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Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in California

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2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in California

22 Colleges
$73,918 Avg Salary
$19,735 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Mechanical Engineering School for You

With 1,202 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, mechanical engineering is the #23 most popular major in California.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 22 schools in California to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges.

Top 10 Best Mechanical Engineering Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for mechanical engineering students. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University

Out of the 22 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the # 2 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Berkeley

#3

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

The excellent programs at Santa Clara University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best mechanical engineering schools in California. Located in the city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

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

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Out of the 22 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the # 5 spot on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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University of Southern California landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best mechanical engineering programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

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University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in California ranking. UCSB is a very large public school located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.

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University of California - San Diego did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for mechanical engineering students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - San Diego

#9

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

With a ranking of #9, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on this year’s best schools for mechanical engineering students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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University of California - Davis came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in California ranking. UC Davis is a very large public school located in the small suburb of Davis.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Davis

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 196
Oregon 86
Nevada 20
Hawaii 15
Alaska 7

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

Majors Similar to ME

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 11,021
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 22 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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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