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2024 Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in California

11 Colleges in California
1,275 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$75,108 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in aerospace & aeronautical engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #94 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 11 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,275 degrees in aerospace & aeronautical engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering School

Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in California The aerospace engineering program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for aerospace & aeronautical engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Aerospace Engineering
Master's Degrees in Aerospace Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Aerospace Engineering

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 Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering in California

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the aerospace engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top California Schools in Aerospace Engineering

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
93 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
4.3% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Stanford University if you wish to pursue a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were roughly 93 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the aerospace & aeronautical engineering degree program at Stanford University earn $33,349 more than the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from Stanford University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
167 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
15.6% Growth in Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 167 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of approximately $13,764 over the average earnings of aerospace & aeronautical engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from University of Southern California

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
2.3% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is a good option for students interested in a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering. UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 87 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering degree recipients from University of California - Los Angeles get an earnings boost of around $9,103 above the average earnings of aerospace & aeronautical engineering majors.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from University of California - Los Angeles

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
143 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
42.7% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering has to look into University of California - San Diego. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were about 143 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the aerospace engineering program make around $60,511 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from University of California - San Diego

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
110 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$74,220 Median Starting Salary

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo. This university ranks 17th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 110 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the aerospace engineering program make around $74,220 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
11.6% Growth in Graduates

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were approximately 86 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the aerospace engineering program state that they receive average early career wages of $60,999.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from University of California - Davis

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
85 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
7.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 15th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 85 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the aerospace engineering program earn about $52,033 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from University of California - Irvine

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In CA
71 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 71 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from San Jose State University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
101 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$70,663 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 65th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 101 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly Pomona in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the aerospace engineering program state that they receive average early career wages of $70,663.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
90 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
16.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 22nd out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 90 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the aerospace engineering program state that they receive average early career wages of $61,870.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from San Diego State University

Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 135
Nevada 192 2

View All Rankings >

One of 41 majors within the Engineering area of study, Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Aerospace Engineering Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,275

View All Aerospace Engineering Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Aerospace Engineering

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 5,137
Electrical Engineering 4,697
Computer Engineering 3,389
Civil Engineering 3,198
Biomedical Engineering 1,744
General Engineering 1,386
Chemical Engineering 1,136
Systems Engineering 537
Materials Engineering 497
Industrial Engineering 464

View All Aerospace Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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