2023 Most Focused Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Chemical Engineering in California
14
Ranked Colleges
856
Degrees Awarded
$35,600
Avg Cost*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California” ranking.
In 2020-2021, 12,690 people earned their degree in chemical engineering, making the major the 64th most popular in the United States.
Across California, there were 1,120 chemical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 856 chemical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,566 and $21,995 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California” ranking, we looked at 14 colleges that offer a degree in chemical engineering. That schools that top this list have a program in chemical engineering in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Chemical Engineering Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree chem eng students.
Top 14 Most Focused Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Chemical Engineering in California
Out of the 14 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 10 degrees to qualified bachelors’s chem eng students in 2020-2021.
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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full California Institute of Technology Chemical Engineering Report
Out of the 14 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school awarded 73 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s chem eng students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California. University of California - Riverside is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 74 bachelors’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.
Read full report on Chemical Engineering at University of California - Riverside
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 Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 146 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s chem eng students in 2020-2021.
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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.
Full University of California - Berkeley Chemical Engineering Report
Out of the 14 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #5 spot on the list. UCSD is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 99 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low undergrad 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%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at UCSD
University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Davis, California, this large public school handed out 87 degrees to qualified bachelors’s chem eng students in 2020-2021.
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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at UC Davis
With a ranking of #7, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California list. California State University - Long Beach is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 62 bachelors’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Full CSULB Chemical Engineering Report
University of California - Los Angeles landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California ranking. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 81 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
Read full report on Chemical Engineering at UCLA
University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California list. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s chem eng degrees to 43 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UCSB Chemical Engineering Report
With a ranking of #10, Stanford University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng 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 24 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Chemical Engineering at Stanford
California Baptist University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California ranking. California Baptist University is located in Riverside, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 16 bachelors’s chem eng degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 California Baptist University Chemical Engineering Report
University of California - Irvine came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California ranking. University of California - Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 59 bachelors’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%.
Full UC Irvine Chemical Engineering Report
San Jose State University ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California list. San Jose State is located in San Jose, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 44 bachelors’s chem eng degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at San Jose State
University of Southern California ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Chem Eng Major in California list. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 38 bachelors’s chem eng degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 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. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at USC
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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
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Mikulova.
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