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Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

47 Colleges
$30,504 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$71,682 Avg Salary

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.

2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region

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

Top 10 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools

$18,996 Average Tuition & Fees

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.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cal Maritime are $18,996 a year. On average, ME graduates from Cal Maritime take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a great value for mechanical engineering students. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $28,105 per 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.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

$19,319 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best mechanical engineering schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public school with a fairly 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.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great value for mechanical engineering students. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $19,732 in tuition and fees each year.

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

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$19,744 Average Tuition & Fees

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 fairly large public school located in the midsize 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.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at California State University - Chico

#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$20,016 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, San Diego State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for mechanical engineering students. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly 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.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at San Diego State University

$18,726 Average Tuition & Fees

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 fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CSULB are $18,726 a 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 very 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.

UC Berkeley did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

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

$18,923 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Northridge did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for mechanical engineering students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large 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.

Full Mechanical Engineering at California State University - Northridge Report

University of California - Los Angeles ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $43,012 in tuition and fees each 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.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCLA also did well on our Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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

Best 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

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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