UC Davis College of Engineering

What UC Davis College of Engineering does

UC Davis College of Engineering is a public academic college within the University of California, Davis (a state-supported institution governed by the UC Regents), founded in 1962 and headquartered in Davis, California, with an expanding footprint at Aggie Square in Sacramento. It delivers ABET-accredited engineering education across 8 academic departments (Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), 13 undergraduate majors, 11 graduate programs, and 6,006 enrolled students, and reports $118.6M in annual research expenditures and a 36,975-strong living alumni network across 80 countries. Its strategic research agenda is organized around three platforms — Intelligent Systems and Automation (ML/AI), Tools at the Nano- and Micro-Scales (CNM2), and four application thrusts in energy, climate, mobility, and human health — supported by capital-intensive core facilities including CNM2, the Center for Geotechnical Modeling (9-m and 1-m centrifuges with shaking tables), Tech Foundry, the Center for Molecular and Genomic Imaging, the UC Davis Coffee Center, the Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center, and the Center for Animal Locomotion and Innovation.

The college's "products" are degree programs, sponsored research, and access to specialized facilities, delivered through a hybrid model that combines direct-to-consumer student recruitment, community-led outreach via Engineering Ambassadors and peer mentoring programs (LEADR, AvenueE, E-SEARCH), and enterprise-style corporate engagement via the Development and External Relations office and a Dean's Executive Committee of senior executives. Revenue mechanics are correspondingly heterogeneous and not commercial in the traditional sense: tuition is set centrally by the UC Regents, federal and state research grants fund the $118.6M research expenditure base, gifts and endowments are channeled through the UC Davis Foundation (online, stock, IRA, planned giving), and a smaller fee-for-service stream is generated from facility use at CNM2, Tech Foundry, the Coffee Center, and affiliated campuses such as the Tahoe Environmental Research Center. Direct Sound Printing (DSP), the QuIST program, and AI-driven applications such as the "Rewriting Macbeth" conflict-de-escalation game and a food-swap nutritional model illustrate that internal R&D is being translated into both pedagogical content and pre-commercial prototypes, with clinical translation paths via UC Davis Health.

Name

UC Davis College of Engineering

Legal name

UC Davis College of Engineering

Website

https://engineering.ucdavis.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

UC Davis College of Engineering is a public academic college within the University of California system that delivers ABET-accredited engineering degrees across eight departments and 13 majors, conducts $118.6M in annual research, and operates capital-intensive facilities serving students, federal sponsors, industry partners, and a 36,975-alumni network across 80 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education - Engineering

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Engineering/Polytechnic Emphasis (EDAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Engineering education programs
• Engineering research facilities
• Undergraduate engineering degrees
• Graduate engineering programs
• Applied research centers

Headquarters

HQ city

Davis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Gifts and Private Donations: Tax-deductible charitable contributions from alumni, companies and friends, accepted via online giving, phone, mail, wire transfer, stock, IRA, planned gifts/bequests, real property and gifts-in-kind. Gifts may be designated to specific funds, departments, or unrestricted for the College's top priorities; both endowment and current-use funds are supported.
2. Research Expenditures: $118.6M in annual research expenditures drawn from federal agencies (NSF, NIH, USDA, NASA), state and industry sponsored research, and intramural programs such as the Next Level Research Awards. Funding supports the From Labs to Lives research translation effort.
3. Sponsored Research and Industry Partnerships: Industry-sponsored research agreements, sponsored senior design/capstone projects in Materials Science and Engineering, Corporate Branding Opportunities, Use of Research Facilities, and fee-for-service work at the Center for Nano-MicroManufacturing (CNM2) and Tech Foundry.
4. Facility and Equipment Use Fees: Usage-based revenue from College-managed and campus-managed facilities including the Center for Nano-MicroManufacturing (CNM2), Tech Foundry, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, UC Davis Coffee Center, Center for Animal Locomotion and Innovation, Western Cooling Efficiency Center, and the Renewable Energy Anaerobic Digester (partnered with CleanWorld).

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

UC Davis College of Engineering delivers ABET-accredited undergraduate and graduate engineering education across 13 majors and 11 graduate programs in 8 departments, supported by $118.6M in annual research expenditures and a network of specialized facilities. The college also conducts sponsored research for industry and federal agency partners and operates facility-use services (CNM2, Tech Foundry, Center for Geotechnical Modeling, UC Davis Coffee Center, Center for Animal Locomotion and Innovation, Western Cooling Efficiency Center) that external clients can access on a fee-for-service basis.

