, or 5.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
58% of graduates (19 of 33) were working in Colorado one year after graduating. Prices in the Denver area are about 6% above the national average, so a $65,014 salary here buys what about $61,460 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
$124,430Median pay in Colorado. 7,190 people work in this job in Colorado. 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.
Cost Estimators
$86,940Median pay in Colorado. 6,100 people work in this job in Colorado. 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.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$183,810Median pay in Colorado. 4,900 people work in this job in Colorado. 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.
Aerospace Engineers
$156,190Median pay in Colorado. 4,070 people work in this job in Colorado. 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.
About University of Denver
Mechanical Engineering ranks 4th of 24 bachelor's programs at University of Denver by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($72,250), Accounting ($67,392), and Management Science ($65,557).
Other mechanical engineering bachelor's programs near Denver
Common questions
The median graduate earns $65,014 one year after graduating and $92,358 five years after. The median across mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Colorado is $68,265.
The median federal loan balance is $26,248, which ranks 5th lowest of 6 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Colorado. That works out to about $278 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 40% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%. Compare the cost with other Colorado programs before deciding.
Most do. 58% (19 of 33) were working in Colorado one year after graduating.
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 Colorado 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