2023 Most Popular Colleges for Chemical Engineering in California
14
Ranked Colleges
1,136
Degrees Awarded
$35,600
Avg Cost*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California” ranking.
In 2020-2021, 12,917 people earned their degree in chemical engineering, making the major the 70th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, chemical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $65,870 and had an average of $23,285 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 1,136 chemical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,086 and $17,925 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California” ranking, we looked at 14 colleges that offer a degree in chemical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular chemical engineering programs in the United States.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California”.
Top 14 Most Popular Colleges for Chemical Engineering in California
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California 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 175 ’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California. UCSD is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 130 ’s chem eng degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
Full UCSD Chemical Engineering Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California list. UC Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 120 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%.
Full UC Davis Chemical Engineering Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 119 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 school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #5 spot on the list. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 88 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default 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.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at University of California - Riverside
University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California ranking, coming in at #6. UC Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 77 ’s chem eng 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 1.4% 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%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at UC Irvine
With a ranking of #7, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California list. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 74 ’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at California State University - Long Beach
With a ranking of #8, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California list. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school handed out 73 diplomas to qualified ’s chem eng students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Chemical Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
University of Southern California did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California ranking, coming in at #9. USC is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 68 ’s chem eng degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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. 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
Stanford University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California list. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 65 diplomas to qualified ’s chem eng students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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. 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%.
Full Stanford Chemical Engineering Report
University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California ranking. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 59 ’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at UCSB
San Jose State University ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California list. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 49 students in 2020-2021.
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 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%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at San Jose State University
California Institute of Technology came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California ranking. Caltech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 23 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Caltech Chemical Engineering Report
California Baptist University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in California ranking, coming in at #14. Riverside, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 16 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Chemical Engineering at California Baptist University
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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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