Workforce
Orange County has one of the largest and most educated workforces in the United States at nearly 1.6 million strong with over 40% of residents holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. Across all industries and skill levels, the talent you need is here.
Orange County also has nine community colleges that offer programs and certifications in 21st century occupations such as biomanufacturing technician, computer systems analyst, fuel cell technician, and many more. Its K-12 school system has one of the highest graduation and college enrollment rates in California. A quick search ranking California’s best school districts and high schools will always produce one, if not several, from Orange County. Fully recognizing that talent will be the key to economic success in the 21st century, every public high school in Orange County has programs to prepare students for the workforce before they even receive their high school diploma.
Universities
Orange County is home to universities nationally recognized by U.S. News and World Report, including University of California, Irvine, California State University, Fullerton, and Chapman University, and boasts a strong network of private universities. With more than 30 accredited colleges and universities educating over 350,000 students and conferring nearly 14,500 STEM related bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees every year, Orange County continues to build an army of talent that very few places can match.
Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the 8th Best Public University in the Nation, University of California, Irvine (UCI) allows for 88 bachelor, 82 master, and 50 doctoral programs. Many specific disciplines within UCI are ranked as well, including the 25th best computer science program, 38th best engineering school and 57th best business school in the world. UCI also holds top 50 status in the graduate programs of biomedical engineering, computer engineering, medicine-research, materials science engineering, electrical engineering and chemical engineering.
The largest California State University campus in California with more than 40,000 students and ranked the 4th best regional Public University in the West means that California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) provides a quality education to match its massive size. In those same rankings, CSUF placed exceptionally high in computer engineering (3rd) and civil engineering (7th) and is nationally recognized for its master’s in business (17th) and engineering (25th) programs.
For a smaller private school experience, Chapman University offers 65 bachelor, 53 master, and 6 doctoral programs. Chapman is in the top 125 of the leading private and public research universities in the U.S. Its business school is ranked 77th in the nation and it also offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the areas of data analytics, computer information systems, biochemistry and molecular biology and chemistry.