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Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

5 Colleges
$21,674 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$19,734 Avg Student Debt

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.

2023 Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for astronomy majors pursuing a .

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality in Astronomy & Astrophysics

#1

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

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.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at San Diego State University

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for astronomy and astrophysics students. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year. After completing their degree, astronomy graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $18,967.

UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California rankings.

Full Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Berkeley Report

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great value for astronomy and astrophysics students. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.

UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $13,258 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCLA also did well on our Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

$14,070 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Santa Cruz. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California list. UC Santa Cruz is a 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.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Santa Cruz

$58,680 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in California list. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pasadena.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Caltech are $58,680 per 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.

Full Astronomy & Astrophysics at California Institute of Technology Report

Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 70
Nevada 3
Hawaii 19
Alaska 0

Astronomy & Astrophysics is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.

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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