Get my odds
Davis, CA · Civil engineering

Civil engineering at UC Davis

UC Davis graduates about 130 civil engineering majors a year, 1% of its graduating class. That puts it 2nd of 255 schools we score for civil engineering, a standout program at 97 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $96,000 four years out, 1.13× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $40 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

97/100Standout#2 of 255 for civil engineering →
Graduates a year1301% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$96,0001.13× the same major nationally
Research in the field$40Ma year, NSF
Admit rate44%whole school

Around UC Davis

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District’s commander Col. Bill Leady and
District leaders discuss career, internship opportunities at UC Davis Night withPhoto: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District · Public domain · source
UC Davis Health Stadium, home of the UC Davis Aggies football
UC Davis Health Stadium aerial view 2024Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0 · source
UCD Health Stadium front gate (Gate 1) with tule fog in December 2025
UCDHS Tule FogPhoto: Wasian127 · CC BY 4.0 · source
UC Davis vs Montana State during a home game in the 2024 Season
AgStadium vs Montana State '24Photo: Wasian127 · CC BY 4.0 · source

Where civil engineering happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Engineering Unit 2 Wind Tunnel.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 204 · Student housing 77 · Dorm 48 · Athletics 12 · Arts 6 · Dining 3.

Open the full-screen campus map →

Nearby in the civil engineering ranking

  1. University of California, Berkeley 100
  2. University of Maryland, College Park 95
  3. The University of Texas–Austin 94
  4. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 93
  5. Northeastern University 92

Other strong majors at UC Davis

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares UC Davis with every school we score in civil engineering. It weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

See your odds at UC Davis Everything about UC Davis