List of colleges and universities in California

This is a list of colleges and universities in California.

Graduate institutions

 * Naval Postgraduate School - (Monterey)

Other academic institutions

 * Defense Language Institute - (Monterey)

Two-year institutions

 * See California Community Colleges System

University of California

 * University of California, Santa Barbara was founded in 1891 as an independent teachers' college. It joined the University of California system in 1944.
 * University of California, Los Angeles was founded in 1882 as the southern branch of the California State Normal School. It joined the University of California system in 1919 as the southern branch of the University of California.

California State University

 * California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo was founded as a vocational high school. It became a vocational school in 1924, and then started awarding bachelor's degrees in 1940.
 * California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, was founded as a southern branch of California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo in 1938, but became independent in 1966.

Defunct institutions

 * Bethany University - Scotts Valley (founded in 1911, closed in 2011)
 * Brooks Institute - Ventura (founded in 1945, closed in 2016)
 * California Pacific University - Pinole (founded in 1976, closed in 2016)
 * Drexel University Sacramento - satellite campus of Drexel University, Sacramento (founded in 2009, closed in 2016)
 * Eldorado College - Escondido (founded in 1961, closed in 1997)
 * ICDC College - Huntington Park (founded in 1995, closed in 2016)
 * Immaculate Heart College - Los Angeles (closed in 1981)
 * National Hispanic University - San Jose (founded in 1981, closed in 2015)
 * San Luis Rey College - Oceanside (founded in 1950, closed in 1968)
 * Silicon Valley University - San Jose (founded in 2015, closed in 2018)
 * University of Northern California, Lorenzo Patiño School of Law - Sacramento
 * University of Northern California - Petaluma (founded in 1993)
 * Upland College - Upland (merged with Messiah College)
 * Windsor University - Los Angeles (closed in 1982)