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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering in California

10 Ranked Colleges
241 Degrees Awarded
$25,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master's in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

General Engineering is the 78th most popular major in the country with 11,925 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $66,152 and had an average of $20,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,382 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $78,483 and $12,706 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 241 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general engineering programs that also have a lower cost than 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 general engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Engineering Schools for a Master’s 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california master’s degree engineering students.

Top 10 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s engineering degrees to 44 students in 2019-2020.

UCLA also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Engineering Master’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.

Full UCLA General Engineering Report

#2

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the #2 spot on the list. San Jose State University is a large public school situated in San Jose, California. It awarded 26 masters’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Jose State are $18,790, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on General Engineering at San Jose State University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California list. Located in San Luis Obispo, California, this large public school handed out 16 diplomas to qualified masters’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also took the #4 spot in our “Best General 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 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $21,009.

Read more about General Engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California list. California State University - Fresno is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 22 masters’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State also made our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Fresno are $17,581.

Read more about General Engineering at Fresno State

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #5 spot on the list. UC Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 masters’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine also made our “Best General Engineering Master’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 - Irvine are $28,456.

Read more about General Engineering at University of California - Irvine

#1 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. UC Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of California - Berkeley General Engineering Report

#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California list. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 50 masters’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

UCR also took the #6 spot in our “Best General 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 University of California - Riverside are $28,686.

Full UCR General Engineering Report

#8

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#10 in overall quality

San Francisco State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California list. This large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 29 masters’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SFSU, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SFSU are $17,944, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full San Francisco State University General Engineering Report

#9 in overall quality

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California list. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a large school located in Pomona, California that handed out 4 masters’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Poly Pomona, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best General 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 California State Polytechnic University - Pomona are $18,377.

Read full report on General Engineering at Cal Poly Pomona

#10

University of the Pacific

Stockton, California

University of the Pacific landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. University of the Pacific is located in Stockton, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 29 masters’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

Pacific also took the #7 spot in our “Best General Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of the Pacific are $49,374, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of the Pacific General 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

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Rémi Kaupp.

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