2023 Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Electrical Engineering School for You
Electrical Engineering is the #27 most popular major in California with 4,695 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 30 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for EE students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Electrical Engineering Schools
Our analysis found California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo to be the best value school for electrical engineering students who want to pursue a degree in California. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 a year. The average amount in student loans that EE majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo take out is $22,591. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $454.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also claimed a spot on our Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Chico landed the # 2 spot on the list. Chico State is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Chico.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Chico State are $7,864 a year.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great value for electrical engineering students. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, San Jose State also is in the top 20% of our Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California ranking.
Full Electrical Engineering at San Jose State University Report
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for electrical engineering students. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year. EE majors at UC Berkeley take out an average of $13,025 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $348, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California rankings.
Full Electrical Engineering at University of California - Berkeley Report
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The excellent programs at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best electrical engineering schools in California. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a very large student population.
Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students pay an average of $7,439 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, EE majors at Cal Poly Pomona accumulate an average of around $23,500 in student debt.
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California State University - Fresno landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value electrical engineering programs. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, EE graduates from Fresno State take out $18,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Electrical Engineering at California State University - Fresno Report
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California State University - Long Beach landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value electrical engineering programs. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year. On average, EE graduates from CSULB take out $20,035 in student loans while working on their degree.
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San Diego State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a very large student population.
SDSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,136 in in-state tuition and fees each year. EE majors at SDSU take out an average of $17,062 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Sonoma State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value electrical engineering programs. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Rohnert Park.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SSU are $7,988 a year.
Read full report on Electrical Engineering at Sonoma State University
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California State University - Sacramento came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year. While working on their degree, EE majors at Sac State accumulate an average of around $20,250 in student debt.
Request InformationBest Value Electrical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 842 |
| Oregon | 359 |
| Nevada | 105 |
| Hawaii | 69 |
| Alaska | 32 |
More Electrical Engineering Rankings in California
Majors Related to EE
Electrical Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Majors Related to EE
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering | 46,178 |
| Civil Engineering | 21,388 |
| Computer Engineering | 17,987 |
| Chemical Engineering | 12,917 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 12,811 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 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 NASA.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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