Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Value Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Value Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

22 Colleges
$16,200 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$85,090 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Engineering Master'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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 22 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master'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 Master's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named San Jose State University the best value school in California for engineering students working on their master’s degree. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at San Jose State are $9,286 per year.

Read More…

Request Information

The excellent master’s degree programs at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value engineering schools in California. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

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 Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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

Request Information

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great value for engineering students working on their master’s degree. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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 Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Full Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles Report

Request Information

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $8,873 per year.

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

Request Information

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Berkeley are $14,160 a 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 engineering in California.

Read More…

Request Information
#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 engineering programs. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SDSU are $9,570 per year.

Read full report on Engineering at San Diego State University

Request Information

California State University - Long Beach came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $8,280 per year.

Read full report on Engineering at California State University - Long Beach

Request Information

California State University - Fullerton ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

Cal State Fullerton graduate students pay an average of $8,410 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Engineering at California State University - Fullerton

Request Information

With a ranking of #9, University of California - San Diego did quite well on this year’s best value schools for engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSD are $13,564 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UCSD is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Full Engineering at University of California - San Diego Report

Request Information

California State University - Sacramento landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree engineering programs. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Sac State are $8,826 per year.

Full Engineering at California State University - Sacramento Report

Request Information

Best 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

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811
General Engineering 11,796
Industrial Engineering 9,072
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 8,001
Systems Engineering 3,904
Materials Engineering 3,415
Other Engineering 2,760
Environmental Engineering 2,759
Operations Research 1,698
Agricultural Engineering 1,472
Engineering Science 1,454
Electrical and Computer Engineering. 1,378
Petroleum Engineering 1,256
Robotics Engineering 1,243
Architectural Engineering 1,012
Engineering Physics 994
Manufacturing Engineering 947
Construction Engineering 878
Nuclear Engineering 864
Marine Engineering 445
Biological Engineering 410
Polymer & Plastics Engineering 360
Geoscience Engineering 325
Mining Engineering 314
Textile Engineering 310
Ocean Engineering 285
Engineering Mechanics 272
Metallurgical Engineering 179
Energy Systems Engineering 138
Biochemical Engineering 109
Ceramic Engineering 94
Surveying Engineering 73
Electromechanical Engineering 45
Forest Engineering 41
Paper Science & Engineering 27
Engineering Chemistry 13

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 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 Petty Officer 3rd Class Declan Barnes.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.