2025 Best Applied Mathematics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in applied mathematics, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #82 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 9 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Applied Mathematics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,416 bachelor's degrees in applied mathematics to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Applied Mathematics School for Your Bachelor's Degree

The applied math bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to applied mathematics students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other applied mathematics students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for applied mathematics to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized applied mathematics related body.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Applied Mathematics in California

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for applied mathematics students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Applied Math

1

University of California - Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

264 Annual Graduates

$71,814 Median Starting Salary

$25,000 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Applied Mathematics bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley receive an earnings boost of approximately $16,432 over the average earnings of applied mathematics graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from University of California - Berkeley

2

University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

369 Annual Graduates

$61,188 Median Starting Salary

$41,374 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics needs to check out University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.

Those applied mathematics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Los Angeles earn $5,806 more than the average applied math graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from University of California - Los Angeles

3

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

126 Annual Graduates

$71,622 Median Starting Salary

$33,446 Median Student Debt

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the applied mathematics program at University of Southern California make $16,240 above the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from University of Southern California

4

University of California - Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA

184 Annual Graduates

$59,638 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat University of California - Santa Barbara if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics. UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

Those applied mathematics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Santa Barbara receive $4,256 more than the standard applied math graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from University of California - Santa Barbara

5

University of California - Davis
Davis, CA

94 Annual Graduates

$53,940 Median Starting Salary

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

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the applied math program make an average of $53,940 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from University of California - Davis

6

University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, CA

132 Annual Graduates

$42,859 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the applied math program report average early career earnings of $42,859.

More information about a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from University of California - San Diego

7

University of California - Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA

19 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from University of California - Santa Cruz

8

San Diego State University
San Diego, CA

39 Annual Graduates

$42,856 Median Starting Salary

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

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the applied math program state that they receive average early career wages of $42,856.

More information about a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from San Diego State University

9

University of California - Merced
Merced, CA

38 Annual Graduates

$39,138 Median Starting Salary

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

After graduating, applied math bachelor's recipients usually make around $39,138 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from University of California - Merced

Best Applied Mathematics Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	226	176
Oregon	185	14
Nevada	129	0

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Applied Math

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

Applied Math Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
General Applied Mathematics	931
Other Applied Mathematics	162
Financial Mathematics	123
Computational Mathematics	122
Computational & Applied Mathematics	78

Majors Similar to Applied Math

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Mathematics	2,504
Statistics	1,131
Applied Statistics	6
Other Statistics	6

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Steven G. Johnson. More about our data sources and methodologies.