2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 2,802 people earned their degree in environmental engineering, making the major the 166th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, environmental engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,600 and had an average of $23,573 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 332 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,675 and $22,465 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 65 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in environmental engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent environmental engineering programs, but they also 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 environmental engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Environmental Engineering Schools

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 Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, California

#3 in overall quality

$17,892 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$76,930 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #1 spot on the list. California State University - Fullerton is a large school located in Fullerton, California that handed out 32 masters’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal State Fullerton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’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 Cal State Fullerton are $17,892.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at Cal State Fullerton

#2

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California

#2 in overall quality

$56,649 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 5 masters’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech also took the #2 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’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 Caltech are $56,649.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at California Institute of Technology

#3

University of California - Irvine

Irvine, California

$28,456 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school handed out 2 degrees to qualified masters’s environmental engineering students in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #0. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at University of California - Irvine

#4

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California

#4 in overall quality

$28,686 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #4 spot on the list. University of California - Riverside is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 4 masters’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCR are $28,686, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UCR Environmental Engineering Report

#5

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 22 masters’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Master’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 USC are $48,715.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at USC

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income $30-$48k)

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

• Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Alesia Goosic.

Featured Environment / Natural Resources Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >