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Best Civil Engineering Schools in California

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2023 Best Civil Engineering Schools in California

20 Colleges
$68,987 Avg Salary
$19,554 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Civil Engineering School for You

Civil Engineering is the #28 most popular major in California with 1,035 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Civil Engineering Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 20 schools in California to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Civil Engineering Schools in California

Check out the civil eng programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Civil Engineering Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for civil engineering students. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#2

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Out of the 20 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Santa Clara University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Civil Engineering at Santa Clara University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Civil Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Civil Engineering at University of Southern California Report

Out of the 20 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the # 4 spot on the list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Full Civil Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Civil Engineering Schools in California list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

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University of California - San Diego did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for civil engineering students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of California - San Diego

#7

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Loyola Marymount University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Civil Engineering Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Loyola Marymount University

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best civil engineering programs. UCLA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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With a ranking of #9, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for civil engineering students. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

Full Civil Engineering at San Jose State University Report

University of California - Davis ranked #10 on this year’s Best Civil Engineering Schools in California list. UC Davis is a very large public school located in the small suburb of Davis.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of California - Davis

Best Civil Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Civil Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 209
Oregon 98
Nevada 55
Hawaii 23
Alaska 11

One of 39 majors within the area of study, civil engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Civil Eng

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 11,021
Mechanical Engineering 9,007
Computer Engineering 5,557
Biomedical Engineering 4,252
General Engineering 3,548

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 20 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Master Sgt. Roger Parsons.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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