34 Best Environmental 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 Environmental Engineering. A graph of 985K citations received by 20.4K academic papers made by 34 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 Environmental Engineering

#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 Environmental Engineering

#2 in the United States

#2 in North America

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

3. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Environmental Engineering

#8 in the United States

#10 in North America

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

4. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Environmental Engineering

#29 in the United States

#34 in North America

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

5. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Environmental Engineering

#37 in the United States

#44 in North America

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

6. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Environmental Engineering

#44 in the United States

#54 in North America

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

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Environmental Engineering

#46 in the United States

#56 in North America

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

8. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Environmental Engineering

#48 in the United States

#58 in North America

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

9. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Environmental Engineering

#51 in the United States

#61 in North America

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

10. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Environmental Engineering

#52 in the United States

#63 in North America

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

11. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Environmental Engineering

#63 in the United States

#76 in North America

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

12. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Environmental Engineering

#129 in the United States

#158 in North America

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

13. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Environmental Engineering

#160 in the United States

#192 in North America

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

14. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Environmental Engineering

#168 in the United States

#200 in North America

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

15. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Environmental Engineering

#195 in the United States

#229 in North America

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

16. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Environmental Engineering

#234 in the United States

#271 in North America

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

17. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Environmental Engineering

#242 in the United States

#279 in North America

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

18. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Environmental Engineering

#251 in the United States

#288 in North America

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

19. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Environmental Engineering

#252 in the United States

#289 in North America

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

20. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Environmental Engineering

#254 in the United States

#291 in North America

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

21. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Environmental Engineering

#257 in the United States

#295 in North America

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

22. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Environmental Engineering

#260 in the United States

#298 in North America

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

23. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Environmental Engineering

#263 in the United States

#301 in North America

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

24. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Environmental Engineering

#273 in the United States

#313 in North America

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

25. Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

For Environmental Engineering

#287 in the United States

#328 in North America

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

26. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Environmental Engineering

#297 in the United States

#339 in North America

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

27. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Environmental Engineering

#302 in the United States

#344 in North America

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

28. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Environmental Engineering

#310 in the United States

#352 in North America

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

29. University of the Pacific

Stockton

For Environmental Engineering

#317 in the United States

#360 in North America

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

30. California State University Maritime Academy

Vallejo

For Environmental Engineering

#318 in the United States

#361 in North America

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

31. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Environmental Engineering

#323 in the United States

#367 in North America

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

32. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Environmental Engineering

#333 in the United States

#380 in North America

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

33. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Environmental Engineering

#335 in the United States

#382 in North America

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

34. Master's University and Seminary

Santa Clarita

For Environmental Engineering

#354 in the United States

#401 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 84%
Net Price: $37,919
Receiving Aid: 98%
Average Aid: $16,990

Closest to California states to learn Environmental Engineering

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	5	49
Utah	3	45
Arizona	3	14
Idaho	3	115
Washington	5	20
Colorado	7	26
New Mexico	3	90
Montana	3	105
Nebraska	3	64
Kansas	3	76
Texas	28	6
Oklahoma	4	78
North Dakota	2	131
Missouri	6	74
Arkansas	5	103
Louisiana	7	40
Wisconsin	5	18
Illinois	11	3
Mississippi	4	61
Indiana	7	28
Michigan	8	10
Tennessee	8	67
Alabama	7	70
Kentucky	3	71
Ohio	13	23
Georgia	9	22
South Carolina	4	57
North Carolina	10	16
Virginia	9	13
Pennsylvania	16	4
Florida	16	7
District of Columbia	5	107
Maryland	10	24
New York	31	9
New Jersey	8	34
Connecticut	4	17
Massachusetts	17	5
New Hampshire	3	116
Rhode Island	3	109