2023 Most Focused Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics in California
12
Ranked Colleges
91
Degrees Awarded
$40,100
Avg Cost*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 994 people earned their degree in engineering and applied physics, making the major the 448th most popular in the United States.
Across California, there were 91 engineering and applied physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in engineering and applied physics. That schools that top this list have a program in engineering and applied physics in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for california applied physics students.
Top 12 Most Focused Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics in California
Out of the 12 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #1 spot on the list. Caltech is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 19 ’s applied physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Caltech
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Westmont College. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California. This small school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 7 ’s applied physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Westmont College Engineering & Applied Physics Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Whittier College. The school came in at #3 for the Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California. This small school is located in Whittier, California, and it awarded 4 ’s applied physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Whittier
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Biola University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California. La Mirada, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s applied physics degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Biola University Engineering & Applied Physics Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Point Loma Nazarene University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California list. Located in San Diego, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 6 diplomas to qualified ’s applied physics students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Point Loma Nazarene University
Santa Clara University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Santa Clara, California, and it awarded 6 ’s applied physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at Santa Clara University
With a ranking of #7, University of the Pacific did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California list. University of the Pacific is a medium-sized school located in Stockton, California that handed out 3 ’s applied physics degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at University of the Pacific
With a ranking of #8, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s applied physics degrees to 17 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at UCSD
University of California - Berkeley ranked #9 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 18 diplomas to qualified ’s applied physics students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UC Berkeley Engineering & Applied Physics Report
Naval Postgraduate School ranked #10 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California list. Monterey, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s applied physics degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Naval Postgraduate School
University of California - Davis ranked #11 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California list. Located in Davis, California, this large public school handed out 0 degrees to qualified ’s applied physics students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at University of California - Davis
Loyola Marymount University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Applied Physics Major in California ranking, coming in at #11. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 0 ’s applied physics degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Engineering & Applied Physics at Loyola Marymount University
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to NASA.