How much debt do UIC mechanical engineering graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $21,500, which ranks 3rd lowest of 8 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $228 a month over 10 years.

Is a mechanical engineering degree from UIC worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 31% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Illinois programs report higher pay.

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

Q: Do UIC mechanical engineering graduates stay in Illinois?

Most do. 83% (185 of 224) were working in Illinois one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Public university
Chicago, IL
About 168 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

UIC mechanical engineering graduates earn about what mechanical engineering graduates earn nationally, $69,871 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $21,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,730. Several Illinois programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$69,87146th percentile of 302 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$88,27526% more than year one

Median federal debt$21,5003rd lowest of 8 Illinois programs

Debt-to-earnings31%Illinois median 35%, national 35%

How it compares

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

	UIC	Illinois	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$69,871	$69,663	$70,725
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$88,275	$88,651	$91,554
Median federal debt at graduation	$21,500	$23,680	$24,730
Debt as share of first-year pay	31%	35%	35%
Programs compared		8	302

Five years out, UIC graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Illinois median.

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

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

UICOther Illinois programs

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 26% between the first and fifth year.

UIC grads, year 1$69,871

UIC grads, year 5$88,275

All Illinois mechanical engineering grads, year 5$88,651

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$69,492Median debt $21,350

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$71,131Median debt $21,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $228 a month, or 3.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (175 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20–29%
Paying down the balance	40–49%
Paused payments (forbearance)	10–19%
In default	10% or less

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 43 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $24,000.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

83% of graduates (185 of 224) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $69,871 salary here buys what about $67,446 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

$102,680

Median pay in Illinois. 11,790 people work in this job in Illinois. 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%: $72,150Top 10%: $160,160

Cost Estimators

$82,750

Median pay in Illinois. 5,990 people work in this job in Illinois. 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%: $49,200Top 10%: $136,590

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$163,610

Median pay in Illinois. 8,900 people work in this job in Illinois. 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%: $112,090Top 10%: $231,880

Aerospace Engineers

$108,940

Median pay in Illinois. 200 people work in this job in Illinois. 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%: $78,170Top 10%: $184,520

About UIC

In-state tuition and fees	$14,338 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$29,884 / year
Average net price after aid	$10,974 / year
Admission rate	77%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	62%
Undergraduate students	22,170

Mechanical Engineering ranks 5th of 46 bachelor's programs at UIC by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($78,040), Nursing ($75,045), and Electrical Engineering ($72,926).

Other mechanical engineering bachelor's programs near Chicago

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
UICChicago, IL · public		$69,871	$21,500
Illinois Institute of TechnologyChicago, IL · private nonprofit	3 mi	$65,386	$27,000
Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · private nonprofit	12 mi	$75,253	$15,334
Purdue NorthwestHammond, IN · public	22 mi	$68,632	$25,250
Valparaiso UniversityValparaiso, IN · private nonprofit	42 mi	$68,265	$27,000
Northern Illinois UniversityDekalb, IL · public	58 mi	$68,069	$25,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $69,871 one year after graduating and $88,275 five years after. The median across mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Illinois is $69,663.

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 Illinois 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 Illinois, ranked8 programs by pay and debt Mechanical Engineering bachelor's programs in the US, ranked302 programs by pay and debt All UIC programs, ranked46 programs by pay and debt