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2024 Best Civil Engineering Schools in California

22 Colleges in California
3,198 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$68,987 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in civil engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #50 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 22 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for civil engineering students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 3,198 degrees in civil engineering to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Civil Engineering School

Best Civil Engineering Schools in California Your choice of civil engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Civil Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Civil Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Civil Eng
Master's Degrees in Civil Eng
Doctor's Degrees in Civil Eng

The civil eng school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Civil Engineering Schools in California. 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 Civil 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 civil eng degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top California Schools in Civil Eng

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
176 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$78,911 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in civil engineering has to look into Stanford University. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were approximately 176 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Civil Engineering degree recipients from Stanford University get an earnings boost of around $9,924 above the typical earnings of civil engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Stanford University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
84 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$78,636 Median Starting Salary

University of Southern California is a great decision for students interested in a degree in civil engineering. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 84 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the civil engineering degree program at University of Southern California get $9,649 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Southern California

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
160 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$67,329 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you want to pursue a degree in civil engineering. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 160 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career wages of $67,329.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - Los Angeles

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
243 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$68,802 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Davis is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in civil engineering. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were approximately 243 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the civil eng program earn around $68,802 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - Davis

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
294 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$71,918 Median Starting Salary

UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 294 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Those civil engineering students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley make $2,931 more than the average civil eng grad.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - Berkeley

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
192 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
8.9% Growth in Graduates

UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were roughly 192 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the civil engineering program at University of California - San Diego earn $2,048 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - San Diego

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
214 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
8.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #95 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.

There were about 214 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Those civil engineering students who get their degree from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo earn $5,954 more than the typical civil eng student.

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

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
142 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
3.5% Growth in Graduates

UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were roughly 142 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career income of $62,257.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - Irvine

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
162 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$63,495 Median Starting Salary

SDSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 162 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, civil eng degree recipients typically make an average of $63,495 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from San Diego State University

10
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
22nd Most Popular In CA
20.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were about 24 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Santa Clara University

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 Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 581
Oregon 266 327
Nevada 192 179
Hawaii 164 98
Alaska 119 54

View All Rankings >

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

Civil Eng Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Civil Engineering 2,867
Structural Engineering 254
Civil Engineering 50
Trasportation Engineering 22
Water Resources Engineering 4
Geoenvironmental Engineering 1

View All Civil Eng Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 5,137
Electrical Engineering 4,697
Computer Engineering 3,389
Biomedical Engineering 1,744
General Engineering 1,386
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,275
Chemical Engineering 1,136
Systems Engineering 537
Materials Engineering 497
Industrial Engineering 464

View All Civil Eng Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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