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2025 Best Computer Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

22 Colleges in California
2,214 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. Combined, these schools handed out 2,214 bachelor's degrees in computer engineering to qualified students.

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 consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different 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 schools 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 pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in computer engineering needs to take a look at Santa Clara University. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.

Bachelor's recipients from the computer engineering major at Santa Clara University get $26,965 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

2

University of California - San Diego is a wonderful choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in computer engineering. Located in the 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 earn $19,417 more than the typical ce student.

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

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

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

Bachelor's recipients from the computer engineering major at University of California - Irvine earn $2,973 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

4
34 Annual Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in computer engineering. Located in the 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
129 Annual Graduates
$111,560 Median Starting Salary
$39,804 Median Student Debt

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly 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 earn a boost of about $34,721 over the typical income of computer engineering graduates.

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

6
62 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 very large public university located in the suburb of Davis.

Bachelor's recipients from the computer engineering program at University of California - Davis earn $19,579 above the average college grad with the same degree 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 fairly 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 typical ce grad.

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

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

Located in the medium-sized 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 report average early career income 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 generally earn around $76,812 at the beginning of their careers.

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 1,805
Software Engineering 372
Other Computer Engineering 28
Computer Hardware Engineering 9

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 3,722
Electrical Engineering 2,314
Civil Engineering 2,049
Biomedical Engineering 998
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 899
Chemical Engineering 764
Industrial Engineering 277
Environmental Engineering 234
Other Engineering 178
Materials Engineering 177

Notes and References

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