Academic Index Last updated: June 23, 2026

20 Best Universities in California for Entrepreneurship

If you are looking to study Entrepreneurship in California, our index highlights the top 20 domain-leading institutions. Based on 2.65M scholarly articles and 131.99M peer-reviewed citations, we reveal the best research labs driving innovation in Entrepreneurship. This targeted approach bypasses general university reputation, directly revealing the strongest programs.

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Field of Study

Sub-Branch

1

Stanford

Stanford University

#2 in United States #2 in North America

4% Acceptance

47,335 Enrollment

1545 Avg SAT

1885 Founded

2

Berkeley

University of California – Berkeley

#5 in United States #5 in North America

11% Acceptance

26,133 Enrollment

1175 Avg SAT

1868 Founded

3

Los Angeles

University of California – Los Angeles

#11 in United States #11 in North America

9% Acceptance

37,297 Enrollment

1500 Avg SAT

1919 Founded

4

Los Angeles

University of Southern California

#22 in United States #23 in North America

10% Acceptance

47,335 Enrollment

1500 Avg SAT

1880 Founded

5

Santa Cruz

University of California – Santa Cruz

#84 in United States #96 in North America

66% Acceptance

45,882 Enrollment

1535 Avg SAT

1965 Founded

6

San Diego

University of California-San Diego

#20 in United States #21 in North America

27% Acceptance

47,335 Enrollment

1500 Avg SAT

1960 Founded

7

Davis

University of California – Davis

#28 in United States #30 in North America

42% Acceptance

25,685 Enrollment

1545 Avg SAT

1905 Founded

8

Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University

#205 in United States #232 in North America

48% Acceptance

37,661 Enrollment

1420 Avg SAT

1851 Founded

9

Irvine

University of California – Irvine

#43 in United States #46 in North America

29% Acceptance

47,335 Enrollment

1500 Avg SAT

1965 Founded

10

Santa Barbara

University of California – Santa Barbara

#55 in United States #59 in North America

33% Acceptance

45,882 Enrollment

1535 Avg SAT

1921 Founded

11

San Diego

San Diego State University

#124 in United States #143 in North America

36% Acceptance

42,003 Enrollment

1125 Avg SAT

1897 Founded

12

Monterey

Naval Postgraduate School

#231 in United States #260 in North America

23% Acceptance

837 Enrollment

1335 Avg SAT

1909 Founded

13

Los Angeles

Loyola Marymount University

#266 in United States #297 in North America

45% Acceptance

1,006 Enrollment

1345 Avg SAT

1911 Founded

14

Pomona

California State Polytechnic University – Pomona

#321 in United States #357 in North America

75% Acceptance

38,313 Enrollment

1525 Avg SAT

1938 Founded

15

Los Angeles

California State University – Los Angeles

#278 in United States #309 in North America

91% Acceptance

38,313 Enrollment

1350 Avg SAT

1947 Founded

16

Malibu

Pepperdine University

#275 in United States #306 in North America

63% Acceptance

1,006 Enrollment

1370 Avg SAT

1937 Founded

17

San Francisco

University of San Francisco

#234 in United States #264 in North America

62% Acceptance

12,326 Enrollment

1290 Avg SAT

1855 Founded

18

Los Angeles

California State University – Northridge

#206 in United States #233 in North America

93% Acceptance

23,163 Enrollment

1525 Avg SAT

1958 Founded

19

San Francisco

San Francisco State University

#184 in United States #208 in North America

96% Acceptance

5,891 Enrollment

1290 Avg SAT

1899 Founded

20

San Jose, CA

San Jose State University

#168 in United States #192 in North America

85% Acceptance

22,563 Enrollment

1420 Avg SAT

1857 Founded