Product overview

UC Davis College of Engineering is an academic platform organized around eight engineering departments that together deliver 13 undergraduate majors, 10 minors, and 11 graduate programs, supported by an integrated ecosystem of research centers, student-facing programs, and design/manufacturing facilities. The college's portfolio is structured as core academic departments (e.g., Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) each with its own degree programs, complemented by cross-cutting research facilities (UC Davis Coffee Center, Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center, Center for Nano and Micro Manufacturing CNM2, Space Technology Research Institute / HOME, Tech Foundry, Center for Molecular and Genomic Imaging), and student-success and entrepreneurship programs (LEADR Support Program, AvenueE Program, Student Startup Center, Engineering Design Showcase, E-SEARCH research mentoring). These offerings tie together through the Next Level Strategic Vision's three pillars of Research, Education, and Community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UC Davis Coffee Center: The first multidisciplinary university research center dedicated to advancing coffee research and education; a center of excellence within the College of Engineering.
• Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center (ESDC)
• Center for Nano and Micro Manufacturing (CNM2)
• Center for Molecular and Genomic Imaging (CMGI)
• Tech Foundry
• Aggie Engineer

Products and services

• Undergraduate Engineering Degree Programs ABET-accredited bachelor's degree programs across 13 majors in Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Science and Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, and Biological Systems Engineering; offered to prospective first-year, transfer, and international students.
• Graduate Engineering Degree Programs M.S., M.ENG., and Ph.D. programs across 11 graduate offerings in the College of Engineering, providing funded research opportunities, mentoring, and advanced coursework for domestic and international applicants.
• Sponsored Research and Industry Partnerships Industry-sponsored research agreements, sponsored senior design/capstone projects in Materials Science and Engineering, and Corporate Branding Opportunities offered to corporate partners through the Development and External Relations office and Corporate Relations team.
• Center for Nano-MicroManufacturing (CNM2) Fabrication Services Fee-for-service access to state-of-the-art micro-nanofabrication equipment, processes, and services — including nanometer-scale lithography, deposition, etching, and characterization — for UC Davis faculty, students, private companies, and external researchers.
• Tech Foundry Device Design and Manufacturing Services Design and manufacturing services for UC Davis faculty, students, private companies, and individuals at two locations (Genome and Biomedical Sciences Facility on the Davis campus and Aggie Square on the Sacramento campus); completes more than 500 projects and produces 2,500 objects each year.
• UC Davis Coffee Center The first multidisciplinary university research center dedicated to coffee research and education and the first academic research and teaching facility in the U.S. entirely dedicated to the study of coffee; provides research, teaching, and industry engagement services.
• Center for Geotechnical Modeling Facility Services Access to world-class geotechnical modeling facilities, including 9-m and 1-m radius centrifuges with shaking tables, to enable research on the performance of soil and soil-structure systems under earthquake, wave, wind, and storm surge loadings.
• Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC) Research, development, and commercialization services for efficient heating, cooling, and energy distribution solutions through stakeholder engagement, innovation, R&D, education, and outreach.
• Western Center for Agricultural Equipment (WCAE) An 18,000-square-foot teaching, research, and outreach facility with agricultural fields and equipment storage, supporting 300+ students, 25 researchers, and approximately 500 visitors to outreach programs and events.
• Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center (ESDC) Provides manufacturing education, resources, and support for engineering students of every discipline working on class projects, research, independent study, and student design competition clubs.
• Corporate Branding Opportunities and Industry Engagement Corporate branding, recruiting, and engagement programs that connect companies with engineering students, faculty, and research; delivered through the Development and External Relations office.
• LEADR Support Program A student-support program providing advising, mentoring, and community-building resources for undergraduate engineering students, including a LEADR Summer Bridge program.
• AvenueE Program Student success initiative within the College of Engineering providing dedicated program coordination and academic support for participating engineering undergraduates.
• Student Startup Center College of Engineering entrepreneurship hub that supports student founders through mentoring, programs, and infrastructure integrated with the broader UC Davis entrepreneurship ecosystem.
• E-SEARCH Research Mentoring Program Research mentoring program that links undergraduates considering graduate study or research careers in engineering with Ph.D. students conducting active research projects, broadening participation in engineering advanced study.
• Engineering Design Showcase An annual hands-on engineering showcase where undergraduate teams present design and build projects completed for class, research, independent study, and student design competition clubs.
• Biomedical Engineering Summer Program for High School Students Annual summer program offering hands-on labs and AR/poster activities for high school students at Tech Foundry at Aggie Square; offered in two summer sessions (July 20-24, 2026 and July 27-31, 2026).

