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2021 Best Colleges in California for Students from Spain

28 Colleges
$44,633 Avg Tuition & Fees*
57% Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*

When pursuing a degree in today's world, international students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

After analyzing 28 schools in California, we came up with our list of those that offered the best educational experiences for Spanish students in California. Instead of depending on subjective information, we focus on objective factors to determine this ranking. These factors include such things as the total number of international students at the school and the school's overall quality.

Find out more about our ranking methodology.

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Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as online students or returnings adults.

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Top Colleges in California for Students from Spain

See which schools came out on top of our ranking:

1

University of California - Berkeley tops this year’s ranking as the best school for Spanish students in California. This large public school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 10,523 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 16.2% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at UC Berkeley are China, South Korea, and India.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Full University of California - Berkeley Report

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #2 in this year’s ranking. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,511 students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 23.9% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and Canada come to Stanford to study.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read More…

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #3 in this year’s ranking. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 5,745 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 22.5% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to USC to study.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on University of Southern California

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 in this year’s ranking. University of California - Los Angeles is a large public school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 10,102 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 13.8% are international. Students from as far away as China, South Korea, and India come to UCLA to study.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Report

5

A rank of #5 on our list means California Institute of Technology is a great place for Spanish students in California working on their bachelor’s degree. Caltech is located in Pasadena, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 227 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Of the total number of students at the school, 30.5% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Caltech are China, India, and Canada.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on California Institute of Technology

6

University of California - San Diego came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking. University of California - San Diego is a large public school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 9,086 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 21.4% are international. Students studying at UCSD come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.

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 full report on University of California - San Diego

7

University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Irvine, California, the large public school handed out 9,882 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 18.4% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UC Irvine are China, India, and South Korea.

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 Report

8

University of California - Davis landed the #8 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California. UC Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9,846 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 17.5% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UC Davis to study.

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…

9
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Santa Clara, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1,656 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

Around 11.3% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at SCU are India, China, and Taiwan.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Full Santa Clara University Report

10

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking, coming in at #10. UCSB is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7,001 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Of the total number of students at the school, 14.9% are international. Students studying at UCSB come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - Santa Barbara Report

11

Loyola Marymount University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,856 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 9.5% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as Indonesia, China, and Saudi Arabia come to Loyola Marymount to study.

Full Loyola Marymount University Report

12

Pepperdine University landed the #12 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California. Malibu, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,024 students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 9.6% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia come to Pepperdine to study.

Full Pepperdine University Report

13

University of San Diego ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California list. San Diego, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,672 students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 5.7% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia come to USD to study.

Read More…

14

University of San Francisco landed the #14 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California. San Francisco, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,682 students in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 12.7% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Indonesia come to USFCA to study.

Read full report on University of San Francisco

15

University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking. UC Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5,426 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 9.6% are international. Students studying at UC Santa Cruz come from such countries as China, India, and Taiwan.

Read More…

16

University of the Pacific came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking. University of the Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Stockton, California that handed out 872 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 7.5% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Pacific come from such countries as China, South Korea, and India.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read More…

17

University of California - Riverside came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking. UCR is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6,193 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 7.7% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at UCR come from such countries as China, India, and Taiwan.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read More…

18

With a ranking of #18, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California. SDSU is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8,719 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 5.4% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and Kuwait come to SDSU to study.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on San Diego State University

19

With a ranking of #19, Chapman University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California. Chapman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Orange, California. It awarded 1,944 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 4.6% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Chapman come from such countries as China, Saudi Arabia, and India.

Read full report on Chapman University

20

With a ranking of #20, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California. This large public school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 9,179 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 6.0% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as India, China, and Japan come to CSULB to study.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on California State University - Long Beach

21

California College of the Arts came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking. California College of the Arts is located in San Francisco, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 283 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

International students make up 41.7% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to California College of the Arts to study.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on California College of the Arts

22

San Jose State University landed the #22 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California. San Jose State is a large public school situated in San Jose, California. It awarded 7,192 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 10.2% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at San Jose State are India, China, and Vietnam.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read More…

23

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking, coming in at #23. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a large public school located in Pomona, California that handed out 6,526 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 5.3% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, Kuwait, and South Korea come to Cal Poly Pomona to study.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

24

California Institute of the Arts landed the #24 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California. Located in Valencia, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 182 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 26.7% are international. Students studying at CalArts come from such countries as China, South Korea, and Canada.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read More…

25

California State University - Monterey Bay came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Spanish Students in California ranking. CSUMB is a medium-sized public school situated in Seaside, California. It awarded 1,805 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 4.7% are international. Students from as far away as Japan, China, and Germany come to CSUMB to study.

Read More…

Best Colleges for International Students in the Far Western US Region

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Notes and References

Footnotes

*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 25 schools only.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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