44 Best colleges for Horticulture in California, US

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Horticulture. A graph of 2.53M citations received by 51.1K academic papers made by 44 universities in California was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Horticulture

#1 in the United States

#1 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 42%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $24,591
Enrollment: 40,065

2. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Horticulture

#13 in the United States

#13 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $29,608
Enrollment: 45,882

3. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Horticulture

#17 in the United States

#18 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 76%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $24,355
Enrollment: 26,384

4. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Horticulture

#35 in the United States

#41 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 59%
Average Aid: $25,627
Enrollment: 47,335

5. Stanford University

Stanford

For Horticulture

#36 in the United States

#42 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1545
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $25,078

6. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Horticulture

#38 in the United States

#44 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 27%
Receiving Aid: 66%
Average Aid: $25,757
Enrollment: 44,256

7. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Horticulture

#62 in the United States

#74 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $14,513
Receiving Aid: 70%
Average Aid: $72,373

8. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Horticulture

#65 in the United States

#77 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 29%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $23,110
Enrollment: 37,297

9. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Horticulture

#71 in the United States

#84 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,007
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1864

10. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Horticulture

#73 in the United States

#88 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 33%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $24,695
Enrollment: 26,133

11. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Horticulture

#83 in the United States

#99 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Average SAT: 1500
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $43,412

12. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Horticulture

#90 in the United States

#106 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 66%
Receiving Aid: 64%
Average Aid: $22,774
Enrollment: 19,938

13. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Horticulture

#146 in the United States

#171 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 36%
Receiving Aid: 62%
Average Aid: $12,053
Enrollment: 41,137

14. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Horticulture

#158 in the United States

#183 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 31%
Receiving Aid: 62%
Average Aid: $14,338
Enrollment: 23,069

15. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Horticulture

#196 in the United States

#227 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 88%
Average Aid: $12,326
Enrollment: 24,427

16. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Horticulture

#204 in the United States

#236 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 98%
Receiving Aid: 74%
Average Aid: $10,748
Enrollment: 6,237

17. Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

For Horticulture

#220 in the United States

#256 in North America

Enrollment: 4,210
Male:Female: 34:66
Founded: 1905

18. Pepperdine University

Malibu

For Horticulture

#225 in the United States

#261 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Average SAT: 1370
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $66,585

19. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Horticulture

#230 in the United States

#267 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Receiving Aid: 81%
Average Aid: $12,996
Enrollment: 22,563

20. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Horticulture

#233 in the United States

#270 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $27,292
Enrollment: 9,110

21. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Horticulture

#236 in the United States

#273 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 95%
Average Aid: $13,824
Enrollment: 23,163

22. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Horticulture

#238 in the United States

#275 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $11,833
Enrollment: 27,636

23. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield

For Horticulture

#245 in the United States

#283 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 93%
Average Aid: $12,966
Enrollment: 10,419

24. Pomona College

Claremont

For Horticulture

#259 in the United States

#300 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 7%
Average SAT: 1525
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $19,938

25. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Horticulture

#281 in the United States

#323 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 83%
Average Aid: $11,234
Enrollment: 43,662

26. Chapman University

Orange

For Horticulture

#285 in the United States

#327 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 65%
Average SAT: 1350
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $47,902

27. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Horticulture

#291 in the United States

#334 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $11,795
Enrollment: 42,003

28. University of the West

Rosemead

For Horticulture

#301 in the United States

#344 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $14,713
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $9,445

29. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Horticulture

#311 in the United States

#355 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 85%
Receiving Aid: 69%
Average Aid: $12,353
Enrollment: 37,661

30. Occidental College

Los Angeles

For Horticulture

#315 in the United States

#359 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 44%
Average SAT: 1450
Average ACT: 33
Net Price: $48,400

31. California State University Maritime Academy

Vallejo

For Horticulture

#332 in the United States

#377 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 68%
Average Aid: $11,038
Enrollment: 837

32. Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park

For Horticulture

#339 in the United States

#384 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 87%
Average Aid: $9,094
Enrollment: 5,891

33. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Horticulture

#343 in the United States

#388 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 75%
Average Aid: $11,509
Enrollment: 15,257

34. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Horticulture

#356 in the United States

#402 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $12,825
Enrollment: 38,313

35. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Horticulture

#360 in the United States

#406 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 23%
Enrollment: 2,441
Male:Female: 79:21
Founded: 1909

36. Western University of Health Sciences

Pomona

For Horticulture

#361 in the United States

#407 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 3,665
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1977

37. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Horticulture

#384 in the United States

#431 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Net Price: $37,918
Receiving Aid: 87%
Average Aid: $40,965

38. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

For Horticulture

#386 in the United States

#433 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Average SAT: 1345
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $59,926

39. California State University - Monterey Bay

Seaside

For Horticulture

#393 in the United States

#440 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 97%
Receiving Aid: 76%
Average Aid: $12,185
Enrollment: 7,713

40. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Horticulture

#404 in the United States

#453 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 48%
Average SAT: 1420
Average ACT: 32
Net Price: $53,883

41. California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino

For Horticulture

#441 in the United States

#491 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $12,167
Enrollment: 18,492

42. Golden Gate University - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Horticulture

#456 in the United States

#507 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Enrollment: 3,098
Male:Female: 53:47
Founded: 1901

43. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Horticulture

#473 in the United States

#525 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $12,767
Enrollment: 31,943

44. Master's University and Seminary

Santa Clarita

For Horticulture

#485 in the United States

#541 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 84%
Net Price: $37,919
Receiving Aid: 98%
Average Aid: $16,990

Closest to California states to learn Horticulture

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	8	12
Utah	3	45
Arizona	4	21
Idaho	3	46
Washington	4	11
Colorado	9	28
New Mexico	3	59
Nebraska	5	20
South Dakota	3	72
Kansas	4	19
Texas	33	14
Oklahoma	6	43
North Dakota	2	34
Minnesota	6	9
Iowa	4	10
Missouri	12	27
Arkansas	8	32
Louisiana	7	50
Wisconsin	9	5
Illinois	17	8
Mississippi	7	41
Indiana	9	18
Michigan	11	4
Tennessee	12	42
Alabama	10	37
Kentucky	5	25
Ohio	18	15
Georgia	14	6
West Virginia	3	89
South Carolina	5	40
North Carolina	15	7
Virginia	12	24
Pennsylvania	25	16
Florida	19	2
District of Columbia	5	116
Maryland	12	29
New York	44	3
New Jersey	8	23
Vermont	3	79
Connecticut	6	33
Massachusetts	21	22
New Hampshire	3	99
Rhode Island	4	105
Maine	4	68
Puerto Rico	4	136

Closest to California states to learn Horticulture

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