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2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in California

9 Ranked Colleges
139 Degrees Awarded
$35,800 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

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 Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 21,561 people earned their degree in civil engineering, making the major the 45th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, civil engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $60,122 and had an average of $23,807 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 3,291 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $65,300 and $21,468 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 139 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in civil engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great civil engineering 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 civil engineering 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

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 Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 9 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 36 doctorate’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Stanford

#2

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Pasadena, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s civil eng degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Caltech, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Caltech Civil Engineering Report

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 26 doctorate’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of California - Berkeley Civil Engineering Report

#4

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 14 doctorate’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also made our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131.

Read more about Civil Engineering at UCLA

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also took the #8 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Irvine are $28,456, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at UC Irvine

#4 in overall quality

University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. UC Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 doctorate’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.

UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

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

#7 in overall quality

University of California - San Diego landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 20 doctorate’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UCSD Civil Engineering Report

#8

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#9 in overall quality

San Diego State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s civil eng degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

SDSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at SDSU are $18,658, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full San Diego State University Civil Engineering Report

#9

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. USC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k list, USC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Civil 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

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.

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