2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering School for You
Out of all the majors we analyze each year, mechanical engineering was ranked #21 in the country. In fact 46,178 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 47 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value 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. 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.
Top 10 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools
Our 2023 rankings named California State University Maritime Academy the best value school in the Far Western US Region for mechanical engineering students. Located in the midsize city of Vallejo, Cal Maritime is a public school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Maritime are $18,996 per year. On average, ME graduates from Cal Maritime take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $28,105 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that ME majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo take out is $20,500. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $418, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
In addition to its great value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region list.
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Out of the 47 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $19,319 per year. On average, ME graduates from Cal Poly Pomona take out $20,500 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $177.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region list. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $19,732 per year.
San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Full Mechanical Engineering at San Jose State University Report
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Out of the 47 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Chico landed the # 5 spot on the list. Chico State is a large public school located in the city of Chico.
Chico State undergraduate students pay an average of $19,744 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that ME majors at Chico State take out is $23,250.
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San Diego State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for mechanical engineering students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a very large student population.
SDSU undergraduate students pay an average of $20,016 in tuition and fees each year. On average, ME graduates from SDSU take out $20,496 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $252.
Full Mechanical Engineering at San Diego State University Report
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California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for mechanical engineering students. It came in at #7 on the list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the city of Long Beach.
CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $18,726 in tuition and fees each year. On average, ME graduates from CSULB take out $16,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of California - Berkeley ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.
UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $43,980 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that ME majors at UC Berkeley take out is $13,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $392.
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 the Far Western US Region .
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California State University - Northridge came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $18,923 per year. On average, ME graduates from CSUN take out $20,417 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for mechanical engineering students. It came in at #10 on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCLA are $43,012 per year. The average amount in student loans that ME majors at UCLA take out is $18,204. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $440, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
In addition to its great value ranking, UCLA is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region list.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles
Request InformationBest Mechanical Engineering Colleges by State
Explore the best mechanical engineering schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| California | 5,137 |
| Washington | 1,078 |
| Oregon | 646 |
| Nevada | 270 |
| Hawaii | 90 |
| Alaska | 66 |
More Mechanical Engineering Rankings in the Far Western US Region
Majors Related to ME
Mechanical Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.
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 25 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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