Best General Engineering Programs in the West (2026)
Updated
Part of Best Engineering Colleges in the West
Regional list from Top General Engineering Programs in the United States
This page ranks the 9 General Engineering programs in the West by median earnings of General Engineering graduates four years after completing. Harvey Mudd College ranks 1st on this list, reporting $122,845 for its graduates four years after completing.
Across the 5 programs with a published figure, median earnings range from $122,845 to $77,389, with a median of $94,332.
The list includes 6 public and 3 private nonprofit institutions. University of California-San Diego ranks 1st on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, the best showing on the page.
University of California-San Diego posts the lowest average net price, at $12,470.
The ranked list
| Rank | School | Program Earnings | Average net price | Net price, families under $30K | Admission rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvey Mudd College · Claremont, CA | $122,845 | $35,924 | $27,979 | 12.7% |
| Harvey Mudd College ranks 1st on this list, with median earnings of $122,845 for its General Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 2 | Stanford University · Stanford, CA | No published median | $13,807 | -$2,536* | 3.6% |
| Stanford University admits 4% of applicants and carries an average net price of $13,807. | |||||
| 3 | University of California-Davis · Davis, CA | $114,228 | $14,741 | $9,211 | 41.8% |
| University of California-Davis reports median earnings of $114,228 for its General Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside an average net price of $9,211 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 4 | California State University-Chico · Chico, CA | No published median | $14,480 | $9,902 | 92.7% |
| California State University-Chico has an admission rate of 93% and a median federal debt of $22,500 among General Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion · Tempe, AZ | $94,332 | $14,967 | $9,070 | 89.9% |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion posts median earnings of $94,332 for its General Engineering graduates four years after completing, with 165 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
| 6 | Oregon State University · Corvallis, OR | No published median | $19,604 | $12,107 | 77.3% |
| Oregon State University ranks 126th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions and shows an average net price of $12,107 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 7 | University of California-San Diego · La Jolla, CA | No published median | $12,470 | $7,525 | 26.7% |
| University of California-San Diego holds an average net price of $12,470 and a median federal debt of $18,954 among General Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 8 | Northwest Nazarene University · Nampa, ID | $85,643 | $29,580 | $28,732 | 64.7% |
| Northwest Nazarene University reports median earnings of $85,643 for its General Engineering graduates four years after completing, and a median federal debt of $23,750 across all of the school's borrowers who completed. | |||||
| 9 | Fort Lewis College · Durango, CO | $77,389 | $17,296 | $18,622 | 77.3% |
| Fort Lewis College ranks 909th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions and reports median earnings of $77,389 for its General Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
* Net price can be negative: when grants and scholarships exceed the listed cost of attendance, students can receive the difference as a refund for other expenses.
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their General Engineering graduates four years after completing, highest first. Only programs with a reported earnings cohort in the West appear. The median is drawn from federally aided General Engineering completers who were working and not enrolled, four years after completing. It does not adjust for graduate school enrollment, cost, or who enrolls, and it is not a measure of teaching quality. The range and median below cover the 5 schools with a published figure. Harvey Mudd College reports $122,845, and the spread from the top of the list to the bottom is $45,456.
Job market context in the West
The Bureau of Labor Statistics links General Engineering to occupations such as Engineers, All Other and Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary. Across those occupations in the West, the median annual wage is $127,072, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $97,338. Projections for 2024 to 2034 show about 7,670 openings a year, or roughly 1,853 openings a year for every hundred graduates, with more projected openings than graduates. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 7.2% higher. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. The ranking above uses the median earnings of graduates four years after completing, not the occupational wage figures shown here.