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Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

13 Colleges
$21,200 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$58,086 Avg Salary

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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 13 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for chem eng students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Chemical Engineering Colleges.

Top 10 Best Chemical Engineering Schools

$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found California State Polytechnic University - Pomona to be the best value school for chemical engineering students who want to pursue a degree in California. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year. 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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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great value for chemical engineering students. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.

San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California list.

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$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for chemical engineering students. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $14,226 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $15,000.

UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California rankings.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of California - Berkeley Report

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year. While working on their degree, chem eng majors at CSULB accumulate an average of around $17,034 in student debt.

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$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCLA are $13,258 a year. While working on their degree, chem eng majors at UCLA accumulate an average of around $19,783 in student debt.

In addition to its great value ranking, UCLA is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California list.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles Report

$14,417 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCSB are $14,417 per year. After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from UCSB carry an average student debtload of $17,500.

UCSB excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California list.

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

$14,645 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s best value schools for chemical engineering students. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Davis are $14,645 a year. 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.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UC Davis also is in the top 15% of our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California ranking.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of California - Davis Report

$13,775 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a very large student population.

UC Irvine undergraduate students pay an average of $13,775 in in-state tuition and fees each year. 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

University of California - San Diego ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in California list. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCSD are $14,700 per year. Chem Eng majors at UCSD take out an average of $19,185 in student loans while working on their egree.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSD also is in the top 20% of our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California ranking.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of California - San Diego Report

$13,754 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Riverside landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value chemical engineering programs. Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCR are $13,754 per year. Chem Eng majors at UCR take out an average of $17,500 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $166.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of California - Riverside Report

Best Value Chemical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools 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.

  • 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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