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Best Physical Sciences Schools in California

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2023 Best Physical Sciences Schools in California

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

Finding the Best Physical Sciences School for You

With 1,641 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, physical sciences is the #12 most popular major in California.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Physical Sciences 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 programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Physical Sciences Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Physical Sciences Colleges.

Top 10 Best Physical Sciences Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for physical sciences students. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

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The excellent programs at University of California - Santa Barbara helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best physical sciences schools in California. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for physical sciences students. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Berkeley Report

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Physical Sciences Schools in California list. SDSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Diego.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great place for physical sciences students. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at California State University - Long Beach

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best physical sciences programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Los Angeles Report

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

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Merced Report

University of California - San Diego came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Physical Sciences Schools in California ranking. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

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University of California - Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for physical sciences students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.

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With a ranking of #10, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on this year’s best schools for physical sciences students. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Santa Cruz.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Santa Cruz 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 246
Oregon 215
Nevada 60
Hawaii 47
Alaska 31

Physical Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 5,005
Physics 3,727
Geological & Earth Sciences 2,491
Materials Sciences 448
Astronomy & Astrophysics 371
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 342
Other Physical Science 191
General Physical Sciences 107
Physics and Astronomy 23

Related Major Annual Graduates
Engineering 61,791
Computer & Information Sciences 60,971
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 28,851
Mathematics & Statistics 15,127
Engineering Technologies 7,672

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 NASA.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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