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2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

11 Ranked Colleges
245 Degrees Awarded
$35,100 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Physics is the 67th most popular major in the country with 14,123 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $42,475 and had an average of $22,421 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 3,131 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,486 and $19,317 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 245 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality physics programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the physics program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 “Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 11 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Physics (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Stanford is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 57 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford also took the #1 spot in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Stanford University Physics Report

#2

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 11 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of Technology are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physics at Caltech

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 45 doctorate’s physics degrees to qualified students.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UC Berkeley Physics Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s physics degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also took the #8 spot in our “Best Physics 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 UC Irvine are $28,456.

Full UC Irvine Physics Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 22 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCSD has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Physics 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 full report on Physics at UCSD

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UCR is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 15 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCR has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of California - Riverside Physics Report

#7

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 22 degrees to qualified doctorate’s physics students in 2019-2020.

UCLA also took the #6 spot in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Physics at University of California - Los Angeles

University of California - Davis came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of California - Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 13 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physics at University of California - Davis

#9

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school awarded 20 degrees to qualified doctorate’s physics students in 2019-2020.

UCSB also made our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UCSB are $28,670.

Read more about Physics at University of California - Santa Barbara

#11 in overall quality

University of California - Merced did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #10. Merced, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s physics degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

UC Merced did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Merced are $43,854, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physics at UC Merced

#11

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#10 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UC Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 13 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Physics 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 - Santa Cruz are $28,952.

Full UC Santa Cruz Physics Report

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.

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