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2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Physics (Income $30-$48k) in California

11 Ranked Colleges
245 Degrees Awarded
$35,100 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 14,123 people earned their degree in physics, making the major the 67th most popular in the United States. 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.

For this year’s “Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in physics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great physics programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the physics program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree physics students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 11 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Physics (Income $30-$48k) 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 $30-$48k list. Stanford is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 57 doctorate’s physics 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.

Read full report on Physics at Stanford

#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 $30-$48k list. Pasadena, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s physics degrees to 11 students 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 Caltech are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physics at Caltech

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 45 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physics at University of California - Berkeley

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of California - San Diego is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. 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 $30-$48k list, UCSD has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physics at University of California - San Diego

#5

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 22 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physics at UCLA

University of California - Irvine landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UC Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 13 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also made our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UC Irvine Physics Report

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UCR is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 15 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physics at University of California - Riverside

#8

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 20 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB also took the #7 spot in our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSB are $28,670, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physics at UCSB

University of California - Davis landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UC 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. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700.

Read more about Physics at UC Davis

#11 in overall quality

University of California - Merced ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. UC Merced is a medium-sized school located in Merced, California that handed out 6 doctorate’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Merced not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Merced are $43,854.

Read full report on Physics at UC Merced

#11

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#10 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physics Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of California - 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 $30-$48k 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 UC Santa Cruz are $28,952.

Full University of California - 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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