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2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California

9 Ranked Colleges
139 Degrees Awarded
$35,800 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Civil Engineering is the 45th most popular major in the country with 21,561 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the civil engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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” list to help you make the college decision.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California.

Top 9 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Civil Engineering in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 14 degrees to qualified doctorate’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

UCLA also took the #3 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Civil Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Davis, California, this large public school awarded 21 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

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. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Davis are $28,700.

Full UC Davis Civil Engineering Report

#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California. University of California - San Diego is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 20 doctorate’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD also took the #7 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Diego are $28,631.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at UCSD

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California list. University of California - 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 you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UC Irvine Civil Engineering Report

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #5 spot on the list. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s civil eng degrees to 26 students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also took the #5 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347.

Read more about Civil Engineering at UC Berkeley

#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California list. Located in San Diego, California, this large public school handed out 1 degrees to qualified doctorate’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

SDSU also made our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at San Diego State University are $18,658.

Full San Diego State University Civil Engineering Report

#7

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

University of Southern California ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California 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.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #2 spot 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 you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Civil Engineering at USC

#8

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking, coming in at #8. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 36 doctorate’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Stanford University

#9

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Doctorate in California list. This small school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Civil Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Civil Engineering at California Institute of Technology

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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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