2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $0-$30k) in California

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 941 people earned their degree in engineering and applied physics, making the major the 440th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 124 engineering and applied physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 52 engineering and applied physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in engineering and applied physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality engineering and applied physics programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the engineering and applied physics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The applied physics 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 Applied Physics Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Applied Physics Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 2 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California

#1 in overall quality

$56,649 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Applied Physics Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Pasadena, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 10 degrees to qualified masters’s applied physics students in 2019-2020.

Caltech also took the #1 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Caltech are $56,649, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full California Institute of Technology Engineering & Applied Physics Report

#2

University of California - San Diego

La Jolla, California

$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 Applied Physics Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s applied physics degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

UCSD also took the #0 spot in our “Best Engineering & Applied Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Engineering & Applied Physics at UCSD

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering & Applied Physics (Income $0-$30k)

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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