21 Best colleges for Renewable Energy Engineering in California, US

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Renewable Energy Engineering. A graph of 480K citations received by 8.77K academic papers made by 21 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 Renewable Energy Engineering

#2 in the United States

#2 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $25,951
Enrollment: 45,699

2. Stanford University

Stanford

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#7 in the United States

#8 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1545
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $17,998

3. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#24 in the United States

#29 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $22,441
Enrollment: 46,678

4. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#25 in the United States

#30 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 42%
Receiving Aid: 58%
Average Aid: $21,258
Enrollment: 39,707

5. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#27 in the United States

#34 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $23,397
Receiving Aid: 68%
Average Aid: $60,201

6. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#38 in the United States

#48 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 25%
Receiving Aid: 70%
Average Aid: $24,176
Enrollment: 42,376

7. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#51 in the United States

#64 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Receiving Aid: 75%
Average Aid: $21,566
Enrollment: 26,426

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#62 in the United States

#78 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Average SAT: 1495
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $41,496

9. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#65 in the United States

#82 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 28%
Receiving Aid: 58%
Average Aid: $21,732
Enrollment: 26,068

10. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#66 in the United States

#83 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 26%
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $21,533
Enrollment: 36,582

11. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#129 in the United States

#163 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $12,707
Enrollment: 22,485

12. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#140 in the United States

#175 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $24,868
Enrollment: 9,147

13. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#148 in the United States

#183 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $21,564
Enrollment: 19,764

14. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#149 in the United States

#184 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Receiving Aid: 95%
Average Aid: $5,459
Enrollment: 39,241

15. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#182 in the United States

#217 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 23%
Enrollment: 2,600
Male:Female: 79:21
Founded: 1909

16. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#184 in the United States

#219 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Receiving Aid: 67%
Average Aid: $11,311
Enrollment: 36,062

17. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#197 in the United States

#235 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $11,503
Enrollment: 31,172

18. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#203 in the United States

#241 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 74%
Receiving Aid: 78%
Average Aid: $10,441
Enrollment: 26,848

19. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#208 in the United States

#246 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 99%
Receiving Aid: 73%
Average Aid: $10,046
Enrollment: 6,156

20. California State University Maritime Academy

Vallejo

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#216 in the United States

#256 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 99%
Receiving Aid: 66%
Average Aid: $11,063
Enrollment: 805

21. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Renewable Energy Engineering

#226 in the United States

#267 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 44%
Average SAT: 1420
Average ACT: 32
Net Price: $49,651

Closest to California states to learn Renewable Energy Engineering

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	36
Utah	3	71
Arizona	3	14
Washington	4	19
Colorado	5	28
New Mexico	3	64
Kansas	3	41
Texas	18	10
Oklahoma	3	50
North Dakota	2	58
Missouri	3	44
Arkansas	3	97
Louisiana	3	82
Wisconsin	3	5
Illinois	10	4
Indiana	7	16
Michigan	6	11
Tennessee	5	17
Alabama	4	45
Ohio	8	20
Georgia	4	3
North Carolina	7	9
Virginia	6	21
Pennsylvania	10	15
Florida	9	23
District of Columbia	4	106
Maryland	4	34
New York	16	12
New Jersey	6	32
Massachusetts	12	1
Rhode Island	2	127