2025 Best Computer Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools in California

If you plan on getting your doctor's degree in computer engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #60 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of computer engineering. Combined, these schools handed out 50 doctor's degrees in computer engineering to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on computer engineering students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other computer engineering students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for computer engineering to pay back their student loans after receiving their doctor's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized computer engineering related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for computer engineering students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The ce school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Computer Engineering Doctor's Degree Schools in California.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Computer Engineering in California

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for computer engineering students seeking a a doctor's degree.

Top California Schools for a Doctorate in CE

1

University of California - Irvine
Irvine, CA

20 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in computer engineering needs to check out University of California - Irvine. UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the city of Irvine.More information about a doctorate in computer engineering from University of California - Irvine

2

University of California - Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA

10 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat University of California - Santa Cruz if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in computer engineering. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Santa Cruz.More information about a doctorate in computer engineering from University of California - Santa Cruz

Best Computer Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Oregon	107	2
Nevada	84	6

View All Rankings >

Computer Engineering Related Rankings by Major

Computer Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

CE Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
General Computer Engineering	33
Software Engineering	16
Computer Hardware Engineering	1

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering	350
Mechanical Engineering	219
Biomedical Engineering	193
Chemical Engineering	138
Civil Engineering	135
Materials Engineering	105
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	43
Other Engineering	39
Systems Engineering	16
Environmental Engineering	13

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.