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Best Physical Sciences Schools in California

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2023 Best Physical Sciences Schools in California

19 Colleges
$43,416 Avg Salary
$18,590 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Physical Sciences School for You

Physical Sciences is the #17 most popular major in California with 8,302 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Physical Sciences Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in California to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Physical Sciences Schools in California

Check out the physical sciences programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Physical Sciences Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for physical sciences students who want to pursue a degree in California. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

Full Physical Sciences at Stanford University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Physical Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

On average, physical sciences graduates from UC Berkeley take out $14,276 in student loans while working on their degree.

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The excellent programs at University of California - Santa Barbara helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best physical sciences schools in California. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, physical sciences graduates from UCSB carry an average student debtload of $20,685. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $343.

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The excellent programs at University of California - San Diego helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best physical sciences schools in California. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

Physical Sciences majors at UCSD take out an average of $17,438 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $167, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - San Diego Report

#5

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

Out of the 19 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

While working on their degree, physical sciences majors at SDSU accumulate an average of around $23,936 in student debt.

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University of California - Los Angeles ranked #6 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that physical sciences majors at UCLA take out is $17,101.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Los Angeles Report

University of California - Merced did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for physical sciences students. It came in at #7 on the list. UC Merced is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of Merced.

While working on their degree, physical sciences majors at UC Merced accumulate an average of around $15,000 in student debt.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of California - Merced

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #8 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Schools in California list. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.

On average, physical sciences graduates from Cal Poly Pomona take out $18,988 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Physical Sciences at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

California State University - Sacramento did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for physical sciences students. It came in at #9 on the list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

Physical Sciences majors at Sac State take out an average of $19,079 in student loans while working on their egree.

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University of California - Davis ranked #10 on this year’s Best Physical Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that physical sciences majors at UC Davis take out is $17,207. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $272.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Davis Report

Best Physical Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 1,936
Oregon 606
Hawaii 107
Nevada 315
Alaska 60

Physical Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 21,239
Physics 13,674
Geological & Earth Sciences 7,821
General Physical Sciences 3,823
Astronomy & Astrophysics 1,375
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 1,140
Materials Sciences 658
Other Physical Science 538
Physics and Astronomy 38

Majors Similar to Physical Sciences

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer & Information Sciences 254,454
Engineering 198,468
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 177,778
Engineering Technologies 85,188
Mathematics & Statistics 52,396

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 NASA.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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