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2025 Best Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in California

10 Colleges in California
1,357 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #102 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 10 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of aerospace & aeronautical engineering. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,357 degrees in aerospace & aeronautical engineering annually.

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. For our Best Overall Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that 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. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering in California

The schools below may not offer all types of aerospace engineering degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top California Schools in Aerospace Engineering

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In CA
83 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

It's difficult 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 #10 out of 2,152 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 year we have data available.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
170 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

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 #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 170 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available.

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
105 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

Any student who is interested in aerospace & aeronautical engineering has to look into University of California - San Diego. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,152 colleges 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 data year.

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

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In CA
114 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

University of California - Los Angeles is a great decision for students pursuing 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 #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 114 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year.

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

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
121 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo. This university ranks 22nd out of 161 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.

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

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA
68 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 68 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available.

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

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
96 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 12th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 96 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year.

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

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
163 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 60th out of 161 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 year we have data available.

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

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In CA
78 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 25th out of 161 colleges 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.

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

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In CA
111 Aerospace Engineering Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 36th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 111 aerospace & aeronautical engineering students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering from California State University - Long Beach

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

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 135
Nevada 354 2

View All Rankings >

Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering is one of 2 different types of Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering programs to choose from.

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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