2023 Best Value General Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best General Engineering Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 1,257 degrees and certificates were awarded to general engineering students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #80 most popular major in the state.
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 General Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 6 schools in California to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for engineering 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. 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.
Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Bachelor's in General Engineering
Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for general engineering students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.
CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UC Davis undergraduate students pay an average of $14,645 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, engineering graduates from UC Davis take out $15,163 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
UC Davis excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Harvey Mudd College is a great value for general engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Harvey Mudd College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Claremont.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Harvey Mudd College are $60,703 per year. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $429.
Harvey Mudd College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.
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Out of the 6 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Santa Clara University landed the # 5 spot on the list. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Clara.
SCU undergraduate students pay an average of $55,860 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
SCU excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.
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University of San Diego did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general engineering students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of San Diego, USD is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USD are $52,864 per year.
Request InformationBest Value General Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value General Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 39 |
| Oregon | 49 |
| Alaska | 4 |
More General Engineering Rankings in California
Majors Related to Engineering
One of 40 majors within the area of study, general engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 6 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 Rémi Kaupp.
More about our data sources and methodologies.