At a glance · California

  • 29 colleges in California offer a bachelor's computer engineering program; every one of them awarded the degree in 2022-23 (federal IPEDS completions).
  • Largest programs by graduates in 2022-23: San Jose State University (251), University of California-Irvine (237), University of California-Merced (215).
  • Hardest reported gate into the program (only the UC and the CSU publish one): University of California-Los Angeles — Computer Engineering, Fall 2025: 1,709 applied, 81 admitted (5%).
  • Highest reported admit rate into the program: California State University-San Bernardino — 95.3% (381 applied, 363 admitted, Fall 2025).
  • Highest median earnings four years after the degree: University of California-Los Angeles, $228,705.
  • Lowest average net price with aid: California State University-San Bernardino, $4,564 per year.

Every California public campus on this page reports a first-year computer engineering row, so students apply to the major from the start instead of entering as a pre-major. A college that shows no admit rate is one the federal data covers on earnings only, which means the number is missing, not that the program is open. Admits are not enrollees. At most UC programs students are admitted to the campus, not the major. This page as JSON → · All 330 colleges nationwide →

Hardest reported gate

5%
University of California-Los Angeles
Computer Engineering, Fall 2025: 1,709 applied, 81 admitted

Highest reported admit rate

95.3%
California State University-San Bernardino
Computer Engineering, Fall 2025: 381 applied, 363 admitted

Highest earnings, 4 yrs out

$228,705
University of California-Los Angeles
median, graduates of this program

Lowest net price with aid

$4,564
California State University-San Bernardino
average for aid recipients, per year

Every college, one row each

Colleges with a reported gate into the program come first, hardest first; the rest are sorted by earnings, then by graduates. Degree awarded is the program the college conferred bachelor's degrees in during 2022-23, with the number of graduates (federal IPEDS completions). Program admit rate is the college system's own number for this major (UC Information Center, CSU Chancellor's Office). Net price is the average paid by aid recipients; full price is the cost of attendance. Earnings are federal College Scorecard medians four years after the degree.

