2023 Best Value Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Engineering Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, engineering students earned 25,076 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 8th in the state.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 30 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for engineering students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best value school in California for engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 a year.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value engineering schools in California. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State University - Chico helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value engineering schools in California. Chico State is a large public school located in the midsize city of Chico.
Chico State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,864 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value engineering schools in California. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $7,852 per year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great value for engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year.
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With a ranking of #6, San Diego State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SDSU are $8,136 per year.
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With a ranking of #7, California State University - Fresno did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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California State University - Sacramento came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,392 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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University of California - Berkeley landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree engineering programs. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,226 per year.
UC Berkeley also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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National University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree engineering programs. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at National University are $13,320 per year.
National University excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.
Request InformationBest Value Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 3,545 |
| Oregon | 2,281 |
| Hawaii | 301 |
| Nevada | 900 |
| Alaska | 178 |
More Engineering Rankings in California
Majors Related to Engineering
Engineering Majors to Study
Most Popular Majors Related to Engineering
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Computer & Information Sciences | 254,454 |
| Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 177,778 |
| Engineering Technologies | 85,188 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 52,396 |
| Physical Sciences | 50,306 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 26 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 Petty Officer 3rd Class Declan Barnes.
More about our data sources and methodologies.