28 Best Computer Engineering schools 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 Computer Engineering. A graph of 1.2M citations received by 30.4K academic papers made by 28 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 Computer Engineering

#1 in the United States

#1 in North America

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

2. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Computer Engineering

#2 in the United States

#2 in North America

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

3. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Computer Engineering

#8 in the United States

#8 in North America

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

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Computer Engineering

#13 in the United States

#14 in North America

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

5. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Computer Engineering

#15 in the United States

#16 in North America

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

6. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Computer Engineering

#19 in the United States

#20 in North America

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

7. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Computer Engineering

#21 in the United States

#22 in North America

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

8. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Computer Engineering

#27 in the United States

#29 in North America

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

9. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Computer Engineering

#33 in the United States

#36 in North America

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

10. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Computer Engineering

#43 in the United States

#47 in North America

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

11. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Computer Engineering

#55 in the United States

#60 in North America

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

12. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Computer Engineering

#91 in the United States

#106 in North America

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

13. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Computer Engineering

#100 in the United States

#118 in North America

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

14. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Computer Engineering

#123 in the United States

#146 in North America

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

15. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Computer Engineering

#133 in the United States

#160 in North America

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

16. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Computer Engineering

#134 in the United States

#163 in North America

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

17. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Computer Engineering

#135 in the United States

#164 in North America

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

18. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Computer Engineering

#185 in the United States

#216 in North America

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

19. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Computer Engineering

#198 in the United States

#230 in North America

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

20. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Computer Engineering

#199 in the United States

#231 in North America

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

21. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Computer Engineering

#205 in the United States

#238 in North America

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

22. Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

For Computer Engineering

#229 in the United States

#263 in North America

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

23. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Computer Engineering

#240 in the United States

#274 in North America

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

24. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Computer Engineering

#258 in the United States

#294 in North America

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

25. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Computer Engineering

#260 in the United States

#296 in North America

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

26. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Computer Engineering

#262 in the United States

#298 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Enrollment: 1,065
Male:Female: 16:84
Founded: 1975

27. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Computer Engineering

#275 in the United States

#311 in North America

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

28. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Computer Engineering

#277 in the United States

#314 in North America

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

Closest to California states to learn Computer Engineering

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	73
Utah	3	44
Arizona	3	30
Idaho	3	151
Washington	3	14
Colorado	7	47
New Mexico	3	90
Kansas	3	81
Texas	24	11
Oklahoma	3	130
North Dakota	2	157
Minnesota	2	17
Missouri	5	54
Arkansas	4	102
Louisiana	5	116
Wisconsin	3	9
Illinois	9	6
Mississippi	3	117
Indiana	7	16
Michigan	9	7
Tennessee	7	41
Alabama	6	82
Ohio	14	26
Georgia	7	5
North Carolina	7	29
Virginia	7	23
Pennsylvania	13	3
Florida	10	24
District of Columbia	5	98
Maryland	7	10
New York	22	20
New Jersey	7	12
Connecticut	4	40
Massachusetts	15	4
New Hampshire	3	84
Rhode Island	3	86

Closest to California states to learn Computer Engineering

Computer Science subfields in California