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2024 Best Chemistry Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

24 Colleges in California
1,830 Bachelor's Degrees
$36,963 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #36 in popularity, chemistry is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 24 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of chemistry. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,830 bachelor's degrees in chemistry during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Chemistry School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Chemistry Bachelor's Degree Schools in California The chemistry bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for chemistry students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Chemistry Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Chemistry Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Chemistry in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in chemistry.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Chemistry

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
12 Annual Graduates

Stanford University is a good choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in chemistry. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from Stanford University

2
113 Annual Graduates
$47,449 Median Starting Salary
$11,172 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in chemistry has to check out University of California - Berkeley. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Chemistry bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley earn a boost of around $10,486 above the typical earnings of chemistry graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from University of California - Berkeley

3
100 Annual Graduates
$40,310 Median Starting Salary
$15,805 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in chemistry has to look into University of California - Santa Barbara. UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.

Those chemistry students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Santa Barbara make $3,347 more than the average chemistry student.

More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from University of California - Santa Barbara

4
311 Annual Graduates
$38,643 Median Starting Salary
$16,100 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in chemistry needs to check out University of California - San Diego. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the chemistry program earn around $38,643 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from University of California - San Diego

5
85 Annual Graduates
$43,205 Median Starting Salary
$14,000 Median Student Debt

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis.

Chemistry bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Davis earn a boost of about $6,242 above the average earnings of chemistry majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from University of California - Davis

6
47 Annual Graduates
$34,503 Median Starting Salary
$14,137 Median Student Debt

UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the chemistry program report average early career income of $34,503.

More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from University of California - Los Angeles

7
125 Annual Graduates
$34,936 Median Starting Salary
$13,276 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the chemistry program state that they receive average early career wages of $34,936.

More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from University of California - Irvine

8
92 Annual Graduates
$40,950 Median Starting Salary
$17,499 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the chemistry major at San Diego State University make $3,987 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from San Diego State University

9
76 Annual Graduates
$38,243 Median Starting Salary
$15,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, chemistry bachelor's recipients usually earn about $38,243 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from University of California - Santa Cruz

10
9 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Caltech is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in chemistry from California Institute of Technology

Best Chemistry Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Chemistry Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 266
Oregon 185 172
Nevada 129 46
Hawaii 112 22
Alaska 75 10

View All Rankings >

Chemistry is one of 8 different types of Physical Sciences programs to choose from.

Chemistry Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Chemistry 1,552
Other Chemistry 271
Chemical Physics 5
Environmental Chemistry 1
Forensic Chemistry 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Physics 1,225
Geological & Earth Sciences 585
Astronomy & Astrophysics 161
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 46
Materials Sciences 41
General Physical Sciences 27
Other Physical Science 14

Notes and References

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