2023 Best Civil Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California
Finding the Best Civil Engineering Master'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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Civil Engineering Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 20 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Master’s Degree Schools in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for civil eng majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 10 Best Civil Engineering Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for civil engineering students working on their master’s degree. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Santa Clara University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best civil engineering schools in California. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best civil engineering schools in California. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full Civil Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report
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Out of the 20 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the # 5 spot on the list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.
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With a ranking of #6, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best schools for civil engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full Civil Engineering at University of California - Berkeley Report
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Loyola Marymount University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
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San Jose State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Civil Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #9, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best schools for civil engineering students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.
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University of California - Davis landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree civil engineering programs. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Request InformationBest Civil Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Civil Engineering Schools 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 |
More Civil Engineering Rankings in California
Rankings in Majors Related to Civil Eng
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 20 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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