2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California
24
Ranked Colleges
3,198
Degrees Awarded
$33,100
Avg Cost*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Civil Engineering is the 50th most popular major in the country with 21,388 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, civil engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $63,364 and had an average of $24,364 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 3,198 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $68,987 and $19,554 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California” ranking looked at 24 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in civil engineering. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in civil engineering.
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 Civil Eng Major in California” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Civil Eng Major in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for california civil eng students.
Top 24 Most Popular Colleges for Civil Engineering in California
Out of the 24 schools in the Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 294 diplomas to qualified ’s civil eng students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Civil Engineering at University of California - Berkeley
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is located in Pomona, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 268 ’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Civil Engineering at Cal Poly Pomona
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. University of California - Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 243 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Civil Engineering at University of California - Davis
Out of the 24 schools in the Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in San Luis Obispo, California, and it awarded 214 ’s civil eng degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Civil Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Out of the 24 schools in the Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #5 spot on the list. UCSD is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 192 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - San Diego Civil Engineering Report
California State University - Sacramento ranked #6 on this year’s Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. Sac State is a large school located in Sacramento, California that handed out 179 ’s civil eng degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.9% 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%.
Full Sac State Civil Engineering Report
Stanford University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 176 degrees to qualified ’s civil eng students 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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Stanford University Civil Engineering Report
California State University - Long Beach did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking, coming in at #8. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 171 ’s civil eng degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 Civil Engineering at CSULB
San Jose State University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. Located in San Jose, California, this large public school handed out 169 diplomas to qualified ’s civil eng students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full San Jose State University Civil Engineering Report
With a ranking of #10, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. SDSU is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 162 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Civil Engineering at SDSU
With a ranking of #11, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. Located in Fullerton, California, this large public school handed out 161 degrees to qualified ’s civil eng students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Civil Engineering at California State University - Fullerton
With a ranking of #12, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s civil eng degrees to 160 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 96%.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Civil Engineering Report
University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking, coming in at #13. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 142 ’s civil eng 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 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Civil Engineering at UC Irvine
California State University - Northridge came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking. California State University - Northridge is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 117 ’s civil eng degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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 full report on Civil Engineering at CSUN
California State University - Fresno landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 102 ’s civil eng degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Fresno Civil Engineering Report
California State University - Los Angeles came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking. Cal State LA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 95 ’s civil eng degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Civil Engineering at California State University - Los Angeles
University of Southern California came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s civil eng degrees to 84 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%.
Full USC Civil Engineering Report
California State University - Chico ranked #18 on this year’s Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. Chico, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s civil eng degrees to 78 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Chico State Civil Engineering Report
San Francisco State University ranked #19 on this year’s Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. SFSU is located in San Francisco, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 70 ’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Civil Engineering at San Francisco State University
California Baptist University ranked #20 on this year’s Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. This fairly large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 41 ’s civil eng degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Cal Baptist Civil Engineering Report
Loyola Marymount University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking, coming in at #21. Located in Los Angeles, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 36 degrees to qualified ’s civil eng students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full Loyola Marymount Civil Engineering Report
Santa Clara University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking, coming in at #22. SCU is a medium-sized school located in Santa Clara, California that handed out 24 ’s civil eng 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 Civil Engineering at Santa Clara University
University of the Pacific landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California ranking. Pacific is a medium-sized school located in Stockton, California that handed out 18 ’s civil eng 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 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of the Pacific
With a ranking of #24, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Civil Eng Major in California list. Caltech is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 2 ’s civil eng degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Civil Engineering at California Institute of Technology
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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.
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