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Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

22 Colleges
$16,200 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$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.

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.

2023 Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for ME majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo to be the best value school for mechanical engineering students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $11,629 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also did well on our Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

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 large 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.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at San Jose State University

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 large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UCLA graduate students pay an average of $13,036 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCLA not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Full Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles Report

Out of the 22 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the # 4 spot on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal Poly Pomona are $8,873 a year.

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

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 college with a very large student population.

UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #2 for overall quality for ME in California.

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#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree mechanical engineering programs. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Diego.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SDSU are $9,570 a year.

Full Mechanical Engineering at San Diego State University Report

California State University - Long Beach ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSULB are $8,280 a year.

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With a ranking of #8, University of California - San Diego did quite well on this year’s best value schools for mechanical engineering students working on their master’s degree. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSD are $13,564 a year.

UCSD excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

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California State University - Northridge came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. CSUN is a very large public school located in the city of Northridge.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUN are $8,477 per year.

Full Mechanical Engineering at California State University - Northridge Report

University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree mechanical engineering programs. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSB are $13,581 a year.

Read More…

Best 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

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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