College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in California

11 Colleges in California
1,357 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 1,357 degrees in aerospace & aeronautical engineering during the 2021-2022 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
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
83 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$108,457 Median Starting Salary

It's 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 large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were about 83 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the aerospace & aeronautical engineering major at Stanford University make $33,349 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
170 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
1.8% Growth in Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the United States 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 very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 170 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering degree recipients from University of Southern California earn a boost of about $13,764 over the typical income of aerospace & aeronautical engineering majors.

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
19.3% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering. UCLA is a very large public university located in the large 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 approximately 114 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 earn a boost of approximately $9,103 above the typical 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
105 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$60,511 Median Starting Salary

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

There were about 105 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the aerospace engineering program make an average of $60,511 in their early career salary.

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

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
121 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
9.1% Growth in Graduates

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly 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 approximately 121 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the aerospace engineering program make about $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
68 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$60,999 Median Starting Salary

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

There were approximately 68 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 income of $60,999.

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

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
96 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
11.5% 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 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 96 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the aerospace engineering program make an average of $52,033 in their early career salary.

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
96 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

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

There were about 96 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
163 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
38.0% Growth in Graduates

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 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 163 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly Pomona in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the aerospace engineering program state that they receive average early career income 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
78 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
$61,870 Median Starting Salary

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 about 78 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 report average early career income 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.

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Washington300135
Nevada1922

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

MajorAnnual Graduates
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering1,357

View All Aerospace Engineering Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Aerospace Engineering

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering5,039
Electrical Engineering4,174
Civil Engineering3,269
Computer Engineering3,190
Biomedical Engineering1,706
General Engineering1,360
Chemical Engineering1,163
Systems Engineering498
Materials Engineering488
Other Engineering476

View All Aerospace Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options