37 Best colleges for Remote Sensing 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 Remote Sensing. A graph of 1.63M citations received by 38K academic papers made by 37 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. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Remote Sensing

#1 in the United States

#1 in North America

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

2. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Remote Sensing

#7 in the United States

#7 in North America

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

3. Stanford University

Stanford

For Remote Sensing

#9 in the United States

#9 in North America

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

4. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Remote Sensing

#11 in the United States

#11 in North America

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

5. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Remote Sensing

#22 in the United States

#22 in North America

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

6. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Remote Sensing

#23 in the United States

#23 in North America

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

7. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Remote Sensing

#34 in the United States

#37 in North America

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

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Remote Sensing

#43 in the United States

#47 in North America

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

9. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Remote Sensing

#46 in the United States

#51 in North America

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

10. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Remote Sensing

#58 in the United States

#66 in North America

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

11. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Remote Sensing

#87 in the United States

#102 in North America

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

12. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Remote Sensing

#90 in the United States

#105 in North America

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

13. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Remote Sensing

#108 in the United States

#130 in North America

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

14. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Remote Sensing

#112 in the United States

#135 in North America

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

15. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Remote Sensing

#122 in the United States

#146 in North America

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

16. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Remote Sensing

#167 in the United States

#194 in North America

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

17. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Remote Sensing

#183 in the United States

#210 in North America

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

18. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Remote Sensing

#187 in the United States

#215 in North America

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

19. California State University - Monterey Bay

Seaside

For Remote Sensing

#205 in the United States

#235 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 97%
Receiving Aid: 76%
Average Aid: $12,185
Enrollment: 7,713

20. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Remote Sensing

#216 in the United States

#250 in North America

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

21. Chapman University

Orange

For Remote Sensing

#234 in the United States

#269 in North America

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

22. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Remote Sensing

#244 in the United States

#279 in North America

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

23. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Remote Sensing

#245 in the United States

#280 in North America

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

24. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Remote Sensing

#246 in the United States

#281 in North America

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

25. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Remote Sensing

#257 in the United States

#294 in North America

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

26. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Remote Sensing

#267 in the United States

#304 in North America

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

27. Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park

For Remote Sensing

#275 in the United States

#313 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 87%
Average Aid: $9,094
Enrollment: 5,891

28. California State University Maritime Academy

Vallejo

For Remote Sensing

#280 in the United States

#318 in North America

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

29. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Remote Sensing

#289 in the United States

#329 in North America

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

30. University of Redlands

Redlands

For Remote Sensing

#295 in the United States

#337 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Average SAT: 1229
Average ACT: 25
Net Price: $28,482

31. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Remote Sensing

#310 in the United States

#353 in North America

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

32. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Remote Sensing

#311 in the United States

#354 in North America

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

33. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Remote Sensing

#313 in the United States

#356 in North America

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

34. Claremont Graduate University

Claremont

For Remote Sensing

#334 in the United States

#380 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 35%
Enrollment: 1,771
Male:Female: 41:59
Founded: 1925

35. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Remote Sensing

#349 in the United States

#397 in North America

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

36. California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino

For Remote Sensing

#354 in the United States

#402 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $12,167
Enrollment: 18,492

37. Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

For Remote Sensing

#356 in the United States

#404 in North America

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

Closest to California states to learn Remote Sensing

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	25
Utah	3	37
Arizona	3	5
Idaho	3	73
Washington	6	6
Colorado	7	3
New Mexico	3	95
Montana	3	69
South Dakota	3	63
Kansas	3	44
Texas	26	16
Oklahoma	3	27
North Dakota	2	132
Minnesota	3	32
Iowa	3	54
Missouri	7	64
Arkansas	3	149
Louisiana	6	79
Wisconsin	5	8
Illinois	12	14
Mississippi	4	38
Indiana	8	15
Michigan	8	13
Tennessee	7	70
Alabama	7	66
Kentucky	4	104
Ohio	13	12
Georgia	8	28
South Carolina	5	65
North Carolina	10	42
Virginia	9	40
Alaska	3	49
Pennsylvania	15	17
Florida	16	19
District of Columbia	5	124
Maryland	8	2
New York	29	26
New Jersey	7	35
Hawaii	3	55
Connecticut	4	56
Massachusetts	18	4
New Hampshire	3	52
Rhode Island	3	83
Puerto Rico	3	135