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2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Colleges for Materials Engineering in California

11 Ranked Colleges
222 Degrees Awarded
$34,400 Avg Cost*
Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master's

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2020-2021, 3,415 people earned their degree in materials engineering, making the major the 154th most popular in the United States. 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. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 222 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,974 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in materials engineering. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in materials engineering.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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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 “Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s” 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.

Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s”.

1

Out of the 11 schools in the Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #1 spot on the list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s materials engineering degrees to 49 students in 2020-2021.

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

Read more about Materials Engineering at UCSD

2
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, California

Out of the 11 schools in the Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #2 spot on the list. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 44 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. The undergraduate 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.

Full Stanford Materials Engineering Report

3
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 34 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. 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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full USC Materials Engineering Report

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 for the Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s. University of California - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 27 masters’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

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%.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Materials Engineering Report

5

Out of the 11 schools in the Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #5 spot on the list. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s materials engineering degrees to 24 students in 2020-2021.

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 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 UC Irvine

6

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s list. University of California - Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 15 masters’s 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 University of California - Davis

7

California State University - Northridge came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s ranking. California State University - Northridge is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 masters’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 full report on Materials Engineering at CSUN

8

California Institute of Technology came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s ranking. California Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 7 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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

Full Caltech Materials Engineering Report

9

University of California - Merced landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s ranking. University of California - Merced is located in Merced, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 masters’s materials engineering degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 University of California - Merced Materials Engineering Report

10
San Jose State crest
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

San Jose State University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s ranking. San Jose State University is a public institution located in San Jose, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad 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%. 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

11

California State University - Los Angeles ranked #11 on this year’s Most Well Attended Materials Engineering Major in California for a Master’s list. Cal State LA is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 1 masters’s materials engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at Cal State LA

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References

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