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2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k

12 Ranked Colleges
816 Degrees Awarded
$33,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 52,879 people earned their degree in physical sciences, making the major the 18th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $38,122 and had an average of $22,339 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 8,509 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,072 and $18,572 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 816 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in physical sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent physical sciences programs, but they also 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 physical sciences program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The physical sciences school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k”.

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. 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 Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 12 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences (Income $48-$75k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 111 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Stanford

#2

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the #2 spot on the list. California Institute of Technology is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 43 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Caltech also made our “Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at Caltech are $56,649, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Physical Sciences at Caltech

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k. University of California - Los Angeles is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 69 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also made our “Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Physical Sciences Report

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #4 spot on the list. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 139 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Physical Sciences 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 - Berkeley are $29,347.

Read more about Physical Sciences at University of California - Berkeley

#5

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k. UCSB is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 61 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

UCSB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSB are $28,670, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UCSB Physical Sciences Report

#5 in overall quality

University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 50 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also made our “Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at UC Davis

#8 in overall quality

University of California - Irvine came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. University of California - Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 75 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

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

Read more about Physical Sciences at University of California - Irvine

#10 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s physical sciences degrees to 49 students in 2019-2020.

UCR also took the #10 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences 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 UCR are $28,686.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at UCR

#7 in overall quality

University of California - San Diego landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. UCSD is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 100 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Physical Sciences 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 - San Diego are $28,631.

Read more about Physical Sciences at UCSD

#10

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#9 in overall quality

San Diego State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. San Diego State University is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree physical sciences students whose families make $48-$75k list, SDSU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Physical Sciences 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 San Diego State University are $18,658.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at San Diego State University

#12 in overall quality

University of California - Merced ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. UC Merced is located in Merced, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

UC Merced also made our “Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #12. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Merced are $43,854, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physical Sciences at University of California - Merced

#12

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #12, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. This fairly large school is located in Santa Cruz, California, and it awarded 40 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Santa Cruz, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Cruz are $28,952, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Physical Sciences at University of California - Santa Cruz

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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 NASA.

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