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Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

20 Colleges
$17,612 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$83,119 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Electrical Engineering School for You

Electrical Engineering is the #12 most popular major in California with 2,199 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 20 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for EE students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for EE majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Electrical Engineering Schools

$7,852 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for electrical engineering students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,852 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California list.

Read More…

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for electrical engineering students. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 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 #3 for overall quality for EE in California.

Full Electrical Engineering at University of California - Berkeley Report

$10,195 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 per year.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California list.

Full Electrical Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $13,258 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCLA also claimed a spot on our Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Full Electrical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles Report

#5

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means San Diego State University is a great value for electrical engineering students. SDSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Diego.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SDSU are $8,136 a year.

Read More…

$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California ranking. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.

Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students pay an average of $7,439 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Long Beach landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value electrical engineering programs. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year.

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

$14,700 Average Tuition & Fees

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

UCSD undergraduate students pay an average of $14,700 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Electrical Engineering at University of California - San Diego Report

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Sacramento came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California ranking. Sac State is a very large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,392 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Northridge did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for electrical engineering students. It came in at #10 on the list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at California State University - Northridge

Best Value Electrical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 230
Oregon 72
Nevada 17
Hawaii 14
Alaska 5

Electrical Engineering is one of 39 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 9,007
Civil Engineering 6,042
Computer Engineering 5,557
Biomedical Engineering 4,252
General Engineering 3,548

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 20 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 NASA.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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