2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Chemical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Chemical Engineering is the 66th most popular major in the country with 13,610 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, chemical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $62,963 and had an average of $22,564 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 1,196 chemical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $54,945 and $17,612 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 116 chemical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in chemical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent chemical engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the chemical engineering program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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More Ways to Rank Chemical Engineering Schools
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 10 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Chemical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in California
Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 25 doctorate’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree chem eng students whose families make $0-$30k list, Stanford has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 6 degrees to qualified doctorate’s chem eng students in 2019-2020.
Caltech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Full California Institute of Technology Chemical Engineering Report
Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 22 doctorate’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347.
Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 17 degrees to qualified doctorate’s chem eng students in 2019-2020.
UCLA also took the #5 spot in our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school handed out 2 degrees to qualified doctorate’s chem eng students in 2019-2020.
UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456.
University of California - Davis came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of California - Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 8 doctorate’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.
UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at University of California - Davis
With a ranking of #6, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. UCR is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 9 doctorate’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.
UCR also made our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at University of California - Riverside
University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. This large school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.
UCSB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSB are $28,670, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Full University of California - Santa Barbara Chemical Engineering Report
With a ranking of #9, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of California - San Diego is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UCSD also took the #8 spot in our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Diego are $28,631, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Full University of California - San Diego Chemical Engineering Report
University of Southern California came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 13 doctorate’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.
USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
- Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Chemical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
- Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Chemical Engineering (Income $0-$30k)
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
Footnotes
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Mikulova.
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