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2025 Best Biomedical Engineering Schools in California

14 Colleges in California
1,706 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
$68,999 Avg Early-Career Salary
Biomedical Engineering is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #71 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 14 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for biomedical engineering students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,706 degrees in biomedical engineering annually.

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

Choosing a Great Biomedical Engineering School

Best Biomedical Engineering Schools in California The bio engineering program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Biomedical Engineering rankings. We derive our Best Overall Biomedical 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.

Pick Your Biomedical Engineering Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Bio Engineering
Master's Degrees in Bio Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Bio Engineering

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Biomedical Engineering Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 Biomedical Engineering in California

The schools below may not offer all types of bio 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 Bio Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
182 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
11.5% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Berkeley is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in biomedical engineering. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were about 182 biomedical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Those biomedical engineering students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley earn $9,807 more than the typical bio engineering graduate.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
$82,648 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 112 biomedical engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the biomedical engineering major at University of Southern California make $13,649 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
239 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
$82,027 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat University of California - San Diego if you wish to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering. UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were roughly 239 biomedical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Those biomedical engineering students who get their degree from University of California - San Diego earn $13,028 more than the standard bio engineering student.

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

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
126 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
$68,419 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering needs to take a look at University of California - Davis. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 126 biomedical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, bio engineering degree recipients generally make an average of $68,419 in their early careers.

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

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
123 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
1.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 123 biomedical 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 bio engineering program state that they receive average early career income of $57,874.

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

6
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
115 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
33.0% Growth in Graduates

Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were about 115 biomedical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the bio engineering program make an average of $50,487 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in biomedical engineering from Stanford University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
218 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
18.3% Growth in Graduates

UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the city of Irvine. This university ranks 12th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 218 biomedical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the bio engineering program make an average of $67,377 for their early career.

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

8
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
32 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
$73,710 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #53 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 32 biomedical engineering students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the biomedical engineering program at Santa Clara University get $4,711 above the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

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

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
133 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
18.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 22nd out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 133 biomedical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the biomedical engineering program at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo make $12,187 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

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

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
93 Bio Engineering Degrees Awarded
$61,342 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 28th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 93 biomedical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCR in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the bio engineering program earn about $61,342 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in biomedical engineering from University of California - Riverside

Best Biomedical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 141
Oregon 266 83
Nevada 192 26
Hawaii 164 0

View All Rankings >

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

Bio Engineering Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Bioengineering & Biomedical Engineering 1,706

View All Bio Engineering Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 5,039
Electrical Engineering 4,174
Civil Engineering 3,269
Computer Engineering 3,190
General Engineering 1,360
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,357
Chemical Engineering 1,163
Systems Engineering 498
Materials Engineering 488
Other Engineering 476

View All Bio Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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