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2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

14 Ranked Colleges
884 Degrees Awarded
$16,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor's in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 13,314 people earned their degree in chemical engineering, making the major the 53rd most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 1,177 chemical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 884 chemical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, we looked at 14 colleges that offer a degree in chemical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality chemical engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the chemical engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Chemical Engineering Schools

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 Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree chem eng students.

Top 14 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Chemical Engineering in California

#13 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. California State University - Long Beach is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 91 bachelors’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree Chem Eng students per year to attend CSULB.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at California State University - Long Beach

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 74 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree chem eng students list, UCLA has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $14,279 for california bachelor’s degree chem eng students.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

#10 in overall quality

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #3 spot on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is located in Pomona, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 79 bachelors’s chem eng degrees to qualified students.

Cal Poly Pomona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $12,734 for California Bachelor’s Degree Chem Eng students per year to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Cal Poly Pomona Chemical Engineering Report

#4 in overall quality

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 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 112 bachelors’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Berkeley is $15,329 for California Bachelor’s Degree Chem Eng students.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 Chemical Engineering at University of California - Berkeley

#5

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#12 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 50 bachelors’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree chem eng students per year to attend San Jose State University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at San Jose State

#6

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#7 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 54 bachelors’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree chem eng students list, UCSB has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Santa Barbara is $15,884 for california bachelor’s degree chem eng students.

The low student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at University of California - Santa Barbara

#6 in overall quality

University of California - Davis came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s chem eng degrees to 111 students in 2019-2020.

UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $14,669 for California Bachelor’s Degree Chem Eng students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. 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%.

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

#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UCSD is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 105 bachelors’s chem eng degrees to qualified students.

UCSD also made our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend University of California - San Diego is $14,232 for california bachelor’s degree chem eng students.

The low student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at UCSD

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Irvine ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 68 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Irvine is $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Chem Eng students.

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%.

Read more about Chemical Engineering at University of California - Irvine

#10

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California
#11 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. UCR is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 69 bachelors’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree chem eng students list, UCR has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree chem eng students per year to attend UCR.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at UCR

#11

California Baptist University

Riverside, California
#14 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, California Baptist University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Riverside, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s chem eng degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

Cal Baptist also made our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #14. The yearly cost to attend California Baptist University is $24,707 for California Bachelor’s Degree Chem Eng students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at California Baptist University

#12

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

With a ranking of #12, Stanford University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s chem eng degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford is $11,496 for California Bachelor’s Degree Chem Eng students.

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 student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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%.

Full Stanford Chemical Engineering Report

#13

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #13, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Caltech is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 9 bachelors’s chem eng degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree chem eng students list, Caltech has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $24,274 for california bachelor’s degree chem eng students per year to attend Caltech.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Full California Institute of Technology Chemical Engineering Report

#14

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

University of Southern California ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Chem Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 41 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s chem eng students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree chem eng students list, USC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for USC is $29,528 for california bachelor’s degree chem eng students.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Full University of Southern California Chemical 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 Mikulova.

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