Quantifiable outcome

• $118.6M in annual research expenditures
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

34 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BrioPryme Biologics, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrioPryme Biologics, represented by investigator Wenting Gao, is an industry co-developer on the College of Engineering's Next Level Research Award project 'Building a Pipeline for the Next Generation of Biomedical Engineering Entrepreneurs,' which expands a clinical immersion and entrepreneurship program at Aggie Square into a two-year pathway.
• UC Davis Health Department of SurgerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-campus collaborator on the Direct Sound Printing (DSP) Next Level Research Award project led by Mohsen Habibi (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) and Aijun Wang (UC Davis Health Department of Surgery), with the team pursuing noninvasive 3D printing of tissues inside the body beginning with clinical trials.
• UC Davis MIND InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with the Imaging Headset Next Level Research Award team (Iman Soltani, Parisa Emami, Robert Zawadzki) to recruit younger individuals for retinal imaging of ocular diseases, including neurodivergent children.
• UC Berkeley and Stanford UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFaculty partners for the Northern California Aerospace Symposium (NCAS), building off the momentum of Bay Area Aero Fest and connecting aerospace engineering faculty from UC Davis, UC Berkeley and Stanford University.
• CleanWorldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner for the Renewable Energy Anaerobic Digester (READ), which converts food and yard waste into clean energy feeding the UC Davis campus electrical grid.
• HDMI Licensing Administrator (Rob Tobias, Chair)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDean's Executive Committee chaired by Rob Tobias (B.S. '86 Electrical Engineering), CEO of HDMI Licensing Administrator; committee assists the college through advocacy, prospective donor identification and cultivation, and personal philanthropy.
• Origin Materials (John Bissell)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-Founder & Co-CEO John Bissell (B.S. '08 Chemical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee, supporting advocacy, donor cultivation, and philanthropy.
• Keysight Technologies (Andy Botka)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVice President of Strategic Planning Andy Botka (B.S. '87 Electrical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting donor identification, cultivation, and personal philanthropy.
• Lumentum (Michael Hurlston)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresident and CEO Michael Hurlston (B.S. '88, M.S. '91 Electrical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Enovix (Harrold Rust)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoFounder and Former CEO Harrold Rust (B.S. '83 Mechanical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Sandia National Laboratories (Carolyn Pura)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetired Engineering Manager Carolyn Pura (B.S. '77, M.S. '79 Mechanical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Rose McCallen)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior Staff Manager Rose McCallen (M.S. '84, Ph.D. '93 Mechanical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Exponent (Robert Caligiuri)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior Fellow & Principal Engineer Robert Caligiuri (B.S. '73 Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• AT&T Services, Inc. (Mike Coffey)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetired Senior Vice President Mike Coffey (B.S. '84 Electrical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Rubrik, Inc. (April Fallon)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVice President of Engineering Operations April Fallon (B.S. '89 Civil Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• San Diego Gas & Electric (Pam Fair)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetired Vice President Pam Fair (B.S. '80 Chemical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• EY Americas (Kenneth Englund)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology Sector Growth Leader Kenneth Englund (B.S. '90 Mechanical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Skye Global AI (Layton Han)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder Layton Han (B.S. '88 Mechanical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• ICF (John Wasson)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Wasson (B.S. '84 Chemical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• AgTonomy (Tim Bucher)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO and Co-Founder Tim Bucher serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Greenbush Capital LLC (Jeff Bush)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner Jeff Bush (B.S. '79 Mechanical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• d1n0 (Richard Chuang)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRichard Chuang (B.S. '79 Electrical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Gulf Coast Energy Advisors (Thomas Chunat)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder and Principal Thomas Chunat (B.S. '86 Chemical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Fresh Look Strategies (Tim Jellison)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrincipal Tim Jellison (B.S. '83, M.S. '84 Mechanical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Workin.com (John Weinberg)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOO John Weinberg (B.S. '70 Mechanical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• Rincaro LLC (Earl Rennison)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder, CEO and Managing Director Earl Rennison (B.S. '88 Electrical Engineering) serves on the Dean's Executive Committee supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• TA Associates (Michael Child)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior Advisor Michael Child (B.S. '76 Electrical Engineering) serves as Dean's Executive Committee Member Emeritus supporting advocacy and philanthropy.
• ABET (Engineering Accreditation Commission)coreOthersThe UC Davis College of Engineering voluntarily undergoes periodic ABET accreditation reviews for nearly all of its 12 ABET-listed programs (Aerospace Science and Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering), making public Program Educational Objectives, Student Outcomes, accreditation status, and enrollment/degrees data.
• Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis (ITS-Davis)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampus-managed facility affiliated with the College of Engineering; hosts the National Center on Sustainable Transportation since 2013, awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
• Energy and Efficiency Institute (EEI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampus-managed institute affiliated with the College of Engineering; advances impactful energy and energy efficiency solutions.
• Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampus-managed facility dedicated to interdisciplinary research and education on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
• UC Davis Orthopedic Surgery and PediatricscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical collaborators (Blaine Andrew Christiansen, Orthopedic Surgery; James Paul Marcin, Pediatrics) on the Direct Sound Printing Next Level Research Award project.
• UC Davis Ophthalmology and Vision SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical collaborators (Parisa Emami, Robert Zawadzki) on the Imaging Headset for Diagnosis and Treatment Planning of Ocular Diseases in Children project.
• UC Davis Pediatric Endocrinology (Stephanie Crossen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-disciplinary collaborator on the 'Turning Disabilities into an Advantage Through AI' Next Level Research Award project led by Sam King (Computer Science).

