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Best Materials Engineering Schools in California

2023 Best Materials Engineering Schools in California

12 Colleges
$59,066 Avg Salary
$15,554 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Materials Engineering School for You

In 2020-2021, 497 degrees and certificates were awarded to materials engineering students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #125 most popular major in the state.

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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Materials Engineering Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 12 schools in California to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Materials Engineering Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Materials Engineering Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for materials engineering students. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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The excellent programs at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best materials engineering schools in California. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

While working on their degree, materials engineering majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo accumulate an average of around $15,412 in student debt.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Materials Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great place for materials engineering students. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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The excellent programs at University of California - San Diego helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best materials engineering schools in California. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a very large student population.

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University of California - Davis came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Materials Engineering Schools in California ranking. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.

On average, materials engineering graduates from UC Davis take out $12,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Materials Engineering at University of California - Davis Report

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San Jose State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Materials Engineering Schools in California ranking. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

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University of California - Irvine landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best materials engineering programs. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Irvine.

After completing their degree, materials engineering graduates from UC Irvine carry an average student debtload of $18,500.

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University of California - Riverside did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for materials engineering students. It came in at #9 on the list. UCR is a very large public school located in the city of Riverside.

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California State University - Northridge landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best materials engineering programs. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Materials Engineering at California State University - Northridge Report

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Best Materials Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Materials Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 135
Oregon 14
Nevada 16

Materials Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.

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.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 Panoramedia.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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