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Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California

15 Colleges
$70,619 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physical Sciences Doctor'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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Physical Sciences program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for physical sciences majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the most popular school in California for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 124 students majoring in physical sciences at UC Berkeley, 73% are male and 27% are female.

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#2

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular physical sciences schools in California. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

Women make up 29% of the physical sciences majors at the school.

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Out of the 15 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the # 3 spot on the list. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

About 35% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 65% are male.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great place for physical sciences students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

About 34% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 66% are male.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Los Angeles Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena.

Of the 64 students majoring in physical sciences at Caltech, 69% are male and 31% are female.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at California Institute of Technology

University of Southern California ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Of the 58 students majoring in physical sciences at USC, 66% are male and 34% are female.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Southern California Report

University of California - Davis landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 56 students majoring in physical sciences at UC Davis, 57% are male and 43% are female.

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University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.

About 36% of the students majoring in physical sciences at the school are women while 64% are male.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

University of California - Riverside ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 50 students majoring in physical sciences at UCR, 70% are male and 30% are female.

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University of California - Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for physical sciences students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 45 students majoring in physical sciences at UC Irvine, 53% are male and 47% are female.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Irvine Report

Best Physical Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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 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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