2023 Most Popular Colleges for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering in California
14
Ranked Colleges
1,275
Degrees Awarded
$35,000
Avg Cost*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 8,001 people earned their degree in aerospace and aeronautical engineering, making the major the 94th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, aerospace and aeronautical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $70,535 and had an average of $24,126 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 1,275 aerospace and aeronautical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,108 and $21,474 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California” ranking analyzed 14 colleges that offered a degree in aerospace and aeronautical engineering. To top this list, a school must have a successful aerospace and aeronautical engineering program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California” list to help you make the college decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for california aerospace engineering students.
Top 14 Most Popular Colleges for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering in California
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 167 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at USC
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California list. UCSD is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 143 ’s aerospace engineering degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at UCSD
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 110 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California list. Cal Poly Pomona is a large public school situated in Pomona, California. It awarded 101 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California list. Stanford is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 93 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at Stanford University
San Diego State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 90 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Full San Diego State University Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Report
University of California - Los Angeles landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California ranking. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 87 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Report
University of California - Davis came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California ranking. UC Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 86 ’s aerospace engineering degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at University of California - Davis
University of California - Irvine came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 85 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of California - Irvine Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Report
California State University - Long Beach did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California ranking, coming in at #10. CSULB is located in Long Beach, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 73 ’s aerospace engineering degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full CSULB Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Report
San Jose State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California ranking. Located in San Jose, California, this large public school handed out 71 diplomas to qualified ’s aerospace engineering students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at San Jose State University
Naval Postgraduate School came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California ranking. Naval Postgraduate School is a small public school situated in Monterey, California. It awarded 154 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Naval Postgraduate School Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Report
California Institute of Technology landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California ranking. California Institute of Technology is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 14 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at Caltech
With a ranking of #14, Santa Clara University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Aerospace Engineering Major in California list. This medium-sized school is located in Santa Clara, California, and it awarded 1 ’s aerospace engineering degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering at SCU
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
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