2023 Most Focused Colleges for Materials Engineering in California
13
Ranked Colleges
497
Degrees Awarded
$34,600
Avg Cost*
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Materials Engineering is the 154th most popular major in the country with 3,415 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, materials engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $65,007 and had an average of $23,030 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 497 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $59,066 and $15,554 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in materials engineering. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their materials engineering program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for california materials engineering students.
Top 13 Most Focused Colleges for Materials Engineering in California
Out of the 13 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #1 spot on the list. California Institute of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 17 ’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Materials Engineering at Caltech
Out of the 13 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #2 spot on the list. Stanford is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 73 ’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national 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.
Read more about Materials Engineering at Stanford
Out of the 13 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Merced landed the #3 spot on the list. University of California - Merced is a medium-sized school located in Merced, California that handed out 20 ’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, 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.
Read more about Materials Engineering at University of California - Merced
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California list. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 41 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Materials Engineering Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 72 ’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - San Diego Materials Engineering Report
University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California ranking, coming in at #6. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s materials engineering degrees to 76 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, 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 96%.
Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles
University of California - Irvine ranked #7 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California list. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 59 ’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of California - Irvine
University of California - Davis came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California ranking. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 53 ’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Materials Engineering at UC Davis
University of California - Riverside landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California ranking. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 22 degrees to qualified ’s materials engineering students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of California - Riverside
With a ranking of #10, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 34 diplomas to qualified ’s materials engineering students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of Southern California
San Jose State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California ranking, coming in at #11. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 19 ’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad 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%.
Read more about Materials Engineering at San Jose State
California State University - Northridge landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California ranking. CSUN is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 ’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad 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%.
Read more about Materials Engineering at California State University - Northridge
California State University - Los Angeles came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Materials Engineering Major in California ranking. Cal State LA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Cal State LA 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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.
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