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Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

12 Colleges
$19,633 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$56,600 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Environmental Engineering School for You

With 339 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, environmental engineering is the #153 most popular major in California.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 12 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for environmental engineering students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Environmental Engineering Schools

$10,195 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best value school in California for environmental engineering students. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 per year. After completing their degree, environmental engineering graduates from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo carry an average student debtload of $21,121.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also claimed a spot on our Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year.

Read More…

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at San Diego State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best environmental engineering schools in California. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SDSU are $8,136 a year. While working on their degree, environmental engineering majors at SDSU accumulate an average of around $21,169 in student debt.

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$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,226 per year.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California list.

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$7,864 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Humboldt State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the town of Arcata, Humboldt State University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Humboldt State University undergraduate students pay an average of $7,864 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, environmental engineering graduates from Humboldt State University carry an average student debtload of $31,000.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at Humboldt State University

$14,645 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Davis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for environmental engineering students. It came in at #6 on the list. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.

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

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UC Davis also did well on our Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

$13,754 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Riverside landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value environmental engineering programs. UCR is a very large public school located in the city of Riverside.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCR are $13,754 per year. Environmental Engineering majors at UCR take out an average of $22,743 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at University of California - Riverside

$13,775 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Irvine did quite well on this year’s best value schools for environmental engineering students. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the city of Irvine.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Irvine are $13,775 a year.

Full Environmental Engineering at University of California - Irvine Report

$14,700 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - San Diego came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCSD are $14,700 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCSD also did well on our Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Environmental Engineering at University of California - San Diego Report

#10

Stanford University

Stanford, CA
$56,169 Average Tuition & Fees

Stanford University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value environmental engineering programs. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Stanford undergraduate students pay an average of $56,169 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Stanford not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California list.

Read More…

Best Value Environmental Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 19
Oregon 50
Nevada 25
Alaska 1

One of 40 majors within the area of study, environmental 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
Chemical Engineering 12,917

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 12 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 U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Alesia Goosic.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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