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College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

30 Colleges in California
14,391 Bachelor's Degrees
$73,520 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #6 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 30 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for engineering students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 14,391 bachelor's degrees in engineering to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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Choosing a Great Engineering School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California The engineering bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

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

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Engineering Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The engineering 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 Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Engineering in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in engineering.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,160 Annual Graduates

University of California - Berkeley is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in engineering. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from University of California - Berkeley

2
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
259 Annual Graduates

Stanford University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in engineering. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from Stanford University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
453 Annual Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in engineering. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from University of Southern California

4
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
214 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in engineering has to take a look at Santa Clara University. Located in the city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from Santa Clara University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
940 Annual Graduates

UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the large city of La Jolla.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from University of California - San Diego

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6
Harvey Mudd College crest
Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA
53 Annual Graduates

Harvey Mudd College is a fairly small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Claremont.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from Harvey Mudd College

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
816 Annual Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from University of California - Davis

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
706 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from University of California - Los Angeles

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,044 Annual Graduates

UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Irvine.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from University of California - Irvine

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,151 Annual Graduates

Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in engineering from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

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Best Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 34 2,364
Hawaii 30 238
Oregon 30 1,665
Nevada 30 730
Alaska 29 146
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View All Rankings >

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 3,722
Electrical Engineering 2,314
Computer Engineering 2,214
Civil Engineering 2,049
Biomedical Engineering 998
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 899
Chemical Engineering 764
Industrial Engineering 277
Environmental Engineering 234
Other Engineering 178
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Related Major Annual Graduates
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 16,043
Mathematics & Statistics 5,063
Physical Sciences 3,688
Natural Resources & Conservation 3,060
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations 1,948
Architecture & Related Services 1,219
Engineering Technologies 1,137
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 2

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Notes and References

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