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Best Value General Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value General Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

9 Colleges
$15,234 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$87,583 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Engineering Master'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.

The Best Value General Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 9 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for engineering 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 General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for engineering majors pursuing a master's degree.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in General Engineering

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Los Angeles the best value school in California for general engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UCLA graduate students pay an average of $13,036 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UCLA is ranked #4 for overall quality for engineering in California.

Read More…

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great value for general engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at San Jose State are $9,286 a year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

Cal Poly Pomona graduate students pay an average of $8,873 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on General Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.

Fresno State graduate students pay an average of $8,087 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on General Engineering at California State University - Fresno

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a great value for general engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate students pay an average of $11,629 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

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

#6

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SFSU are $8,738 a year.

Full General Engineering at San Francisco State University Report

University of California - Irvine ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $13,356 per year.

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University of California - Riverside landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree general engineering programs. Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a very large student population.

UCR graduate students pay an average of $13,467 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

University of the Pacific came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Pacific is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Stockton.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Pacific are $50,638 a year.

Full General Engineering at University of the Pacific Report

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

One of 40 majors within the area of study, general 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 9 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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