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Best Colleges for Civil Engineering

50 Civil Engineering programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Civil Engineering, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $108,548. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$108,548	$14,342	106	94.6
2	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	Master's Degree	$108,826	$12,168	41	92
3	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$106,308	$8,125	34	89.6
4	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	Master's Degree	$112,223	$20,500	57	89
5	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Master's Degree	$106,004	$15,564	45	88.7
6	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Master's Degree	$106,894	$19,591	74	88
7	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$97,790	$16,500	277	86.6
8	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Master's Degree	$107,621	—	248	85.3
9	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	Master's Degree	$120,234	—	44	85.2
10	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$101,072	$20,424	130	85.1
11	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Master's Degree	$114,115	—	47	85
12	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$130,675	—	37	85
13	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$103,685	$20,500	90	84.9
14	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	Master's Degree	$99,698	$19,050	89	84.9
15	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$95,854	$13,274	124	84.8
16	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	Master's Degree	$111,544	—	57	84.8
17	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$95,939	$16,000	127	84.4
18	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$97,092	$17,529	87	83.9
19	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$96,354	$17,816	123	83.6
20	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$106,415	—	101	83.6
21	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	Master's Degree	$110,863	—	38	82.9
22	Manhattan College Riverdale, NY	Master's Degree	$119,967	—	25	82.8
23	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	Master's Degree	$111,986	—	27	82.4
24	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	Master's Degree	$108,638	—	34	81.8
25	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$95,865	$19,832	227	81.3
26	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Doctoral Degree	$110,992	—	24	81.3
27	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$120,651	—	13	81.1
28	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$97,123	$19,834	75	81.1
29	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	Master's Degree	$99,226	$21,044	65	79.9
30	Villanova University Villanova, PA	Master's Degree	$108,449	—	24	79.7
31	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	Master's Degree	$103,586	$20,500	26	79.7
32	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$105,199	—	34	78.8
33	The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$108,466	—	18	78.7
34	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$93,973	$18,000	145	78.6
35	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	Master's Degree	$110,821	—	11	78.6
36	Stanford University Stanford, CA	Master's Degree	$112,118	$34,030	137	78.5
37	Northeastern University Boston, MA	Master's Degree	$100,767	—	64	78.4
38	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	Master's Degree	$108,995	—	11	78.4
39	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$94,760	$16,500	73	78.3
40	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$95,271	$19,875	143	78.3
41	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$108,246	—	18	78.1
42	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Master's Degree	$95,761	$20,500	85	77.4
43	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	Bachelor's Degree	$94,960	$19,318	81	77.3
44	Northeastern University Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$100,613	$24,750	89	77
45	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$105,594	—	20	76.9
46	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Master's Degree	$108,274	$28,780	162	76.9
47	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	Master's Degree	$111,924	$32,685	84	76.8
48	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Master's Degree	$103,656	$26,500	123	76.7
49	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	Master's Degree	$108,193	—	5	76.4
50	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	Master's Degree	$105,565	—	18	76.2

🔍 Filter Civil Engineering by state & degree level →

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Civil Engineering field (CIP 14.08) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Civil Engineering programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Civil Engineering program?+

By our outcome score, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 for Civil Engineering, with median graduate earnings of $108,548.

How are these Civil Engineering programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Civil Engineering programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.