by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 6 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for materials engineering students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 177 bachelor's degrees in materials engineering during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
The materials engineering bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality materials engineering program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
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.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for materials engineering students working on their bachelor's degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Materials Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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.
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for materials engineering students seeking a a bachelor's degree.
It is hard to beat Stanford University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in materials engineering. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in materials engineering from Stanford University
University of California - Los Angeles is a good option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in materials engineering. UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in materials engineering from University of California - Los Angeles
It is difficult to beat California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in materials engineering. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
Those materials engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo make $5,568 more than the standard materials engineering student.
More information about a bachelor’s in materials engineering from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
University of California - Irvine is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in materials engineering. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.
After graduating, materials engineering bachelor's recipients usually make about $58,177 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in materials engineering from University of California - Irvine
UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis.
Materials Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Davis get an earnings boost of around $5,182 above the typical earnings of materials engineering majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in materials engineering from University of California - Davis
UCR is a very large public university located in the large city of Riverside.More information about a bachelor’s in materials engineering from University of California - Riverside
Explore all the Best Materials Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 226 | 76 |
| Nevada | 129 | 14 |
Materials Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Materials Engineering | 177 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering | 3,722 |
| Electrical Engineering | 2,314 |
| Computer Engineering | 2,214 |
| Civil Engineering | 2,049 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 998 |
| Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering | 899 |
| Chemical Engineering | 764 |
| Industrial Engineering | 277 |
| Environmental Engineering | 234 |
| Other Engineering | 178 |