University Park, Pennsylvania · Public
Materials Sciences at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Use this school-and-field page as a fit screen, not a department ranking. It combines the 0.5% reported program-share signal, $32,875 school-wide net price, and $63,435 school-wide ten-year earnings before you compare peer schools. The enrollment proxy is about 207 students when that share is applied to current enrollment.
Program snapshot
0.5% reported share makes this a small program signal in federal data.
This major
- Program signal
- 0.5%
- Enrollment proxy
- ~207
- Schools with reported signal
- 54
Admissions
- Acceptance rate (school)
- 60.6%
- Graduation rate
- 86.1%
Cost
- Avg net price (school)
- $32,875/yr
- 4-year cost (est.)
- $131,500
- Median debt
- $25,000
Outcomes
- Median earnings 10y
- $63,435/yr
- ROI grade (school)
- D
College Scorecard reports school-wide earnings and price, not per-major outcomes for individual colleges. Program share is a concentration signal, not a promise of department quality. Use it as a proxy, then verify department-level outcomes with the school.
Evidence used here: federal program-share data (0.5%), school-wide average net price ($32,875), school-wide ten-year median earnings ($63,435), and peer averages from 54 schools reporting a positive signal in this field. Evidence not included: department-level salary, placement rate, course quality, licensure eligibility, certification, or exam pass-rate outcomes. This page stays available for users because the program appears in federal data, but it is not promoted for search indexing while the reported share is below 1%.
Value among peer schools
Compared with 54 schools that report this field.
The answer is a value-screen grade of D, not a verified department verdict. The reported share is 2.3x the national average concentration; the school-wide net price is higher than the peer average ($12,869 above), and ten-year median earnings are lower than the peer average ($3,789 below). Together, those evidence points place Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus in the top 100% ROI position within this field set.
See the national program hub →Comparable programs
Peer schools below also report a positive program-share signal and are sorted by value grade.
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA · 0.7% reported share · $13,481 net A+ University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · 0.1% reported share · $12,548 net A+ 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC · 0.0% reported share · $11,655 net A Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN · 0.1% reported share · $15,846 net A University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA · 0.0% reported share · $14,251 net A 
University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL · 0.0% reported share · $10,154 net A 
Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · 0.0% reported share · $11,297 net A University of Georgia Athens, GA · 0.0% reported share · $13,936 net A Questions about this program
How big is the program signal?
Materials Sciences accounts for 0.5% of reported programs at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus, which is bigger than 89% of schools in this field set and 2.3x the national average concentration. The enrollment proxy is about 207 students when that share is applied to current enrollment.
How should I read the cost number?
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus's average net price is $32,875 per year, about $131,500 over four years. That is $12,869 above the $20,006 peer average, before your own aid package changes the final bill.
Are the earnings major-specific?
No. The $63,435 median earnings figure is school-wide ten years after entry. It is $3,789 below the $67,224 average among schools reporting this field, so treat it as an outcomes proxy rather than a department guarantee.
What should I compare next?
Start with program share, net price after aid, graduation rate, location, and whether the department publishes placement or licensure outcomes. EduGradify ranks Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus #54 of 54 schools in this field set by school-wide ROI proxy.