2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Materials Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Materials Sciences is the 258th most popular major in the country with 689 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, materials sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $60,225 and had an average of $23,698 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 171 materials sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 55 materials sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 2 colleges that offered a degree in materials sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great materials sciences 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 materials sciences program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. 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 “Best Value Materials Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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 Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

#1 in overall quality

$8,392 Average Net Price

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Materials Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 36 bachelors’s materials science degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Materials Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $8,392 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Science students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UC Berkeley.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%.

Read more about Materials Sciences at University of California - Berkeley

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

#2 in overall quality

$8,553 Average Net Price

$59,417 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Materials Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. University of California - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s materials science degrees to qualified students.

UCLA also took the #2 spot in our “Best Materials Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $8,553 for california bachelor’s degree materials science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, 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 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Sciences at UCLA

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Sciences (Income $0-$30k)

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 Per Henning.

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