30 Best colleges for Computer Graphics 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 Graphics. A graph of 1.32M citations received by 26.7K academic papers made by 30 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 Graphics

#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 Graphics

#4 in the United States

#4 in North America

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

3. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Computer Graphics

#11 in the United States

#12 in North America

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

4. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Computer Graphics

#15 in the United States

#16 in North America

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

5. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Computer Graphics

#20 in the United States

#22 in North America

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

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Computer Graphics

#23 in the United States

#25 in North America

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

7. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Computer Graphics

#26 in the United States

#28 in North America

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

8. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Computer Graphics

#29 in the United States

#32 in North America

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

9. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Computer Graphics

#40 in the United States

#44 in North America

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

10. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Computer Graphics

#43 in the United States

#48 in North America

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

11. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Computer Graphics

#51 in the United States

#58 in North America

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

12. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Computer Graphics

#97 in the United States

#116 in North America

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

13. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Computer Graphics

#98 in the United States

#117 in North America

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

14. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Computer Graphics

#154 in the United States

#181 in North America

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

15. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Computer Graphics

#156 in the United States

#183 in North America

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

16. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Computer Graphics

#161 in the United States

#188 in North America

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

17. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Computer Graphics

#166 in the United States

#194 in North America

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

18. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Computer Graphics

#223 in the United States

#256 in North America

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

19. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Computer Graphics

#226 in the United States

#259 in North America

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

20. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Computer Graphics

#231 in the United States

#264 in North America

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

21. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Computer Graphics

#239 in the United States

#272 in North America

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

22. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Computer Graphics

#240 in the United States

#273 in North America

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

23. Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

For Computer Graphics

#247 in the United States

#280 in North America

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

24. Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

For Computer Graphics

#251 in the United States

#284 in North America

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

25. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Computer Graphics

#270 in the United States

#304 in North America

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

26. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Computer Graphics

#271 in the United States

#305 in North America

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

27. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Computer Graphics

#306 in the United States

#347 in North America

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

28. Pomona College

Claremont

For Computer Graphics

#311 in the United States

#353 in North America

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

29. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Computer Graphics

#321 in the United States

#364 in North America

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

30. Chapman University

Orange

For Computer Graphics

#324 in the United States

#367 in North America

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

Closest to California states to learn Computer Graphics

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	70
Utah	3	21
Arizona	3	27
Idaho	3	191
Washington	4	7
Colorado	7	42
New Mexico	3	87
Nebraska	3	99
Kansas	3	96
Texas	23	16
Oklahoma	3	136
North Dakota	2	203
Minnesota	2	28
Missouri	7	60
Arkansas	5	71
Louisiana	5	81
Wisconsin	4	8
Illinois	12	2
Mississippi	5	104
Indiana	8	14
Michigan	9	10
Tennessee	6	59
Alabama	7	109
Kentucky	3	75
Ohio	14	19
Georgia	8	6
South Carolina	3	67
North Carolina	10	12
Virginia	9	33
Pennsylvania	15	5
Florida	10	36
District of Columbia	5	85
Maryland	9	18
New York	31	9
New Jersey	7	13
Connecticut	3	45
Massachusetts	17	3
New Hampshire	3	77
Rhode Island	3	34

Closest to California states to learn Computer Graphics

Computer Science subfields in California