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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in California

15 Ranked Colleges
793 Degrees Awarded
$72,758 Avg Salary
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Physical Sciences is the 19th most popular major in the country with 50,306 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $39,880 and had an average of $22,620 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 8,381 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $43,416 and $18,590 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 793 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,525 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California” ranking analyzed 15 colleges that offered a degree in physical sciences. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in physical sciences.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree physical sciences students.

Top 15 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in California

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California list. California Institute of Technology is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 64 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full California Institute of Technology Physical Sciences Report

2
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California list. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 112 degrees to qualified doctorate’s physical sciences students in 2020-2021.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Stanford

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 124 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at UC Berkeley

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s physical sciences degrees to 93 students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of California - San Diego Physical Sciences Report

5

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 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 55 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of California - Santa Barbara

6

University of California - Riverside landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 50 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Physical Sciences at University of California - Riverside

7

University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California ranking. UC Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 35 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at UC Santa Cruz

8

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 82 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read more about Physical Sciences at University of California - Los Angeles

9

University of California - Davis came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 56 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at UC Davis

10

University of California - Irvine came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 45 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Physical Sciences at University of California - Irvine

11

With a ranking of #11, University of California - Merced did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California list. University of California - Merced is a public institution located in Merced, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 7 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read more about Physical Sciences at UC Merced

12
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

With a ranking of #12, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California list. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 58 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Physical Sciences at USC

13
SDSU crest
San Diego State University
San Diego, California

San Diego State University ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California list. San Diego State University is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 10 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at SDSU

14
Naval Postgraduate School crest
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, California

Naval Postgraduate School ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California list. Naval Postgraduate School is a small school located in Monterey, California that handed out 2 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Naval Postgraduate School

15
Loma Linda University crest
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, California

Loma Linda University landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Physical Sciences Major in California ranking. This small school is located in Loma Linda, California, and it awarded 0 doctorate’s physical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Loma Linda University Physical Sciences Report

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