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Best Value Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

23 Colleges
$16,408 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$39,260 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physics Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 3,218 degrees and certificates were awarded to physics students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #40 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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 Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 23 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for physics students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Physics Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found California State University - Long Beach to be the best value school for physics students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year. Physics majors at CSULB take out an average of $20,792 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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#2

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at San Diego State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value physics schools in California. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SDSU are $8,136 per year.

Read full report on Physics at San Diego State University

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - Sacramento is a great value for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year. Physics majors at Sac State take out an average of $17,036 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

Cal State Fullerton undergraduate students pay an average of $6,976 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Physics at California State University - Fullerton

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State LA are $6,785 a year.

Read full report on Physics at California State University - Los Angeles

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 a year. The average amount in student loans that physics majors at Cal Poly Pomona take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $17,231.

Full Physics at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

California State University - San Bernardino ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. CSUSB is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Bernardino.

CSUSB undergraduate students pay an average of $7,213 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, physics graduates from CSUSB take out $24,130 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Physics at California State University - San Bernardino

With a ranking of #8, California State University - Stanislaus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Stan State are $7,644 a year.

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California State University - Northridge came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that physics majors at CSUN take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $23,793.

Read full report on Physics at California State University - Northridge

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCSB are $14,417 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, physics majors at UCSB accumulate an average of around $17,121 in student debt.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCSB also did well on our Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Physics at University of California - Santa Barbara

Best Value Physics Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Physics Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 392
Oregon 187
Nevada 50
Hawaii 10
Alaska 4

One of 8 majors within the area of study, physics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 21,239
Geological & Earth Sciences 7,821
General Physical Sciences 3,823
Astronomy & Astrophysics 1,375
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 1,140

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 23 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to A. T. Service.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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