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Best Value Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

15 Colleges
$17,672 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$63,256 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physical Sciences Master's Degree 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 Value Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for physical sciences students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Physical Sciences Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found California State University - Long Beach to be the best value school for physical sciences students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSULB are $8,280 a year.

Full Physical Sciences at California State University - Long Beach Report

#2

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SDSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Diego.

SDSU graduate students pay an average of $9,570 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at San Diego State University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $13,581 per year.

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

The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Fullerton helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value physical sciences schools in California. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 per year.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at California State University - Fullerton

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State LA are $8,219 per year.

Read More…

University of California - Berkeley ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

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

California State University - Northridge did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUN are $8,477 a year.

Full Physical Sciences at California State University - Northridge Report

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.

UCLA graduate students pay an average of $13,036 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCLA did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Read More…

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Irvine are $13,356 a year.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Irvine Report

University of California - Davis came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Davis are $13,608 a year.

Read More…

Best 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 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 15 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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