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Best Physics Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Physics Master's Degree Schools in California

16 Colleges
$89,430 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physics Master's Degree School for You

With 483 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, physics is the #52 most popular major in California.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Physics Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 16 schools in California to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Physics Master's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for physics students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Physics at Stanford University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best physics schools in California. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

Read full report on Physics at University of California - Berkeley

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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

#5

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Physics at San Diego State University

University of California - Merced ranked #6 on this year’s Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the rural area of Merced, UC Merced is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Full Physics at University of California - Merced Report

University of California - Riverside landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree physics programs. UCR is a very large public school located in the city of Riverside.

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University of California - Irvine ranked #8 on this year’s Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the large city of Irvine.

Full Physics at University of California - Irvine Report

California State University - Long Beach landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree physics programs. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

Full Physics at California State University - Long Beach Report

University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

Best Physics Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 74
Oregon 63
Nevada 13
Hawaii 3
Alaska 1

Physics is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Physics

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 5,005
Geological & Earth Sciences 2,491
Materials Sciences 448
Astronomy & Astrophysics 371
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 342

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 16 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 A. T. Service.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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