2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 19 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for physical sciences 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.
Top 10 Best Physical Sciences Schools
Our 2023 rankings named California State Polytechnic University - Pomona the best value school in California for physical sciences students. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year. 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
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - Sacramento is a great value for physical sciences students. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.
Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,392 in in-state tuition and fees each year. 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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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in California list. 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. On average, physical sciences graduates from CSULB take out $21,750 in student loans while working on their degree.
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The excellent programs at San Diego State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best physical sciences schools in California. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Diego.
SDSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,136 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, physical sciences majors at SDSU accumulate an average of around $23,936 in student debt.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great value for physical sciences students. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year. The average amount in student loans that physical sciences majors at Cal State Fullerton take out is $19,330.
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California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for physical sciences students. It came in at #6 on the list. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State LA are $6,785 a year.
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University of California - Berkeley ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year. On average, physical sciences graduates from UC Berkeley take out $14,276 in student loans while working on their degree.
UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Physical Sciences Schools in California list.
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University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value physical sciences programs. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UCSB undergraduate students pay an average of $14,417 in in-state tuition and fees each year. 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.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSB also is in the top 10% of our Best Physical Sciences Schools in California ranking.
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California State University - Northridge ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools in California list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Northridge.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUN are $7,043 a year. Physical Sciences majors at CSUN take out an average of $22,462 in student loans while working on their egree.
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With a ranking of #10, Humboldt State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physical sciences students. Humboldt State University is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Arcata.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Humboldt State University are $7,864 a year. The average amount in student loans that physical sciences majors at Humboldt State University take out is $18,764.
Request InformationBest Value Physical Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Physical Sciences Colleges 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 |
More Physical Sciences Rankings in California
Majors Related to Physical Sciences
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.
- 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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