2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Environmental Engineering is the 166th most popular major in the country with 2,802 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, environmental engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,600 and had an average of $23,573 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 332 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,675 and $22,465 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 65 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in environmental engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent environmental engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the environmental engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Environmental Engineering Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in California

#1

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California

#2 in overall quality

$56,649 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 5 degrees to qualified masters’s environmental engineering students in 2019-2020.

Caltech also took the #2 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at Caltech

#2

California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, California

#3 in overall quality

$17,892 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$76,930 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k. California State University - Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 32 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal State Fullerton also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Cal State Fullerton are $17,892.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at California State University - Fullerton

#3

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California

#4 in overall quality

$28,686 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s environmental engineering degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

UCR also took the #4 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UCR Environmental Engineering Report

#4

University of California - Irvine

Irvine, California

$28,456 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 2 masters’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #0 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’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 University of California - Irvine are $28,456.

Full UC Irvine Environmental Engineering Report

#5

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 22 masters’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at University of Southern California

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income $48-$75k)

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 U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Alesia Goosic.

Featured Environment / Natural Resources Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >