Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Master's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

5 Colleges
$21,821 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Master's Degree 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 5 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree 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 for a Master's in Astronomy & Astrophysics

#1

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

Our analysis found San Diego State University to be the best value school for astronomy and astrophysics students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SDSU are $9,570 a year.

Read More…

Request Information

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Berkeley are $14,160 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #2 for overall quality for astronomy in California.

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

Request Information

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Astronomy & Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UCLA graduate students pay an average of $13,036 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCLA did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California - Los Angeles

Request Information

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 Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school located in the city of Santa Cruz.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Santa Cruz are $13,895 per year.

Read More…

Request Information

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California Institute of Technology is a great value for astronomy and astrophysics students working on their master’s degree. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pasadena.

Caltech graduate students pay an average of $58,443 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Request Information

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.

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.