College Gate into the program Degree awarded
· graduates 2022-23
Program
admit rate
Campus
admit rate
Net price
with aid
Full
price
Earnings
4 yrs out
University of California-Los Angeles
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 1,709 applied, 81 admitted · admit GPA 4.24–4.30
Computer Engineering, General
62 graduates
5% 11% $12,548 $38,614 $228,705
University of California-San Diego
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 2,636 applied, 498 admitted · admit GPA 4.20–4.30
Computer Engineering, General
171 graduates
19% 27% $12,470 $38,701 $149,139
University of California-Irvine
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 1,511 applied, 321 admitted · admit GPA 4.16–4.30
Computer Engineering, General +1
237 graduates
21% 30% $14,251 $38,632 $132,357
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 1,474 applied, 435 admitted
impacted
Computer Engineering, General +1
129 graduates
29.5% 30% $16,665 $32,265 $148,950
University of California-Santa Barbara
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 2,006 applied, 696 admitted · admit GPA 4.17–4.29
Computer Engineering, General
58 graduates
35% 44% $16,109 $41,573 $144,703
University of California-Davis
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 1,250 applied, 472 admitted · admit GPA 4.03–4.28
Computer Engineering, General
101 graduates
38% 46% $14,741 $41,238 $145,422
San Diego State University
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 1,142 applied, 582 admitted
impacted
Computer Engineering, General
122 graduates
51.0% 34% $15,364 $27,780 $116,842
San Jose State University
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 739 applied, 459 admitted
impacted
Computer Software Engineering +1
251 graduates
62.1% 80% $13,760 $26,593 —
California State University-Long Beach
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 846 applied, 566 admitted
impacted
Computer Engineering, General
60 graduates
66.9% 47% $10,440 $22,679 $98,967
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 1,211 applied, 936 admitted
impacted
Computer Engineering, General
114 graduates
77.3% 74% $11,531 $23,955 $100,673
University of California-Santa Cruz
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 1,359 applied, 1,098 admitted · admit GPA 3.83–4.22
Computer Engineering, General +1
121 graduates
81% 82% $17,890 $41,179 $124,641
University of California-Riverside
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 1,442 applied, 1,161 admitted · admit GPA 3.77–4.16
Computer Engineering, General
45 graduates
81% 88% $14,304 $38,942 $107,193
California State University-East Bay
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 264 applied, 221 admitted
Computer Engineering, General
16 graduates
83.7% 97% $9,320 $22,850 —
California State University-Bakersfield
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 308 applied, 263 admitted
Computer Engineering, General
11 graduates
85.4% 88% $5,652 $19,522 $93,797
California State University-Fullerton
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 726 applied, 639 admitted
impacted
Computer Engineering, General
48 graduates
88.0% 87% $6,555 $18,269 $101,408
San Francisco State University
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 378 applied, 334 admitted
Computer Engineering, General
30 graduates
88.4% 96% $12,278 $26,488 $94,129
California State University-Fresno
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 168 applied, 153 admitted
impacted
Computer Engineering, General
15 graduates
91.1% 96% $7,000 $20,095 $103,896
California State University-Sacramento
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 400 applied, 365 admitted
Computer Engineering, General
62 graduates
91.2% 94% $9,338 $22,945 $104,394
California State University-Chico
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 182 applied, 167 admitted
Computer Engineering, General
7 graduates
91.8% 94% $14,480 $26,283 $97,345
California State University-Northridge
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 403 applied, 372 admitted
Computer Engineering, General
39 graduates
92.3% 93% $7,021 $20,485 $101,021
California State University-San Marcos
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 268 applied, 251 admitted
Computer Software Engineering
34 graduates
93.7% 96% $10,229 $21,649 —
California State University-San Bernardino
CA · Public · Test-blind
Computer Engineering
Fall 2025: 381 applied, 363 admitted
Computer Engineering, General
44 graduates
95.3% 98% $4,564 $17,427 $92,492
University of Southern California
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Electrical and Computer Engineering +1
93 graduates
— 10% $32,740 $90,300 $166,369
Santa Clara University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Computer Engineering, General +1
83 graduates
— 44% $50,062 $82,026 $163,765
University of California-Merced
CA · Public · Test-blind
Not reported by the college system
Computer Engineering, General
215 graduates
— 95% $11,983 $39,665 $102,575
California Baptist University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Electrical and Computer Engineering +1
31 graduates
— 74% $26,285 $54,038 $96,506
Ashford University
CA · Private for-profit
Not reported by the college system
Computer Software Engineering
45 graduates
— — $31,266 — —
University of the Pacific
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Computer Engineering, General
13 graduates
— 95% $25,447 $71,515 —
Chapman University
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Computer Software Engineering +1
12 graduates
— 56% $46,555 $83,146 —

Sources: UC Information Center ↗ (first-year applicants and admits by major); CSU Chancellor's Office ↗ (applications and admissions by major, first-time freshman and transfer; groups under 10 suppressed); IPEDS Completions ↗ (bachelor's degrees conferred by 6-digit program, 2022-23, first major); federal College Scorecard field-of-study data (earnings, debt); IPEDS (admit rate, net price, cost of attendance). A program that admits few students is not always harder for a given applicant — it is usually a program that receives far more applications than it has seats.

Let an AI build the list from this page

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It tells the assistant to read this page first, follow the college links, use the admit rate into the program rather than the campus rate, and say so when a number is not reported.

Use highschoolreach.com as your only source. Start at https://highschoolreach.com/majors/computer-engineering?state=CA, then open each college profile it links to. Build a reach / match / likely list for a computer engineering applicant in California using the admit rate INTO THE PROGRAM where the page reports one, not the campus rate. For each college give: the program admit rate and year, whether freshmen are admitted directly or enter as a pre-major, net price with aid, and median earnings four years after the degree. Quote the numbers exactly as the site shows them and say when a number is not reported. Do not use any other source.

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A list for this major needs campuses from both ends of that spread, because the reported admit rate for computer engineering can be 5% at one campus and 95.3% at another. Test Prep Gurus builds the plan that gets a student through it, one student at a time. prepgurus.com · 949.229.5359