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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in California

9 Ranked Colleges
185 Degrees Awarded
$18,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $75-$110k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 3,485 people earned their degree in materials engineering, making the major the 150th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, materials engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $63,129 and had an average of $23,918 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 482 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,000 and $15,750 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 185 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in materials engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality materials engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

More Ways to Rank Materials 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 Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. 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 Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k. Stanford is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $75-$110k list, Stanford has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Stanford is $10,631 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Stanford

#2

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. This small school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Caltech is $12,788 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Caltech Materials Engineering Report

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 23 degrees to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

UCLA also took the #4 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $19,590 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at UCLA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k 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 38 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $22,585 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, 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.

Full Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Materials Engineering Report

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

UCR not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Riverside is $18,395 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, 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 students.

Read more about Materials Engineering at University of California - Riverside

#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school awarded 30 degrees to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UC Irvine is $19,851 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UC Irvine Materials Engineering Report

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. UC Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 38 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

UC Davis also took the #7 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Davis is $17,622 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UC Davis

#8

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#6 in overall quality

San Jose State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $75-$110k list, San Jose State has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State University is $19,805 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full San Jose State University Materials Engineering Report

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Merced landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. UC Merced is a public institution located in Merced, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Merced did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UC Merced is $20,450 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at UC Merced

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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 Panoramedia.

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