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

9 Ranked Colleges
185 Degrees Awarded
$32,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making Over $110k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Materials Engineering is the 150th most popular major in the country with 3,485 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in materials engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent materials 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 materials engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

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Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k

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

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

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #1 spot on the list. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 38 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $21,595 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make more than $110k.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UCLA is $14,279 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make more than $110k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UCLA Materials Engineering Report

#3

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k list. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,928 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend San Jose State.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at San Jose State University

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k list. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also made our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend UC Irvine is $14,783 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make more than $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

#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #5 for the Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCR, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $12,871 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend University of California - Riverside.

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.

Full UCR Materials Engineering Report

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2022 Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k list. University of California - 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 not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Davis is $14,669 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make more than $110k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Full UC Davis Materials Engineering Report

#7

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Stanford University did quite well on the 2022 Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k list. 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.

Stanford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $11,496 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend Stanford University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Stanford University

#8

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

California Institute of Technology came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k ranking. California Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Caltech is $24,274 for california bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make more than $110k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full California Institute of Technology Materials Engineering Report

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Merced landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Vallue Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making Over $110k ranking. UC Merced is a medium-sized public school situated in Merced, California. It awarded 7 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Merced, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $13,896 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend University of California - Merced.

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 student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Merced Materials Engineering Report

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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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