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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

12 Ranked Colleges
277 Degrees Awarded
$9,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 3,485 people earned their degree in materials engineering, making the major the 150th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, materials engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $63,129 and had an average of $23,918 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 677 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $65,400 and $17,784 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 277 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in materials engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great materials engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the 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.

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 Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college 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. 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 Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $1,145 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Stanford.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at Stanford University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 52 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k list, UW Seattle has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW Seattle is $7,467 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UW Seattle Materials Engineering Report

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 23 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UCLA is $9,254 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UCLA

#4

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Pasadena, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

Caltech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Caltech is $3,756 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California Institute of Technology Materials Engineering Report

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. UC Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 30 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine also took the #6 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $10,373 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UC Irvine.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 full report on Materials Engineering at UC Irvine

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in San Luis Obispo, California, this large public school handed out 38 degrees to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also made our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is $14,680 for far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

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

#7

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington

With a ranking of #7, Washington State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Wazzu is located in Pullman, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 31 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

Wazzu also took the #9 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Washington State University is $11,337 for far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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%.

Full Washington State University Materials Engineering Report

#10 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 14 degrees to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

UCR also took the #10 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Riverside is $9,151 for far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UCR

University of California - Davis came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 38 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Davis is $10,769 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Full UC Davis Materials Engineering Report

#10

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#7 in overall quality

San Jose State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. San Jose State is a large school located in San Jose, California that handed out 22 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k list, San Jose State has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State is $11,752 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at San Jose State University

#11 in overall quality

University of Nevada - Reno did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #11. UNR is a large public school situated in Reno, Nevada. It awarded 9 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UNR also took the #11 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UNR is $12,716 for far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UNR

#12 in overall quality

University of California - Merced came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Merced, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

UC Merced not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Merced is $11,565 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UC Merced

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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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