These are the 10 best national universities in the state of California from the 2010 edition of America's Best Colleges rankings. Here is some key information about each of these universities, which offer a full range of undergraduate majors, as well as master's and doctoral degrees; many strongly emphasize research.
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
U.S. News rank: 4 (tie) Tier: 1
Institutional type: private
Setting: suburban
Total enrollment: 2,126
Tuition and fees: $34,584
Stanford University, Stanford
U.S. News rank: 4 (tie) Tier: 1
Institutional type: private
Setting: suburban
Total enrollment: 17,833
Tuition and fees: $37,881
University of California—Berkeley,Berkeley
U.S. News rank: 21 Tier: 1
Institutional type: public
Setting: urban
Total enrollment: 35,409
Tuition and fees: In-state: $8,352; Out-of-state: $30,022
University of California—Los Angeles, Los Angeles
U.S. News rank: 24 Tier: 1
Institutional type: public
Setting: urban
Total enrollment: 39,650
Tuition and fees: In-state: $8,228; Out-of-state: $29,897
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
U.S. News rank: 26 Tier: 1
Institutional type: private
Setting: urban
Total enrollment: 33,747
Tuition and fees: $39,124
University of California—San Diego, La Jolla
U.S. News rank: 35 Tier: 1
Institutional type: public
Setting: urban
Total enrollment: 27,520
Tuition and fees: In-state: $8,798; Out-of-state: $30,819
University of California—Davis, Davis
U.S. News rank: 42 (tie) Tier: 1
Institutional type: public
Setting: urban
Total enrollment: 30,568
Tuition and fees: $9,364; Out-of-state: $31,385
University of California—Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara
U.S. News rank: 42 (tie) Tier: 1
Institutional type: public
Setting: suburban
Total enrollment: 21,868
Tuition and fees: In-state: $9,055; Out-of-state: $30,724
University of California—Irvine, Irvine
U.S. News rank: 46 Tier: 1
Institutional type: public
Setting: suburban
Total enrollment: 26,984
Tuition and fees: In-state: $8,775; Out-of-state: $28,796
Pepperdine University, Malibu
U.S. News rank: 58 Tier: 1
Institutional type: private
Setting: suburban
Total enrollment: 7,614
Tuition and fees: $37,850
Want more information on these or other schools? Get our complete rankings of America's Best Colleges.
Reader Comments Read all comments (1)
N. Sadeddin 1:22PM October 08, 2010