2024 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Mechanical Engineering is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #17 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 28 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,935 bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Mechanical Engineering School for Your Bachelor's Degree
The me bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality me program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to mechanical engineering students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other mechanical engineering students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How much debt mechanical engineering students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized mechanical engineering related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools 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.
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 Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Mechanical Engineering in California
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for mechanical engineering students seeking a a bachelor's degree.
10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in ME
Stanford University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the me program make about $67,007 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Stanford University
University of Southern California is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.
Mechanical Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of Southern California earn a boost of about $9,015 above the typical income of mechanical engineering majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Southern California
It is hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley.
Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Berkeley earn $8,158 more than the average me grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of California - Berkeley
It is hard to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.
Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Los Angeles earn $3,179 more than the typical me grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of California - Los Angeles
Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.
Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Santa Clara University make $8,869 more than the average me graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Santa Clara University