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Best Value Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

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

Finding the Best Engineering Master's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, engineering was ranked 4th in California. In fact, 9,121 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for engineering students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California

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

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. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Engineering at San Jose State University

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a great value for engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $11,629 a year.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also claimed a spot on our Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCLA are $13,036 a year.

UCLA also took the #4 spot in our Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California rankings.

Read full report on Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

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 suburb of Pomona.

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

Read More…

Out of the 22 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,160 per year.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Full Engineering at University of California - Berkeley Report

#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

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

Read full report on Engineering at San Diego State University

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

CSULB graduate students pay an average of $8,280 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

California State University - Fullerton came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

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

Full Engineering at California State University - Fullerton Report

University of California - San Diego ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

UCSD graduate students pay an average of $13,564 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSD also is in the top 20% of our Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

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

California State University - Sacramento ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

Sac State graduate students pay an average of $8,826 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Engineering at California State University - Sacramento Report

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 939
Oregon 555
Nevada 169
Hawaii 63
Alaska 32

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 11,021
Mechanical Engineering 9,007
Civil Engineering 6,042
Computer Engineering 5,557
Biomedical Engineering 4,252
General Engineering 3,548
Systems Engineering 3,068
Industrial Engineering 3,028
Chemical Engineering 2,662
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 2,375
Other Engineering 1,820
Materials Engineering 1,810
Operations Research 1,191
Electrical and Computer Engineering. 928
Environmental Engineering 919
Robotics Engineering 560
Engineering Science 451
Nuclear Engineering 437
Manufacturing Engineering 423
Petroleum Engineering 401
Agricultural Engineering 332
Construction Engineering 288
Engineering Physics 286
Architectural Engineering 243
Geoscience Engineering 173
Polymer & Plastics Engineering 167
Engineering Mechanics 144
Mining Engineering 132
Ocean Engineering 112
Textile Engineering 96
Biological Engineering 80
Energy Systems Engineering 79
Marine Engineering 44
Metallurgical Engineering 40
Biochemical Engineering 21
Ceramic Engineering 20
Electromechanical Engineering 16
Surveying Engineering 11
Paper Science & Engineering 7

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer & Information Sciences 60,971
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 28,851
Mathematics & Statistics 15,127
Physical Sciences 12,705
Engineering Technologies 7,672

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.

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