2023 Best Value Physics Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Physics 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.
The Best Value Physics Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 23 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value 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 Schools
Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Long Beach the best value school in California for physics students. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly 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 $21,750 in student loans while working on their egree.
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The excellent programs at California State University - Sacramento helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best physics schools in California. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year. After completing their degree, physics graduates from Sac State carry an average student debtload of $15,000.
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The excellent programs at San Diego State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best physics schools in California. SDSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Diego.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SDSU are $8,136 per year.
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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 Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year.
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Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the # 5 spot on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 a year. While working on their degree, physics majors at Cal Poly Pomona accumulate an average of around $17,384 in student debt.
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California State University - San Bernardino landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physics programs. CSUSB is a large public school located in the midsize city of San Bernardino.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUSB are $7,213 per year. After completing their degree, physics graduates from CSUSB carry an average student debtload of $25,581.
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With a ranking of #7, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State LA are $6,785 per year.
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With a ranking of #8, California State University - Stanislaus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. Located in the small suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Stan State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,644 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #9, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physics students. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCSB are $14,417 a year. The average amount in student loans that physics majors at UCSB take out is $17,525.
UCSB excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Physics Schools in California list.
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California State University - Northridge did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physics students. It came in at #10 on the list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.
CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, physics majors at CSUN accumulate an average of around $22,574 in student debt.
Read full report on Physics at California State University - Northridge
Request InformationBest 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 |
More Physics Rankings in California
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 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.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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