2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in California
13
Ranked Colleges
235
Degrees Awarded
$103,564
Avg Salary
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2021-2022, 44,794 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering, making the major the 21st most popular in the United States. In , mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $68,989 and had an average of $22,844 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 5,039 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $73,918 and $19,633 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 235 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $76,943 and $148,774 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California” ranking analyzed 13 colleges that offered a degree in mechanical engineering. That schools that top this list have a program in mechanical engineering in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California”.
Top 13 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California. Caltech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 11 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at California Institute of Technology
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California list. Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 54 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Stanford
Out of the 13 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Merced landed the #3 spot on the list. University of California - Merced is a medium-sized school located in Merced, California that handed out 12 doctorate’s me degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Merced
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 41 degrees to qualified doctorate’s me students in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Berkeley Mechanical Engineering Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 19 doctorate’s me degrees in 2021-2022.
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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UC Irvine
University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California ranking. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 9 doctorate’s me degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at University of California - Santa Barbara
University of California - Los Angeles ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California list. University of California - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 28 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full UCLA Mechanical Engineering Report
University of California - San Diego ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California list. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school handed out 22 degrees to qualified doctorate’s me students in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UCSD Mechanical Engineering Report
University of California - Riverside ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California list. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 6 degrees to qualified doctorate’s me students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%.
Read more about Mechanical Engineering at UCR
University of California - Davis landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California ranking. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 14 doctorate’s me degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%.
Full UC Davis Mechanical Engineering Report
University of Southern California came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 16 doctorate’s me degrees in 2021-2022.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%.
Full USC Mechanical Engineering Report
Santa Clara University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California ranking. SCU is a medium-sized school located in Santa Clara, California that handed out 2 doctorate’s me degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Santa Clara University Mechanical Engineering Report
With a ranking of #13, Naval Postgraduate School did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on ME Major in California list. Naval Postgraduate School is a small school located in Monterey, California that handed out 1 doctorate’s me degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Naval Postgraduate School
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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
