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2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region

12 Ranked Colleges
277 Degrees Awarded
$15,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in materials engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality materials 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 materials engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. 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” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering in the Far Western US Region

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #1 spot on the list. 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 materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

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. It costs about $21,595 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students per year to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

#2

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at San Jose State, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $14,928 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students per year to attend San Jose State University.

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%. 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 Materials Engineering Report

#3

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Washington State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region. 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 did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Wazzu is $16,358 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Washington State University

#11 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 that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nevada - Reno landed the #4 spot on the list. UNR is a large school located in Reno, Nevada that handed out 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 yearly cost to attend University of Nevada - Reno is $15,081 for far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of Nevada - Reno

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Seattle, Washington, this large public school awarded 52 degrees to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle also made our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend UW Seattle is $13,297 for far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, 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 93%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UW Seattle

#6

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also took the #4 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $14,279 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students.

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 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

#6 in overall quality

University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #7. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Irvine is $14,783 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Materials Engineering at UC Irvine

#10 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. UCR is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 14 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students list, UCR has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $12,871 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students per year to attend University of California - Riverside.

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 Materials Engineering at University of California - Riverside

University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #9. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $14,669 for far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students per year to attend University of California - Davis.

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

Read more about Materials Engineering at University of California - Davis

#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, University of California - Merced did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Merced, California, this medium-sized public school awarded 7 degrees to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering 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 estimated yearly cost for UC Merced is $13,896 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Read more about Materials Engineering at University of California - Merced

#11

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #11. Stanford is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s degrees 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. The yearly cost to attend Stanford University is $11,496 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students.

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%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Materials Engineering at Stanford

#12

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

California Institute of Technology landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking. California Institute of Technology is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 5 bachelors’s materials engineering degrees 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. It costs about $24,274 for far western us region bachelor’s degree materials engineering students per year to attend Caltech.

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

Full California Institute of Technology Materials 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 Panoramedia.

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