Ten Most Affordable Cities to Study Mining Engineering

Sponsored by St Petersburg Mining University

If you’re looking to study mining engineering, you probably want to study at a top university, without paying an extortionate amount for tuition fees and living costs. Let us tell you now – this is possible!

In this article we will be counting down the ten most affordable cities in the world to study mining engineering. This will be based on the affordability indicator in the QS Best Student Cities 2019 ranking. We’ll also be highlighting the universities in those cities which feature in the 2019 Mineral and Mining Engineering subject ranking.

The affordability indicator considers several factors including tuition fees and the cost of living (using the Mercer Cost of Living Rankings). The indicator also takes the Big Mac Index and the iPad Index into account, which give additional insight into the cost of living.

10. Madrid

Spain’s capital and most populous city, Madrid, ranks a modest 65th in the world for affordability in the QS Best Student Cities ranking.

Tuition fees on average cost US$4,300, but Madrid’s high cost of living counts against it.

Madrid is home to four universities, including the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, whose School of Mining and Energy Engineering ranks an impressive 34^th in the world. The school also scores well in the employer activity indicator.

9. Nanjing

Nanjing is ninth in the top 10 most affordable cities to study mining engineering. Considered one of Mainland China’s most livable and beautiful cities, Nanjing is the capital of Mainland China’s Jiangsu province and is a major center of culture, education and history.

Nanjing is also home to Nanjing University, which rose 18 places in this year’s mineral and mining engineering subject rankings to place 25^th.

In the affordability indicator, Nanjing ranks 60^th, with tuition fees in the city averaging around US$5,000.

8. Mumbai

Mumbai is ranked 57^th for affordability and joint 85^th overall in the Best Student Cities ranking. Formally known as Bombay, Mumbai has the largest population of all the cities in India and is also home to the Bollywood film industry.

The city is home to two of India’s top ranked universities; including the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) which comes 38^th in the world for mineral and mining engineering.

Tuition fees in Mumbai cost students around US$4,500, a significantly smaller sum than you’ll find at many US and European universities.

7. Vancouver

In seventh place we have Vancouver, in Canada. Vancouver’s highest-ranking university, the University of British Columbia, is ranked ninth for mining engineering, scoring particularly well in the employer activity indicator. This reflects the course’s excellent reputation, as well as the graduation prospects.

Despite relatively high costs of living, tuition fees are low in Vancouver with fees averaging US$5,300.

6. Sao Paulo

The largest city in the southern hemisphere, Sao Paulo is known for being vibrant and chaotic, and infusing a multitude of different cultures.

The city’s highest ranked university is the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), which also places 33rd in the mineral and mining engineering subject rankings.

Average fees in Sao Paulo’s universities will only set students back US$1,900 on average; a lot lower than the tuition fees we have seen in universities so far.

However, this is accompanied by a slightly higher cost of living, with the city ranked 128^th in the Mercer Cost of Living index.

5. Tokyo

The Japanese capital is the leading Asian city in this year’s Best Student Cities ranking, only bettered by London. The city is home to 12 internationally ranked universities, including one top-ranked mining engineering university - Waseda University. Waseda is ranked joint 40^th in the world for mineral and mining engineering.

Although tuition fees are significantly higher here than in cities such as Sao Paulo, the cost of living is a lot more affordable.

4. Moscow

In fourth place we have Moscow in Russia, which ranks 28^th overall in the Best Student Cities ranking this year. You may be surprised to see Moscow in a list of affordable student cities, due to its reputation for being expensive, but the city actually ranks in the top 50 in the world for affordability.

This is due to the low daily retail costs. A McDonalds Big Mac, for example, will only cost you US$2.29, compared to the US$5.14 it will cost you in Paris. Tuition fees are mid-range – averaging US$5,500.

Moscow’s National University of Science and Technology "MISIS" is amongst Moscow’s nine internationally ranked universities and is ranked 42^nd in the world for mining engineering, earning a perfect score for the employer reputation indicator – demonstrating the university’s prestige among graduate employers.

3. Mexico City

Mexico’s capital is known for its grand old architecture and historic sites, as well as its annual carnivals and delicious traditional street food. 

Mexico’s top university to study mining engineering is Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), which ranks joint 14^th for the subject and is generally established as one of the top universities in Latin America.

Average tuition fees in Mexico are around $4,800, but again, the cost of living is significantly lower than lots of other large cities. An iPad costs only US$876 here, close to half the US$1,619 it will cost you in Rio de Janeiro. 

2. Johannesburg

The second most affordable city to study mining engineering is Johannesburg in South Africa. The city ranks a modest 78^th in the Best Student City rankings but places an impressive 10^th in the world for affordability.

Often deemed one of the greenest cities in the world, Johnannesburg is home to the University of The Witwatersrand, which ranks 13^th in the world for mining engineering, taught in a four-year BSc in Mining Engineering course.

1. St. Petersburg

Top of our list of the top affordable student cities to study mining engineering, is St. Petersburg in Russia. Packed full of culture, Russia’s second largest city has an abundance of architecture, opera and ballet shows, as well as around 200 museums.

St Petersburg is the most affordable city to study mining engineering, with the city ranked fourth in the world for affordability in the Best Student Cities ranking.

The city also has several high performing universities, including St. Petersburg Mining University which is ranked joint 19^th in the world for mining engineering. The school performs exceptionally well in the employer reputation indicator, indicating that the university’s graduates are highly sought after by graduate employers.