2023 Best Value General Engineering Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best General Engineering 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.
The Best Value General 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 15 schools in California to see which 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.
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2023 Best Value General Engineering Schools in California
Check out the engineering programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.
Top 10 Best General Engineering Schools
Our analysis found University of California - Los Angeles to be the best value school for general engineering students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCLA are $13,258 a year.
UCLA also claimed a spot on our Best General Engineering Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
Full General Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value General Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,852 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Engineering Schools in California list.
Full General Engineering at San Jose State University Report
Out of the 15 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year.
Read full report on General Engineering at California State University - Long Beach
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for general engineering students. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year.
UC Berkeley did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best General Engineering Schools in California list.
The excellent programs at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best general engineering schools in California. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly 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.
Read full report on General Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
University of California - Davis landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general engineering programs. 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. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at UC Davis take out is $13,707.
In addition to its great value ranking, UC Davis is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best General Engineering Schools in California list.
Full General Engineering at University of California - Davis Report
California State University - Fresno ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Engineering Schools in California list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year.
With a ranking of #8, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general engineering students. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $10,195 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also is in the top 5% of our Best General Engineering Schools in California ranking.
With a ranking of #9, San Francisco State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general engineering students. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year.
University of California - Irvine came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Engineering Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Irvine are $13,775 per year.
Read full report on General Engineering at University of California - Irvine
Best 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 15 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.
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