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Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

12 Colleges
$19,445 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$59,066 Avg Salary

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.

The Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 12 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for materials 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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in California

Check out the materials engineering programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Materials Engineering Schools

$10,195 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo to be the best value school for materials engineering students who want to pursue a degree in California. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 a year. While working on their degree, materials engineering majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo accumulate an average of around $15,412 in student debt.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Materials Engineering Schools in California list.

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The excellent programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best materials engineering schools in California. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Jose.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.

San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Materials Engineering Schools in California list.

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$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 12 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the # 3 spot on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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 Materials Engineering Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - San Diego is a great value for materials engineering students. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a very large student population.

UCSD undergraduate students pay an average of $14,700 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSD also is in the top 20% of our Best Materials Engineering Schools in California ranking.

Full Materials Engineering at University of California - San Diego Report

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year.

Full Materials Engineering at California State University - Northridge Report

$14,645 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Davis landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value materials engineering programs. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Davis are $14,645 per year. On average, materials engineering graduates from UC Davis take out $12,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

In addition to its great value ranking, UC Davis is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Materials Engineering Schools in California list.

Full Materials Engineering at University of California - Davis Report

$13,775 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Irvine landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value materials engineering programs. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the city of Irvine.

UC Irvine undergraduate students pay an average of $13,775 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, materials engineering graduates from UC Irvine carry an average student debtload of $18,500.

Full Materials Engineering at University of California - Irvine Report

$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for materials engineering students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State LA are $6,785 per year.

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$13,754 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Riverside ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Materials Engineering Schools in California list. UCR is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Riverside.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCR are $13,754 per year.

Full Materials Engineering at University of California - Riverside Report

$13,657 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Merced did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for materials engineering students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the rural area of Merced, UC Merced is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

UC Merced undergraduate students pay an average of $13,657 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Best Value Materials Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Materials Engineering Colleges 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.

  • 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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