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2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

11 Ranked Colleges
257 Degrees Awarded
$16,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking.

General Environmental Engineering is the 226th most popular major in the country with 2,802 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 332 general environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 257 general environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in general environmental engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general environmental engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general environmental engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. 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 “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.

Top 11 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Environmental Engineering in California

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 38 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees to qualified students.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $21,595 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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%. 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 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo General Environmental Engineering Report

#2

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#9 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #2 spot on the list. San Diego State University is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students list, SDSU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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%.

Read more about General Environmental Engineering at SDSU

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students list, UCSD has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCSD is $14,232 for California Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering 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 General Environmental Engineering at University of California - San Diego

#4

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California
#10 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Humboldt State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Humboldt State University is located in Arcata, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 68 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees to qualified students.

Humboldt State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Humboldt State University is $14,692 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

Read more about General Environmental Engineering at Humboldt State University

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 22 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,669 for California Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students per year to attend University of California - Davis.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Full UC Davis General Environmental Engineering Report

#4 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 2 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,329 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students per year to attend UC Berkeley.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. 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%.

Read full report on General Environmental Engineering at University of California - Berkeley

#7 in overall quality

University of California - Irvine came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Irvine is $14,783 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of California - Irvine General Environmental Engineering Report

#8 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #8. University of California - Riverside is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR also took the #8 spot in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Riverside is $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on General Environmental Engineering at University of California - Riverside

#11 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, University of California - Merced did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UC Merced is a public institution located in Merced, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Merced not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $13,896 for California Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students per year to attend University of California - Merced.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, 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 86%.

Read more about General Environmental Engineering at UC Merced

#10

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Stanford, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students list, Stanford has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $11,496 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students per year to attend Stanford University.

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 low student loan default rate of 0.5% 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 86%.

Full Stanford General Environmental Engineering Report

#11

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

University of Southern California ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend USC is $29,528 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full USC General Environmental 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

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