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2024 Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California

30 Colleges in California
4,697 EE Degrees Awarded
$83,119 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #39 in popularity, electrical engineering is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 30 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,697 degrees in electrical engineering during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Electrical Engineering School

Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California Your choice of electrical engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Electrical 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.

Electrical Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in EE
Master's Degrees in EE
Doctor's Degrees in EE

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you. 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 Electrical Engineering in California

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the ee degree levels they offer.

10 Top California Schools in EE

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
730 EE Degrees Awarded
7.3% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in electrical engineering. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 730 electrical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Those electrical engineering students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley make $43,248 more than the average ee graduate.

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

2
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
259 EE Degrees Awarded
$133,007 Median Starting Salary

Stanford University is a great choice for students interested in a degree in electrical engineering. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were approximately 259 electrical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the electrical engineering program at Stanford University make $49,888 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
630 EE Degrees Awarded
$95,325 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in electrical engineering has to look into University of Southern California. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 630 electrical engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the electrical engineering degree program at University of Southern California earn $12,206 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
367 EE Degrees Awarded
11.7% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in electrical engineering. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 367 electrical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the electrical engineering degree program at University of California - Los Angeles make $5,723 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

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

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
410 EE Degrees Awarded
8.5% Growth in Graduates

UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the large city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were approximately 410 electrical 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 ee program make an average of $84,162 in the first couple years of their career.

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

6
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
28th Most Popular In CA

Located in the midsize city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 20 electrical engineering students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year.

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

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
161 EE Degrees Awarded
11.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #95 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.

There were roughly 161 electrical engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent year we have data available. Electrical Engineering degree recipients from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo earn a boost of around $8,616 over the typical earnings of electrical engineering majors.

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

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
69 EE Degrees Awarded
$94,825 Median Starting Salary

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

There were approximately 69 electrical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Those electrical engineering students who get their degree from University of California - Davis make $11,706 more than the average ee graduate.

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

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
149 EE Degrees Awarded
$67,396 Median Starting Salary

UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were approximately 149 electrical 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 ee program make an average of $67,396 for their early career.

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

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
152 EE Degrees Awarded
$70,445 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were approximately 152 electrical engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. After graduating, ee degree recipients usually earn about $70,445 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in electrical engineering from University of California - Santa Barbara

Best Electrical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 842
Oregon 266 359
Nevada 192 105
Hawaii 164 69
Alaska 119 32

View All Rankings >

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

EE Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 4,553
Other Electrical Engineering 144

View All EE Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 5,137
Computer Engineering 3,389
Civil Engineering 3,198
Biomedical Engineering 1,744
General Engineering 1,386
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,275
Chemical Engineering 1,136
Systems Engineering 537
Materials Engineering 497
Industrial Engineering 464

View All EE Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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