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2025 Best General Materials Engineering Schools in California

9 Colleges in California
488 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Degrees Awarded
General Materials Engineering is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #199 most popular degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 9 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best General Materials Engineering Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 488 degrees in general materials engineering annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Materials Engineering School

Best General Materials Engineering Schools in California Your choice of general materials engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall General Materials Engineering School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your General Materials Engineering Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Materials Processing and Manufacturing
Master's Degrees in Materials Processing and Manufacturing
Doctor's Degrees in Materials Processing and Manufacturing

The materials processing and manufacturing 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 the Best General Materials Engineering Schools in California. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for General Materials Engineering in California

The schools below may not offer all types of materials processing and manufacturing degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top California Schools in Materials Processing and Manufacturing

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
96 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Degrees Awarded

Stanford University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in general materials engineering. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were approximately 96 general materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general materials engineering from Stanford University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In CA

University of Southern California is a great option for students pursuing a degree in general materials engineering. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 18 general materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general materials engineering from University of Southern California

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
78 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Degrees Awarded

University of California - Los Angeles is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in general materials engineering. UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 78 general materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general materials engineering from University of California - Los Angeles

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
53 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat University of California - San Diego if you want to pursue a degree in general materials engineering. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were about 53 general materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general materials engineering from University of California - San Diego

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In CA
48 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Degrees Awarded

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo. This university ranks 22nd out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 48 general materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general materials engineering from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
62 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 12th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 62 general materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general materials engineering from University of California - Irvine

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In CA
38 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Degrees Awarded

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis. This university ranks 10th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 38 general materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general materials engineering from University of California - Davis

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA

Located in the suburb of Merced, UC Merced is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 51st out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 9 general materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Merced in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general materials engineering from University of California - Merced

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA
12.0% Growth in Graduates

UCR is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Riverside. This university ranks 28th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 25 general materials engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCR in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general materials engineering from University of California - Riverside

Best General Materials Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best General Materials Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 135
Oregon 587 14
Nevada 354 16

View All Rankings >

One of 0 majors within the Materials Engineering area of study, General Materials Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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