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Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools in California

30 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 30 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular programs 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 following schools top our list of the Most Popular Physical Sciences Colleges.

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

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Berkeley Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - San Diego is a great place for physical sciences students. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

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The excellent programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best physical sciences schools in California. 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

#3

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

The excellent programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best physical sciences schools in California. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Santa Barbara is a great place for physical sciences students. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.

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

California Institute of Technology ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools in California list. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pasadena.

Full Physical Sciences at California Institute of Technology Report

University of California - Irvine came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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University of California - Davis landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular physical sciences programs. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Davis Report

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

Full Physical Sciences at University of California - Riverside Report

University of Southern California ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Physical Sciences Schools in California list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Southern California Report

Best Physical Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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 25 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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