2023 Best Value Physics Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Physics Doctor's Degree School for You
Physics is the #69 most popular major in the country with 13,674 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Physics Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 18 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value doctor'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.
Top 10 Best Physics Doctor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found University of Nevada - Reno to be the best value school for physics students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the Far Western US Region . UNR is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Reno.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNR are $22,380 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $28,683 per year.
UCSB excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Stanford University is a great value for physics students working on their doctor’s degree. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.
Stanford graduate students pay an average of $55,011 in tuition and fees each year.
Stanford did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.
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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Nevada - Las Vegas helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value physics schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the midsize city of Las Vegas, UNLV is a public college with a very large student population.
UNLV graduate students pay an average of $22,698 in tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSD are $28,666 per year.
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University of California - Los Angeles came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UCLA are $28,138 a year.
UCLA excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.
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University of California - Merced did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. UC Merced is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of Merced.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UC Merced are $28,309 a year.
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University of California - Berkeley came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $29,262 per year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #3 for overall quality for physics in the Far Western US Region .
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University of California - Riverside ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCR are $28,569 per year.
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University of California - Irvine came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UC Irvine are $28,458 a year.
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Request InformationBest Physics Colleges by State
Explore the best physics schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| California | 3,218 |
| Washington | 392 |
| Oregon | 187 |
| Nevada | 50 |
| Hawaii | 10 |
| Alaska | 4 |
More Physics Rankings in the Far Western US Region
Physics Related Majors for Physics
One of 8 majors within the area of study, physics has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Physics
| 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 18 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.