2025 Best Materials Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Materials Sciencesbachelor's programs are on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of popularity. In fact, the major degree program ranks #255 out of the 363 majors we look at each year. This may make is a little harder to find a school that is a good fit for you.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of materials sciences. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 41 bachelor's degrees in materials sciences during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on materials sciences students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of materials sciences students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for materials sciences to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized materials sciences related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for materials sciences students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Materials Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Materials Sciences in California

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for materials sciences students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Materials Science

1

University of California - Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

28 Annual Graduates

University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in materials sciences. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.More information about a bachelor’s in materials sciences from University of California - Berkeley

2

University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

13 Annual Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in materials sciences. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in materials sciences from University of California - Los Angeles

Best Materials Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Materials Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Oregon	185	0

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Materials Sciences Related Rankings by Major

Materials Sciences is one of 8 different types of Physical Sciences programs to choose from.

Materials Science Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
General Materials Science	41

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Chemistry	1,686
Physics	1,140
Geological & Earth Sciences	552
Astronomy & Astrophysics	127
General Physical Sciences	82
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	50
Other Physical Science	10

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Per Henning. More about our data sources and methodologies.