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2022 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

9 Ranked Colleges
185 Degrees Awarded
$15,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing 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. 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 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 3,485 people earned their degree in general materials engineering, making the major the 189th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 482 general materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 185 general materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in general materials engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general materials engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general materials engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank General Materials Engineering Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Materials Engineering in California

#3 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 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a large school located in San Luis Obispo, California that handed out 38 bachelors’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $21,595 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Processing and Manufacturing students per year to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Materials Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of California - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 23 bachelors’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best General Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Los Angeles is $14,279 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Processing and Manufacturing students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Materials Engineering at UCLA

#3

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the #3 spot on the list. San Jose State University is a large public school situated in San Jose, California. It awarded 22 bachelors’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State is $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree materials processing and manufacturing students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.7% 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 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full San Jose State General Materials Engineering Report

#5 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 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also made our “Best General Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for UC Irvine is $14,783 for california bachelor’s degree materials processing and manufacturing students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on General Materials Engineering at University of California - Irvine

#7 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 Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees to 38 students in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best General Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $14,669 for california bachelor’s degree materials processing and manufacturing students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Materials Engineering at University of California - Davis

#8 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. University of California - Riverside is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 14 bachelors’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best General Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree materials processing and manufacturing students per year to attend UCR.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Full University of California - Riverside General Materials Engineering Report

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Merced landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. UC Merced is located in Merced, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree materials processing and manufacturing students list, UC Merced has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best General Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Merced is $13,896 for california bachelor’s degree materials processing and manufacturing students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, 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 86%.

Full University of California - Merced General Materials Engineering Report

#8

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree materials processing and manufacturing students list, Stanford has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford is $11,496 for California Bachelor’s Degree Materials Processing and Manufacturing students.

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 student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Stanford University General Materials Engineering Report

#9

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Processing and Manufacturing Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Caltech is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 5 bachelors’s materials processing and manufacturing degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree materials processing and manufacturing students list, Caltech has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California Institute of Technology is $24,274 for california bachelor’s degree materials processing and manufacturing students.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about General Materials 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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Panoramedia.

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