CollegeCostWise

Master's · Troy, New York

Is Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 0.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating
$110,864
Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating
Not enough graduates to report
Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation
$20,500
NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published)
$22k (likely $22k – $22k)
AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4
$47k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in NY
2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback
0.9 years (likely 0.6–1.4)
Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return
$286k (likely $108k – $527k)
Today's dollars
20-year net return
$785k (likely $415k – $1.28M)
Today's dollars

Change income, residency or loans Compare Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering at other schools

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.

Other majors at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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