2023 Best Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Finding the Best Engineering Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, engineering students earned 25,076 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 8th in the state.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 30 schools in California to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California
Check out the engineering bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 10 Best Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best school in California for engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best engineering schools in California. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend National University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best engineering schools in California. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
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With a ranking of #7, Santa Clara University did quite well on this year’s best schools for engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Loyola Marymount University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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University of California - Davis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for engineering students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. UC Davis is a very large public school located in the suburb of Davis.
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University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #10 on this year’s Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. UCSB is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
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Request InformationBest Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 3,545 |
| Oregon | 2,281 |
| Hawaii | 301 |
| Nevada | 900 |
| Alaska | 178 |
More Engineering Rankings in California
Rankings in Majors Related to Engineering
Engineering Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering | 46,178 |
| Electrical Engineering | 28,844 |
| Civil Engineering | 21,388 |
| Computer Engineering | 17,987 |
| Chemical Engineering | 12,917 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 12,811 |
| General Engineering | 11,796 |
| Industrial Engineering | 9,072 |
| Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering | 8,001 |
| Systems Engineering | 3,904 |
| Materials Engineering | 3,415 |
| Other Engineering | 2,760 |
| Environmental Engineering | 2,759 |
| Operations Research | 1,698 |
| Agricultural Engineering | 1,472 |
| Engineering Science | 1,454 |
| Electrical and Computer Engineering. | 1,378 |
| Petroleum Engineering | 1,256 |
| Robotics Engineering | 1,243 |
| Architectural Engineering | 1,012 |
| Engineering Physics | 994 |
| Manufacturing Engineering | 947 |
| Construction Engineering | 878 |
| Nuclear Engineering | 864 |
| Marine Engineering | 445 |
| Biological Engineering | 410 |
| Polymer & Plastics Engineering | 360 |
| Geoscience Engineering | 325 |
| Mining Engineering | 314 |
| Textile Engineering | 310 |
| Ocean Engineering | 285 |
| Engineering Mechanics | 272 |
| Metallurgical Engineering | 179 |
| Energy Systems Engineering | 138 |
| Biochemical Engineering | 109 |
| Ceramic Engineering | 94 |
| Surveying Engineering | 73 |
| Electromechanical Engineering | 45 |
| Forest Engineering | 41 |
| Paper Science & Engineering | 27 |
| Engineering Chemistry | 13 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Engineering
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Computer & Information Sciences | 254,454 |
| Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 177,778 |
| Engineering Technologies | 85,188 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 52,396 |
| Physical Sciences | 50,306 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 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 Petty Officer 3rd Class Declan Barnes.
More about our data sources and methodologies.