Agricultural Engineering · California

Agricultural Engineering colleges in California

CampusPin lists 267 U.S. colleges in California that offer Agricultural Engineering programs. Compare tuition, acceptance rate, and enrollment in the table below, every figure links back to the institution's official IPEDS data.

Agricultural engineering applies engineering design to farming and food systems, fitting students who want to build the machinery, water systems, and facilities behind food, feed, and fiber.

Schools in California that offer Agricultural Engineering

Agricultural Engineering programs in California: by the numbers

A quick comparison of the 50 schools (of 267 total) listed above, drawn from each institution's published IPEDS data.

Schools listed

267

Public / private

24 / 26

Universities / 2-year

44 / 6

Cities represented

39

In-state tuition range

$1,104–$57,946

Median in-state tuition

$10,217

Lowest published in-state tuition

Barstow Community College

$1,104

Most selective

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

30% acceptance

Largest by enrollment

California State University-Fullerton

41,793 students

Figures reflect the schools currently listed and each institution's most recent reported data. Verify current tuition and admissions details with the school before applying.

What you'll study in a Agricultural Engineering program

  • Engineering mechanics, statics, and dynamics applied to agricultural machinery
  • Fluid mechanics and the hydraulics of irrigation and drainage systems
  • Soil and water engineering, including erosion control and conservation practices
  • Design of farm machinery, power transmission, and tractor-implement systems
  • Post-harvest engineering for drying, storage, cleaning, and processing of grain and produce
  • Structures and environmental control for barns, greenhouses, and storage facilities
  • Instrumentation, sensors, and precision-agriculture data collection and mapping
  • Computer-aided design and engineering modeling for equipment and facility layout
  • Capstone design project and laboratory testing of a built system or prototype

Where a Agricultural Engineering degree can lead

  • Agricultural Engineer
  • Biosystems Engineer
  • Irrigation Engineer
  • Food Process Engineer
  • Machinery Design Engineer
  • Precision Agriculture Specialist

Typical pay: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 agricultural engineers median $84,630).

Agricultural engineering brings engineering design to the production and handling of food, feed, and fiber. Students learn to apply math, physics, and biology to the machines, structures, and systems that grow crops, raise animals, and move harvests from field to market. Coursework spans the strength and motion of machinery, the flow and storage of water, soil behavior, the design of barns and grain facilities, and the equipment used to clean, dry, and process raw products. Many programs add a biological-systems track that treats living plants and animals as part of the engineered system, which is why some departments use the name biosystems engineering. Unlike agronomy or animal science, which study the crops and livestock themselves, agricultural engineering focuses on designing and evaluating the hardware, water systems, and facilities that make production work; and unlike broad environmental engineering, its center of gravity sits squarely on agricultural land, irrigation, and the food supply chain.

The standard credential is a bachelor's degree, built on a sequence of calculus, physics, chemistry, and engineering science, with hands-on labs in fluid mechanics, soil and water, and machine design, and usually a senior capstone in which teams design and test a real piece of equipment or a water-management system. Students who plan to offer engineering services to the public or sign off on designs typically pursue professional engineering licensure, which generally involves a fundamentals exam taken near graduation, supervised work experience, and a later practice exam; whether a given program meets the educational requirement for licensure should be verified directly, and programmatic accreditation may also matter for that path. Graduates work for equipment and machinery manufacturers, irrigation and drainage firms, food and grain processors, soil and water conservation agencies, and consulting practices, often splitting time between field sites, fabrication shops, and the design office.

In federal data for the closely related occupation of agricultural engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $84,630 and projects employment to grow about 5.9% from 2024 to 2034; a bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.

Agricultural Engineering in other states

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Find more Agricultural Engineering schools

Use CampusPin's filter-first search to narrow 267+ Agricultural Engineering programs in California by tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting.

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