36 Best colleges for Project Management 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 Project Management. A graph of 560K citations received by 10.8K academic papers made by 36 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. Stanford University

Stanford

For Project Management

#2 in the United States

#2 in North America

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

2. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Project Management

#9 in the United States

#10 in North America

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

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Project Management

#10 in the United States

#11 in North America

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

4. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Project Management

#44 in the United States

#53 in North America

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

5. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Project Management

#55 in the United States

#68 in North America

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

6. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Project Management

#96 in the United States

#116 in North America

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

7. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Project Management

#106 in the United States

#126 in North America

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

8. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Project Management

#115 in the United States

#135 in North America

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

9. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Project Management

#124 in the United States

#144 in North America

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

10. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Project Management

#137 in the United States

#160 in North America

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

11. Claremont Graduate University

Claremont

For Project Management

#148 in the United States

#171 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 35%
Enrollment: 1,771
Male:Female: 41:59
Founded: 1925

12. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Project Management

#160 in the United States

#186 in North America

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

13. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Project Management

#174 in the United States

#202 in North America

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

14. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

For Project Management

#184 in the United States

#214 in North America

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

15. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Project Management

#185 in the United States

#215 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 62%
Average SAT: 1290
Average ACT: 28
Net Price: $45,443

16. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Project Management

#194 in the United States

#225 in North America

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

17. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Project Management

#195 in the United States

#226 in North America

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

18. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Project Management

#221 in the United States

#253 in North America

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

19. California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino

For Project Management

#228 in the United States

#260 in North America

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

20. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Project Management

#229 in the United States

#261 in North America

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

21. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Project Management

#235 in the United States

#268 in North America

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

22. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Project Management

#242 in the United States

#275 in North America

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

23. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Project Management

#247 in the United States

#280 in North America

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

24. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Project Management

#250 in the United States

#283 in North America

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

25. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield

For Project Management

#259 in the United States

#293 in North America

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

26. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Project Management

#263 in the United States

#297 in North America

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

27. Saint Mary's College of California

Moraga

For Project Management

#268 in the United States

#302 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Net Price: $35,332
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $42,407

28. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Project Management

#275 in the United States

#309 in North America

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

29. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Project Management

#281 in the United States

#316 in North America

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

30. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Project Management

#287 in the United States

#324 in North America

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

31. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Project Management

#294 in the United States

#331 in North America

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

32. Alliant International University - San Diego

San Diego

For Project Management

#309 in the United States

#347 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 0%
Net Price: $25,481
Receiving Aid: 33%
Average Aid: $9,411

33. Pepperdine University

Malibu

For Project Management

#314 in the United States

#352 in North America

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

34. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Project Management

#317 in the United States

#355 in North America

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

35. California State University Maritime Academy

Vallejo

For Project Management

#327 in the United States

#365 in North America

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

36. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Project Management

#355 in the United States

#398 in North America

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

Closest to California states to learn Project Management

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	65
Utah	4	66
Arizona	4	5
Idaho	3	210
Washington	6	15
Colorado	8	58
Nebraska	5	47
Kansas	3	74
Texas	28	17
Oklahoma	3	56
North Dakota	2	255
Minnesota	7	6
Iowa	3	38
Missouri	8	64
Arkansas	4	81
Louisiana	6	60
Wisconsin	8	24
Illinois	14	25
Mississippi	3	121
Indiana	9	26
Michigan	10	4
Tennessee	8	39
Alabama	6	73
Kentucky	5	57
Ohio	17	8
Georgia	8	19
South Carolina	5	42
North Carolina	12	22
Virginia	10	12
Pennsylvania	18	3
Florida	16	43
District of Columbia	6	29
Maryland	11	14
New York	23	23
New Jersey	9	30
Connecticut	6	35
Massachusetts	19	1
New Hampshire	3	70
Rhode Island	4	178

Closest to California states to learn Project Management

Business subfields in California