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Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California

22 Colleges
$83,900 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree School for You

With 5,137 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, mechanical engineering is the #24 most popular major in California.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University Report

#2

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Santa Clara University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best mechanical engineering schools in California. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Santa Clara University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Berkeley Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Mechanical Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles Report

University of Southern California ranked #6 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of Southern California

University of California - San Diego came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

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#8

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

With a ranking of #8, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Loyola Marymount University

University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

University of California - Davis ranked #10 on this year’s Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Davis Report

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 1,078
Oregon 646
Nevada 270
Hawaii 90
Alaska 66

One of 40 majors within the area of study, mechanical engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to ME

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 22 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 Michel Villeneuve.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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