Academic Index Last updated: June 23, 2026

9 Best Universities in California for Artificial Intelligence (AI)

If you are looking to study Artificial Intelligence (AI) in California, our index highlights the top 9 domain-leading institutions. To determine these leaders, we isolated 2.56M specialized research publications which collectively generated 132.97M citations. This targeted approach bypasses general university reputation, directly revealing the strongest programs.

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1

Stanford

Stanford University

For Artificial Intelligence (AI)

#1 in United States #1 in North America

4% Acceptance

47,335 Enrollment

1545 Avg SAT

1885 Founded

2

Berkeley

University of California – Berkeley

For Artificial Intelligence (AI)

#2 in United States #2 in North America

11% Acceptance

26,133 Enrollment

1175 Avg SAT

1868 Founded

3

Los Angeles

University of California – Los Angeles

For Artificial Intelligence (AI)

#9 in United States #10 in North America

9% Acceptance

37,297 Enrollment

1500 Avg SAT

1919 Founded

4

San Diego

University of California-San Diego

For Artificial Intelligence (AI)

#12 in United States #13 in North America

27% Acceptance

47,335 Enrollment

1500 Avg SAT

1960 Founded

5

Los Angeles

University of Southern California

For Artificial Intelligence (AI)

#15 in United States #16 in North America

10% Acceptance

47,335 Enrollment

1500 Avg SAT

1880 Founded

6

Pasadena, CA

California Institute of Technology

For Artificial Intelligence (AI)

#28 in United States #30 in North America

3% Acceptance

26,133 Enrollment

1535 Avg SAT

1891 Founded

7

Irvine

University of California – Irvine

For Artificial Intelligence (AI)

#35 in United States #40 in North America

29% Acceptance

47,335 Enrollment

1500 Avg SAT

1965 Founded

8

Davis

University of California – Davis

For Artificial Intelligence (AI)

#36 in United States #41 in North America

42% Acceptance

25,685 Enrollment

1545 Avg SAT

1905 Founded

9

Santa Barbara

University of California – Santa Barbara

For Artificial Intelligence (AI)

#40 in United States #46 in North America

33% Acceptance

45,882 Enrollment

1535 Avg SAT

1921 Founded