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2025 Best Computer Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

22 Colleges in California
2,301 Bachelor's Degrees
$76,839 Avg Early-Career Salary
Computer Engineering is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #41 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 22 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for computer engineering students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,301 bachelor's degrees in computer engineering during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Computer Engineering School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Computer Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of computer engineering for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for computer engineering students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Computer Engineering Schools

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The ce 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 Computer Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Computer Engineering in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer engineering.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in CE

1
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in computer engineering has to check out Santa Clara University. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Santa Clara.

Bachelor's recipients from the computer engineering major at Santa Clara University make $26,965 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from Santa Clara University

2

University of California - San Diego is a good option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in computer engineering. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those computer engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - San Diego receive $19,417 more than the standard ce student.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from University of California - San Diego

3
246 Annual Graduates
$79,812 Median Starting Salary
$20,204 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat University of California - Irvine if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in computer engineering. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the computer engineering program at University of California - Irvine make $2,973 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from University of California - Irvine

4
45 Annual Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in computer engineering. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from University of Southern California

5
158 Annual Graduates
$111,560 Median Starting Salary
$39,804 Median Student Debt

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Computer Engineering bachelor's degree recipients from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo get an earnings boost of around $34,721 over the average income of computer engineering majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

6
96 Annual Graduates

UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from University of California - Los Angeles

7

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Davis.

Bachelor's recipients from the computer engineering degree program at University of California - Davis get $19,579 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from University of California - Davis

8

Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a large student population.

Those computer engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Santa Cruz make $3,130 more than the average ce grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from University of California - Santa Cruz

9
219 Annual Graduates
$58,835 Median Starting Salary
$27,935 Median Student Debt

Located in the midsize suburb of Merced, UC Merced is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the ce program state that they receive average early career earnings of $58,835.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from University of California - Merced

10

Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, ce bachelor's recipients typically earn around $76,812 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in computer engineering from San Diego State University

Best Computer Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 119
Oregon 185 28
Nevada 129 148
Hawaii 112 22
Alaska 75 6

View All Rankings >

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

CE Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Computer Engineering 1,896
Software Engineering 370
Other Computer Engineering 28
Computer Hardware Engineering 7

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 3,755
Electrical Engineering 2,417
Civil Engineering 2,174
Biomedical Engineering 998
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 875
Chemical Engineering 846
Industrial Engineering 271
Environmental Engineering 259
Other Engineering 211
Materials Engineering 201

Notes and References

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