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• UC Berkeley College of Engineering: The flagship engineering college within the University of California system; directly comparable to UC Davis CoE in public R1 mission, department structure, ABET accreditation, research expenditure scale, faculty quality and California employer pipeline. Berkeley is the most direct head-to-head competitor for students, faculty, and federal funding.
• University of Michigan College of Engineering: One of the largest U.S. public engineering colleges with broad ABET-accredited program coverage, deep industry partnership network, and substantial federal research portfolio — a like-for-like benchmark for UC Davis CoE on scale and structure.
• UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering: UC system engineering peer with strong biomedical, nano and computer science programs analogous to UC Davis CoE's portfolio. Competes directly for federal funding and California industry partnerships, particularly in biotech and semiconductor-adjacent research.
• Purdue University College of Engineering: Top-ranked large public engineering school with comparable ABET-accredited portfolio, strong aerospace and industrial engineering programs, and similar land-grant research mission. Competes with UC Davis CoE for top students and industry-sponsored senior design projects.
• Georgia Tech College of Engineering: Large public engineering college with similarly strong industry partnerships, cooperative education model, and NSF/NIH funding profile. Comparable in scale, structure, and ABET-accredited program breadth to UC Davis CoE.
• Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering: Top private R1 engineering school with elite computer science, biomedical and materials programs. Comparable to UC Davis CoE's computer science, ECE and biomedical engineering departments; competes for top applicants and federal funding in those disciplines.
• Caltech Division of Engineering and Applied Science: Small but elite California engineering school with deep federal funding ties (NASA/JPL) and high-impact per-faculty research output. Comparable to UC Davis CoE in specialty centers, quantum and aerospace research and California-resident applicant pool.
• UCLA Samueli School of Engineering: Another major UC public engineering school with comparable ABET-accredited departments, comparable research scale, and a similar mandate for California talent development. UCLA is a direct competitor for Southern California-bound students and for federal funding awards in similar disciplines.

Broad incumbents

• MIT School of Engineering: Largest U.S. engineering school by research expenditure; competes with UC Davis CoE for top faculty hires, federal grant dollars (especially NSF, NIH), and prestige-recognition signals. Relevant as a benchmark for research scale and commercialization outcomes.
• Stanford University School of Engineering: Top private research university engineering school. While not a direct UC peer on price or admissions, Stanford competes for the same federal grants, faculty recruits, and Silicon Valley industry sponsorships, and is the dominant benchmark for employer brand recognition that UC Davis alumni (Google, Apple, Intel, Amazon) ultimately feed into.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ucdavismba
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/UCDavisEngineering
• Facebookfacebook.com/ucdavismba
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uc-davis-college-of-engineering
• Instagraminstagram.com/ucdavisengineering

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UC Davis College of Engineering