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Best Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

23 Colleges
$60,958 Avg Salary
$24,364 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree School for You

Civil Engineering is the #41 most popular major in California with 3,198 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 23 schools in California to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best school in California for civil engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.

For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $315.

Full Civil Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the # 2 spot on the list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

The average amount in student loans that civil eng majors at USC take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $13,793.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of Southern California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of California - Berkeley

#4

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Stanford University is a great place for civil engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

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#5

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Loyola Marymount University is a great place for civil engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read More…

#6

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree civil engineering programs. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.

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With a ranking of #7, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s best schools for civil engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, civil eng majors at UC Davis accumulate an average of around $15,146 in student debt.

Full Civil Engineering at University of California - Davis Report

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best schools for civil engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.

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San Jose State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree civil engineering programs. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at San Jose State University

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #10 on this year’s Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, civil eng majors at Cal Poly Pomona accumulate an average of around $19,731 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $189, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

Best Civil Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Civil Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 581
Oregon 327
Nevada 179
Hawaii 98
Alaska 54

One of 40 majors within the area of study, civil engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Civil Eng

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 23 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Master Sgt. Roger Parsons.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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