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Most Popular Engineering Associate Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Engineering Associate Degree Schools in California

78 Colleges
$44,454 Avg Salary
$15,272 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Engineering Associate 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.

The Most Popular Engineering Associate Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 78 schools in California to see which associate degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Engineering program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Engineering Associate Degree Colleges.

#1

Cerritos College

Norwalk, CA

Our analysis found Cerritos College to be the most popular school for engineering students who want to pursue a associate degree in California. Located in the suburb of Norwalk, Cerritos College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 43 students majoring in engineering at Cerritos College, 63% are male and 37% are female.

Read full report on Engineering at Cerritos College

The in-demand associate degree programs at Clovis Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular engineering schools in California. Clovis Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Fresno.

Of the 42 students majoring in engineering at Clovis Community College, 60% are male and 40% are female.

Read full report on Engineering at Clovis Community College

#3

Norco College

Norco, CA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Norco College is a great place for engineering students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Norco, Norco College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 41 students majoring in engineering at Norco College, 88% are male and 12% are female.

Full Engineering at Norco College Report

#4

Orange Coast College

Costa Mesa, CA

Out of the 78 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Orange Coast College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Costa Mesa, Orange Coast College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 36 students majoring in engineering at Orange Coast College, 78% are male and 22% are female.

Full Engineering at Orange Coast College Report

#5

El Camino College

Torrance, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend El Camino College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Engineering Associate Degree Schools in California list. El Camino College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Torrance.

Of the 33 students majoring in engineering at El Camino College, 64% are male and 36% are female.

Full Engineering at El Camino College Report

#6

San Diego Miramar College

San Diego, CA

San Diego Miramar College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for engineering students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of San Diego, San Diego Miramar College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 32 students majoring in engineering at San Diego Miramar College, 72% are male and 28% are female.

Read More…

#7

Ventura College

Ventura, CA

Ventura College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree engineering programs. Ventura College is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Ventura.

Women make up 16% of the engineering majors at the school.

Full Engineering at Ventura College Report

#8

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, CA

Santa Barbara City College ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Engineering Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Santa Barbara, SBCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

About 21% of the students majoring in engineering at the school are women while 79% are male.

Full Engineering at Santa Barbara City College Report

#9

Cabrillo College

Aptos, CA

Cabrillo College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Engineering Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Cabrillo College is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Aptos.

Women make up 26% of the engineering majors at the school.

Read full report on Engineering at Cabrillo College

#10

American River College

Sacramento, CA

American River College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree engineering programs. American River is a very large public school located in the suburb of Sacramento.

Of the 23 students majoring in engineering at American River, 70% are male and 30% are female.

Read full report on Engineering at American River College

#11

Antelope Valley College

Lancaster, CA

Antelope Valley College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree engineering programs. Antelope Valley College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Lancaster.

About 10% of the students majoring in engineering at the school are women while 90% are male.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Engineering Associate Degree Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
12 Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA
12 Allan Hancock College Santa Maria, CA
12 Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA
15 Moorpark College Moorpark, CA

Best Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular Engineering Colleges 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

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

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 27 schools only.

  • 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.

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