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Best Value Mechanical Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

11 Colleges
$22,439 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$103,564 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor'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 Value Mechanical Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 11 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for ME 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 Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the ME doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best value school in California for mechanical engineering students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Berkeley are $14,160 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #3 for overall quality for ME in California.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Berkeley Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. 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 graduate student at UCLA are $13,036 a year.

UCLA also claimed a spot on our Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

Out of the 11 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UCSB graduate students pay an average of $13,581 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Santa Barbara

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Davis are $13,608 per year.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Davis

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of California - San Diego helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value mechanical engineering schools in California. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

UCSD graduate students pay an average of $13,564 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - San Diego Report

University of California - Irvine landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree mechanical engineering programs. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Irvine

#7

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree mechanical engineering programs. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.

SCU graduate students pay an average of $25,170 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Santa Clara University

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Riverside did quite well on this year’s best value schools for mechanical engineering students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCR are $13,467 per year.

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

With a ranking of #9, University of California - Merced did quite well on this year’s best value schools for mechanical engineering students working on their doctor’s degree. UC Merced is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of Merced.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Merced are $13,207 per year.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Merced

#10

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Stanford are $55,011 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Stanford is ranked #1 for overall quality for ME in California.

Full Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University Report

Best Value Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value 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 11 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 Michel Villeneuve.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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