2023 Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Astronomy & Astrophysics School for You
In 2020-2021, 251 degrees and certificates were awarded to astronomy and astrophysics students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #175 most popular major in the state.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 5 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for astronomy students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Best California Schools for Affordable Quality in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Our 2023 rankings named San Diego State University the best value school in California for astronomy and astrophysics students. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Diego.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SDSU are $8,136 a year.
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The excellent programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best astronomy and astrophysics schools in California. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $14,226 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, astronomy graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $18,967.
UC Berkeley also made our Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California list, coming in at #3.
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Out of the 5 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCLA are $13,258 per year.
UCLA excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California list.
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The excellent programs at University of California - Santa Cruz helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best astronomy and astrophysics schools in California. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Santa Cruz.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Santa Cruz are $14,070 per year. On average, astronomy graduates from UC Santa Cruz take out $20,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Santa Cruz Report
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The excellent programs at California Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best astronomy and astrophysics schools in California. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Pasadena.
Caltech undergraduate students pay an average of $58,680 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Caltech excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California list.
Request InformationBest Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 70 |
| Nevada | 3 |
| Hawaii | 19 |
| Alaska | 0 |
More Astronomy & Astrophysics Rankings in California
Astronomy & Astrophysics Related Majors for Astronomy
Astronomy & Astrophysics is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | 21,239 |
| Physics | 13,674 |
| Geological & Earth Sciences | 7,821 |
| General Physical Sciences | 3,823 |
| Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology | 1,140 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 5 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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