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2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in California

12 Ranked Colleges
225 Degrees Awarded
$35,800 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Mechanical Engineering is the 20th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,495 and had an average of $23,104 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 5,259 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $66,612 and $20,850 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 225 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great mechanical engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools

The me 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 “Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree me students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 12 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Stanford is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 57 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Stanford

#2

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #2 spot on the list. California Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Caltech are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Caltech

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 43 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UC Berkeley Mechanical Engineering Report

#4

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. University of California - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 28 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 16 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’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 UC Irvine are $28,456.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at UC Irvine

#6 in overall quality

University of California - Davis came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UC Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 16 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Davis

#10 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of California - Riverside is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 13 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR also took the #10 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’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.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Riverside

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s ME degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.

UCSD also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Diego are $28,631.

Full UCSD Mechanical Engineering Report

#9

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#9 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 6 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSB are $28,670, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of California - Santa Barbara Mechanical Engineering Report

#10

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#5 in overall quality

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #10. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s ME degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’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 USC are $48,715.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of Southern California

#12 in overall quality

University of California - Merced did quite well in the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #11. UC Merced is a medium-sized public school situated in Merced, California. It awarded 3 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Merced not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Merced are $43,854, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at UC Merced

#12

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, California
#7 in overall quality

Santa Clara University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. Santa Clara University is located in Santa Clara, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.

SCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’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 Santa Clara University are $23,507.

Full SCU Mechanical 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.

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