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Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California

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2023 Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California

13 Colleges
$58,086 Avg Salary
$17,925 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Chemical Engineering School for You

Chemical Engineering is the #87 most popular major in California with 1,136 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 13 schools in California to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California

Check out the chem eng programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Chemical Engineering Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best school in California for chemical engineering students. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $15,000.

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#2

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

The excellent programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best chemical engineering schools in California. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

Full Chemical Engineering at Stanford University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

On average, chem eng graduates from USC take out $16,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at University of Southern California

The excellent programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best chemical engineering schools in California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, chem eng majors at UCLA accumulate an average of around $19,783 in student debt.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Santa Barbara is a great place for chemical engineering students. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from UCSB carry an average student debtload of $17,500.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at University of California - Santa Barbara

University of California - Davis landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best chemical engineering programs. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a very large student population.

On average, chem eng graduates from UC Davis take out $18,500 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $278, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #7 on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

While working on their degree, chem eng majors at Cal Poly Pomona accumulate an average of around $21,000 in student debt.

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University of California - San Diego landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best chemical engineering programs. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

Chem Eng majors at UCSD take out an average of $19,185 in student loans while working on their egree.

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University of California - Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Chem Eng majors at UC Irvine take out an average of $17,249 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of California - Irvine Report

#10

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA

San Jose State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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Best Chemical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Chemical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 210
Oregon 140
Nevada 40

One of 40 majors within the area of study, chemical engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Biomedical Engineering 12,811

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 13 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Mikulova.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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