38 Best Dental 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 Dentistry. A graph of 1.26M citations received by 31.8K academic papers made by 38 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 - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Dentistry

#6 in the United States

#7 in North America

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

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Dentistry

#10 in the United States

#11 in North America

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

3. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Dentistry

#13 in the United States

#14 in North America

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

4. Stanford University

Stanford

For Dentistry

#18 in the United States

#19 in North America

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

5. Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

For Dentistry

#19 in the United States

#20 in North America

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

6. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Dentistry

#30 in the United States

#32 in North America

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

7. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Dentistry

#53 in the United States

#58 in North America

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

8. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Dentistry

#60 in the United States

#67 in North America

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

9. University of the Pacific

Stockton

For Dentistry

#65 in the United States

#73 in North America

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

10. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Dentistry

#88 in the United States

#98 in North America

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

11. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Dentistry

#100 in the United States

#112 in North America

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

12. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Dentistry

#126 in the United States

#141 in North America

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

13. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Dentistry

#160 in the United States

#180 in North America

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

14. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Dentistry

#165 in the United States

#186 in North America

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

15. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Dentistry

#166 in the United States

#187 in North America

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

16. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Dentistry

#186 in the United States

#208 in North America

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

17. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Dentistry

#194 in the United States

#217 in North America

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

18. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Dentistry

#210 in the United States

#233 in North America

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

19. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Dentistry

#220 in the United States

#243 in North America

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

20. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Dentistry

#240 in the United States

#267 in North America

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

21. Western University of Health Sciences

Pomona

For Dentistry

#249 in the United States

#277 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 3,665
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1977

22. West Los Angeles College

Culver

For Dentistry

#251 in the United States

#279 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Receiving Aid: 83%
Average Aid: $5,857
Enrollment: 9,255

23. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Dentistry

#259 in the United States

#287 in North America

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

24. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Dentistry

#266 in the United States

#294 in North America

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

25. Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

For Dentistry

#276 in the United States

#305 in North America

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

26. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Dentistry

#294 in the United States

#325 in North America

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

27. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Dentistry

#297 in the United States

#329 in North America

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

28. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Dentistry

#299 in the United States

#331 in North America

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

29. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Dentistry

#320 in the United States

#352 in North America

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

30. Chapman University

Orange

For Dentistry

#334 in the United States

#367 in North America

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

31. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Dentistry

#340 in the United States

#373 in North America

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

32. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Dentistry

#342 in the United States

#375 in North America

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

33. Pomona College

Claremont

For Dentistry

#347 in the United States

#381 in North America

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

34. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Dentistry

#358 in the United States

#392 in North America

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

35. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Dentistry

#370 in the United States

#405 in North America

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

36. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson

For Dentistry

#392 in the United States

#429 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 95%
Average Aid: $13,951
Enrollment: 15,182

37. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Dentistry

#401 in the United States

#439 in North America

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

38. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Dentistry

#403 in the United States

#441 in North America

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

Closest to California states to learn Dentistry

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Nevada	3	130
Oregon	7	36
Utah	3	51
Arizona	4	84
Idaho	3	237
Washington	7	2
Colorado	9	63
Nebraska	4	74
Kansas	4	107
Texas	25	9
Oklahoma	7	94
North Dakota	2	287
Minnesota	5	12
Iowa	3	11
Missouri	9	41
Arkansas	4	124
Louisiana	8	45
Wisconsin	5	34
Illinois	16	24
Mississippi	4	119
Indiana	9	23
Michigan	11	1
Tennessee	10	67
Alabama	6	28
Kentucky	3	35
Ohio	18	14
Georgia	12	20
South Carolina	4	68
North Carolina	10	5
Virginia	10	49
Pennsylvania	21	4
Florida	14	8
District of Columbia	5	97
Maryland	10	22
New York	44	7
New Jersey	10	31
Connecticut	7	39
Massachusetts	19	3
Rhode Island	3	61