2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
The Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for ME students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
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.
Top 10 Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best value school in California for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $11,629 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great value for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at San Jose State are $9,286 a year.
Full Mechanical Engineering at San Jose State University Report
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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value mechanical engineering schools in California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.
UCLA graduate students pay an average of $13,036 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
UCLA did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list.
Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles Report
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $8,873 per year.
Full Mechanical Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.
UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
UC Berkeley also made our Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list, coming in at #2.
Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Berkeley Report
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San Diego State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SDSU are $9,570 per year.
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California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mechanical engineering students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $8,280 per year.
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University of California - San Diego ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSD are $13,564 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UCSD is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list.
Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - San Diego Report
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California State University - Northridge landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree mechanical engineering programs. CSUN is a very large public school located in the city of Northridge.
CSUN graduate students pay an average of $8,477 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at California State University - Northridge
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With a ranking of #10, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on this year’s best value schools for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSB are $13,581 a year.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Santa Barbara
Request InformationBest Value Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Mechanical Engineering Colleges 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 |
More Mechanical Engineering Rankings in California
Mechanical Engineering Related Majors for ME
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.
- 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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