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2025 Best Applied Mathematics Schools in California

10 Colleges in California
2,130 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
$69,309 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in applied mathematics, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #78 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 10 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for applied mathematics students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 2,130 degrees in applied mathematics to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Applied Mathematics School

Best Applied Mathematics Schools in California Your choice of applied mathematics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Applied Mathematics School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Applied Mathematics Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Applied Math
Master's Degrees in Applied Math
Doctor's Degrees in Applied Math

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 Applied Mathematics Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Applied Mathematics in California

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the applied math degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top California Schools in Applied Math

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
339 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
$71,814 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in applied mathematics. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized 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 roughly 339 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Those applied mathematics students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley make $2,505 more than the average applied math grad.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from University of California - Berkeley

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
347 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
$61,188 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in applied mathematics. 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 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 347 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the applied math program report average early career earnings of $61,188.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from University of California - Los Angeles

Sponsored
Bachelors Degree Type
BA in Mathematics Program Name

If you have a knack for mathematics and an interest in learning more, study online to achieve your career goals at Southern New Hampshire University. Our mathematics degree can help you enhance your mathematical abilities, including reasoning and problem-solving in three areas: analysis, algebra and statistics.

More information about a degree in BA in Mathematics from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
295 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
26.8% Growth in Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in applied mathematics. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 295 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Applied Mathematics degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of around $2,313 over the typical earnings of applied mathematics majors.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from University of Southern California

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
215 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
20.9% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in applied mathematics needs to check out University of California - Santa Barbara. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #47 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were roughly 215 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the applied math program state that they receive average early career wages of $59,638.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from University of California - Santa Barbara

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
122 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
17.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 122 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. After graduation, applied math degree recipients typically earn about $53,940 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from University of California - Davis

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
265 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
$42,859 Median Starting Salary

UCSD is a very 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 265 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. After graduation, applied math degree recipients typically earn about $42,859 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from University of California - San Diego

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15th Most Popular In CA

UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Santa Cruz. This university ranks 13th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 16 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at UC Santa Cruz in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from University of California - Santa Cruz

Sponsored
Bachelors Degree Type
BA in Mathematics - Applied Mathematics Program Name

Put mathematical concepts to work to solve today's most complex real-world problems by studying applied mathematics with this specialized online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in BA in Mathematics - Applied Mathematics from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
121 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
41.3% Growth in Graduates

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

There were approximately 121 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available. Applied Mathematics degree recipients from University of California - Irvine get an earnings boost of about $8,732 over the typical earnings of applied mathematics majors.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from University of California - Irvine

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
1.9% Growth in Graduates

SDSU is a fairly large public university located in the large city of San Diego. This university ranks 25th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 53 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the applied math program state that they receive average early career wages of $42,856.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from San Diego State University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
39 Applied Math Degrees Awarded
20.5% Growth in Graduates

UC Merced is a medium-sized public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Merced. This university ranks 51st out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 39 applied mathematics students who graduated with this degree at UC Merced in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the applied math program make an average of $39,138 for their early career.

More information about a degree in applied mathematics from University of California - Merced

Best Applied Mathematics Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 364
Oregon 266 93
Nevada 192 0

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Mathematics & Statistics area of study, Applied Mathematics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Applied Math Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Applied Mathematics 1,052
Financial Mathematics 633
Other Applied Mathematics 191
Computational & Applied Mathematics 141
Computational Mathematics 113

View All Applied Math Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Applied Math

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mathematics 6,891
Statistics 1,590
Other Statistics 7
Applied Statistics 3

View All Applied Math Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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