If you plan on majoring in astrophysics, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #598 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 4 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Astrophysics Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 175 degrees in astrophysics to qualified students.
Your choice of astrophysics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Astrophysics School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Astrophysics Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
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.
The schools below may not offer all types of astrophysical sciences degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in astrophysics. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were approximately 61 astrophysics students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year.
Any student pursuing a degree in astrophysics needs to check out University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were approximately 32 astrophysics students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available.
California Institute of Technology is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in astrophysics. Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Caltech is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population. This school ranks 6th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 17 astrophysics students who graduated with this degree at Caltech in the most recent data year.
Any student pursuing a degree in astrophysics needs to look into University of California - Santa Cruz. Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 19th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 65 astrophysics students who graduated with this degree at UC Santa Cruz in the most recent year we have data available.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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).
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Your choice of astrophysics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Astrophysics School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
