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2023 Best Value Colleges for General Environmental Engineering in California (With Aid)

11 Ranked Colleges
339 Degrees Awarded
$15,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 2,759 people earned their degree in general environmental engineering, making the major the 240th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 339 general environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general environmental engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general environmental engineering programs and 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 general environmental engineering program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank General Environmental Engineering Schools

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The environmental engineering school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for General Environmental Engineering in California (With Aid)

1

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #1 spot on the list. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s environmental engineering degrees to 28 students in 2020-2021.

Cal State Fullerton also made our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend Cal State Fullerton is $8,003 for california environmental engineering students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Environmental Engineering at Cal State Fullerton

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid list. University of California - Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 30 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Irvine is $12,209 for california environmental engineering students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full UC Irvine General Environmental Engineering Report

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid list. UC Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 37 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $15,768 for California Environmental Engineering students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Davis General Environmental Engineering Report

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 25 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

UCR not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $11,822 for California Environmental Engineering students with aid.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on General Environmental Engineering at UCR

5
SDSU crest
San Diego State University
San Diego, California

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #5 spot on the list. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s environmental engineering degrees to 29 students in 2020-2021.

SDSU also made our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $13,845 for California Environmental Engineering students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Environmental Engineering at San Diego State University

6

University of California - Berkeley landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of California - Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 ’s environmental engineering degrees to qualified students.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Berkeley is $16,032 for California Environmental Engineering students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley

7

University of California - San Diego landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of California - San Diego is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 ’s environmental engineering degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california environmental engineering students with aid list, UCSD has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCSD is $15,240 for california environmental engineering students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

8

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid list. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 36 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also made our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $20,677 for california environmental engineering students with aid per year to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Environmental Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

9
Humboldt State University crest
Humboldt State University
Arcata, California

With a ranking of #9, Humboldt State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid list. Arcata, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s environmental engineering degrees to 39 students in 2020-2021.

Humboldt State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,956 for California Environmental Engineering students with aid per year to attend Humboldt State University.

Read more about General Environmental Engineering at Humboldt State University

10

University of California - Merced came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Merced, California, and it awarded 29 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Merced not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Merced is $13,691 for california environmental engineering students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Merced General Environmental Engineering Report

11
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 48 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend USC is $32,569 for california environmental engineering students with aid.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about General Environmental Engineering at University of Southern California

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