2022 Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California

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 “Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Geophysics & Seismology is the 674th most popular major in the country with 251 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 57 geophysics and seismology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 27 geophysics and seismology graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in geophysics and seismology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great geophysics and seismology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the geophysics and seismology program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Geophysics & Seismology Schools

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 “Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California.

Top 5 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geophysics & Seismology in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

#2 in overall quality

$28,131 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - Los Angeles is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 4 doctorate’s geophysics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Geophysics & Seismology Report

#2

University of California - San Diego

La Jolla, California

#3 in overall quality

$28,631 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s geophysics students in 2019-2020.

UCSD also took the #3 spot in our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631.

Read more about Geophysics & Seismology at University of California - San Diego

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

#4 in overall quality

$18,658 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #3 spot on the list. SDSU is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 doctorate’s geophysics degrees to qualified students.

SDSU also made our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at SDSU are $18,658.

Read full report on Geophysics & Seismology at SDSU

#4

Stanford University

Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$55,011 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California list. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s geophysics degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Geophysics & Seismology at Stanford

#5

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California

#2 in overall quality

$56,649 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of Technology. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Geophysics Schools for a Doctorate in California. Caltech is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 1 doctorate’s geophysics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Caltech, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Geophysics & Seismology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Geophysics & Seismology at Caltech

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geophysics & Seismology in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Geophysics & Seismology

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

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees 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 Kelvinsong.

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