28 Best Computer Engineering schools in California, US

Updated: February 29, 2024

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 855K citations received by 27.7K 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. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Computer Engineering

#1 in the United States

#1 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $21,669
Enrollment: 45,307

2. Stanford University

Stanford

For Computer Engineering

#2 in the United States

#2 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $18,279

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: 57%
Average Aid: $21,766
Enrollment: 46,430

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Computer Engineering

#12 in the United States

#13 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Average SAT: 1500
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $36,808

5. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Computer Engineering

#14 in the United States

#15 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 24%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $20,782
Enrollment: 42,006

6. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Computer Engineering

#18 in the United States

#19 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $20,755
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $59,192

7. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Computer Engineering

#21 in the United States

#22 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $17,411
Enrollment: 35,937

8. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Computer Engineering

#30 in the United States

#33 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 26%
Receiving Aid: 59%
Average Aid: $20,389
Enrollment: 26,420

9. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Computer Engineering

#35 in the United States

#38 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 37%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $20,548
Enrollment: 39,679

10. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Computer Engineering

#41 in the United States

#46 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $22,042
Enrollment: 26,809

11. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Computer Engineering

#56 in the United States

#61 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Receiving Aid: 74%
Average Aid: $21,202
Enrollment: 19,478

12. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Computer Engineering

#105 in the United States

#124 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $9,210
Enrollment: 35,751

13. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Computer Engineering

#106 in the United States

#125 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 23%
Enrollment: 2,670
Male:Female: 78:22
Founded: 1909

14. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Computer Engineering

#116 in the United States

#137 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,140
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1864

15. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Computer Engineering

#123 in the United States

#146 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Average SAT: 1385
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $50,551

16. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Computer Engineering

#127 in the United States

#153 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Receiving Aid: 98%
Average Aid: $9,934
Enrollment: 37,402

17. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Computer Engineering

#137 in the United States

#165 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $25,868
Enrollment: 9,103

18. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Computer Engineering

#192 in the United States

#223 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $10,065
Enrollment: 22,000

19. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Computer Engineering

#194 in the United States

#225 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 78%
Average Aid: $9,830
Enrollment: 25,282

20. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Computer Engineering

#209 in the United States

#242 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 67%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,194
Enrollment: 40,386

21. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Computer Engineering

#218 in the United States

#251 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,478
Enrollment: 38,973

22. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Computer Engineering

#224 in the United States

#258 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Receiving Aid: 92%
Average Aid: $10,907
Enrollment: 26,460

23. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Computer Engineering

#236 in the United States

#271 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $9,968
Enrollment: 23,999

24. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Computer Engineering

#239 in the United States

#274 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Enrollment: 1,129
Male:Female: 14:86
Founded: 1975

25. Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

For Computer Engineering

#240 in the United States

#275 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Average SAT: 1520
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $39,850

26. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Computer Engineering

#244 in the United States

#279 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $10,511
Enrollment: 37,579

27. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Computer Engineering

#252 in the United States

#288 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 55%
Receiving Aid: 77%
Average Aid: $9,040
Enrollment: 27,503

28. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Computer Engineering

#262 in the United States

#299 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 72%
Average Aid: $9,162
Enrollment: 14,183

Closest to California states to learn Computer Engineering

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	74
Utah	3	40
Arizona	3	31
Idaho	3	152
Washington	3	15
Colorado	7	49
New Mexico	3	92
Kansas	3	80
Texas	24	11
Oklahoma	3	136
North Dakota	2	157
Minnesota	2	16
Missouri	5	51
Arkansas	3	107
Louisiana	5	118
Wisconsin	3	9
Illinois	9	7
Mississippi	3	125
Indiana	7	19
Michigan	8	6
Tennessee	7	46
Alabama	6	83
Ohio	12	27
Georgia	7	4
North Carolina	6	29
Virginia	7	23
Pennsylvania	10	3
Florida	10	25
District of Columbia	5	100
Maryland	6	10
New York	22	22
New Jersey	7	13
Connecticut	4	38
Massachusetts	15	5
New Hampshire	3	78
Rhode Island	3	82

Closest to California states to learn Computer Engineering

Computer Science subfields in California