by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 8 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for mechanical engineering students pursuing a doctor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 219 doctor's degrees in mechanical engineering to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of mechanical engineering for getting your doctor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their doctor's degree.
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 Mechanical Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in mechanical engineering.
It's hard to beat Stanford University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their doctorate from the me program report average early career wages of $143,758.
More information about a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University
University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of California - Berkeley
It is hard to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in mechanical engineering. UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of California - Los Angeles
Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in mechanical engineering needs to take a look at University of California - Davis. UC Davis is a very large public university located in the small suburb of Davis.More information about a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of California - Davis
Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of California - Irvine
Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of California - San Diego
UCR is a very large public university located in the city of Riverside.More information about a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of California - Riverside
Located in the medium-sized suburb of Merced, UC Merced is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of California - Merced
Explore all the Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 122 | 28 |
| Oregon | 107 | 14 |
| Nevada | 84 | 6 |
| Hawaii | 53 | 3 |
One of 41 majors within the Engineering area of study, Mechanical Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Mechanical Engineering | 219 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Electrical Engineering | 350 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 193 |
| Chemical Engineering | 138 |
| Civil Engineering | 135 |
| Materials Engineering | 105 |
| Computer Engineering | 50 |
| Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering | 43 |
| Other Engineering | 39 |
| Systems Engineering | 16 |
| Environmental Engineering | 13 |
