33 Best colleges for Computational Chemistry 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 Computational Chemistry. A graph of 2.26M citations received by 36.8K academic papers made by 33 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 - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Computational Chemistry

#1 in the United States

#1 in North America

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

2. Stanford University

Stanford

For Computational Chemistry

#4 in the United States

#4 in North America

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

3. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Computational Chemistry

#7 in the United States

#7 in North America

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

4. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Computational Chemistry

#14 in the United States

#14 in North America

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

5. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Computational Chemistry

#20 in the United States

#20 in North America

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

6. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Computational Chemistry

#30 in the United States

#32 in North America

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

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Computational Chemistry

#33 in the United States

#35 in North America

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

8. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Computational Chemistry

#38 in the United States

#40 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 Computational Chemistry

#39 in the United States

#41 in North America

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

10. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Computational Chemistry

#41 in the United States

#43 in North America

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

11. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Computational Chemistry

#62 in the United States

#71 in North America

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

12. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Computational Chemistry

#105 in the United States

#117 in North America

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

13. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Computational Chemistry

#140 in the United States

#164 in North America

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

14. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Computational Chemistry

#196 in the United States

#223 in North America

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

15. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Computational Chemistry

#203 in the United States

#230 in North America

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

16. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Computational Chemistry

#210 in the United States

#237 in North America

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

17. Pomona College

Claremont

For Computational Chemistry

#212 in the United States

#240 in North America

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

18. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Computational Chemistry

#227 in the United States

#255 in North America

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

19. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Computational Chemistry

#236 in the United States

#266 in North America

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

20. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Computational Chemistry

#237 in the United States

#267 in North America

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

21. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Computational Chemistry

#259 in the United States

#293 in North America

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

22. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Computational Chemistry

#262 in the United States

#296 in North America

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

23. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Computational Chemistry

#271 in the United States

#307 in North America

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

24. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Computational Chemistry

#273 in the United States

#309 in North America

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

25. Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

For Computational Chemistry

#275 in the United States

#311 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Average SAT: 1535
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $43,966

26. University of the Pacific

Stockton

For Computational Chemistry

#279 in the United States

#315 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Average SAT: 1332
Average ACT: 28
Net Price: $31,670

27. Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

San Diego

For Computational Chemistry

#284 in the United States

#322 in North America

Enrollment: 52
Male:Female: 32:68

28. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Computational Chemistry

#288 in the United States

#326 in North America

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

29. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Computational Chemistry

#291 in the United States

#329 in North America

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

30. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Computational Chemistry

#294 in the United States

#334 in North America

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

31. Chapman University

Orange

For Computational Chemistry

#313 in the United States

#355 in North America

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

32. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Computational Chemistry

#319 in the United States

#362 in North America

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

33. Western University of Health Sciences

Pomona

For Computational Chemistry

#330 in the United States

#374 in North America

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

Closest to California states to learn Computational Chemistry

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	95
Utah	3	27
Arizona	3	51
Washington	5	16
Colorado	7	45
New Mexico	4	84
Nebraska	4	75
Kansas	3	63
Texas	25	22
Oklahoma	3	101
North Dakota	2	121
Minnesota	3	2
Iowa	4	29
Missouri	8	69
Arkansas	2	89
Louisiana	6	31
Wisconsin	5	9
Illinois	13	5
Mississippi	4	82
Indiana	9	24
Michigan	7	23
Tennessee	7	48
Alabama	5	100
Ohio	16	35
Georgia	8	19
South Carolina	5	86
North Carolina	9	12
Virginia	7	57
Pennsylvania	17	13
Florida	11	15
District of Columbia	5	102
Maryland	6	36
New York	36	8
New Jersey	7	6
Connecticut	4	21
Massachusetts	16	3
Rhode Island	3	72