2023 Best Physics Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in California
13
Ranked Colleges
253
Degrees Awarded
$33,500
Avg Cost*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for veterans. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 13,674 people earned their degree in physics, making the major the 68th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $42,960 and had an average of $22,756 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 3,224 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $41,268 and $18,506 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in physics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great physics programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, 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 “Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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.
Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s”.
Top 13 Best Physics Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 21 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california master’s degree vets studying physics list, UCLA has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.Of the 44,589 students enrolled at UCLA, 7 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 4 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $8,071. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read More…
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s list. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 14 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Irvine also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5.Among the 36,303 students enrolled at UC Irvine, 8 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 5 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,620. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full UC Irvine Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 13 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #3 spot on the list. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 16 students in 2020-2021.
Stanford also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1.According to our most recent data, Stanford supports 15,953 students, and 188 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 118 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $18,909. To help with additional expenses, 61 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, 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 [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Stanford]](/colleges/stanford-university/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 13 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #4 spot on the list. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 37 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
UCSB also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2.Our most recent data shows that 286 of the 26,179 students enrolled at University of California - Santa Barbara were GI Bill® students, of which 128 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $9,510. On top of their other funding sources, 3 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of California - Santa Barbara does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s list. San Diego State University is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 6 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
SDSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” list.According to our most recent data, SDSU supports 36,334 students, and 1,433 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 853 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,806. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at SDSU]](/colleges/san-diego-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
California State University - Long Beach ranked #6 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s list. California State University - Long Beach is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 11 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSULB, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.Of the 40,069 students enrolled at California State University - Long Beach, 822 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 310 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $3,845. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. California State University - Long Beach does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%.
Full California State University - Long Beach Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #7, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s list. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 17 students in 2020-2021.
UCR not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” list.According to our most recent data, University of California - Riverside supports 26,434 students, and 11 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 5 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $2,182. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at UCR]](/colleges/university-of-california-riverside/student-life/veterans/)
University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #8. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physics degrees to 17 students in 2020-2021.
UC Davis also took the #6 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.Among the 39,074 students enrolled at UC Davis, 31 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 23 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,489. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 93%.
Read More…
With a ranking of #9, California State University - Northridge did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s list. CSUN is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 13 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
CSUN also made our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #14.Among the 40,381 students enrolled at CSUN, 680 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 336 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,745. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at CSUN]](/colleges/california-state-university-northridge/student-life/veterans/)
University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s ranking. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Cruz, California. It awarded 14 masters’s physics degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Santa Cruz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” list.Of the 19,161 students enrolled at UC Santa Cruz, 273 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 114 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $8,631. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Santa Cruz Veteran Student Life Report
California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #11. California State University - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 masters’s physics degrees to qualified students.
Cal State LA also took the #13 spot in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 3 of the 26,745 students enrolled at Cal State LA were GI Bill® students, of which 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $2,700. During this same period, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
With a ranking of #12, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s list. California State University - Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california master’s degree vets studying physics list, Cal State Fullerton has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.Among the 42,051 students enrolled at Cal State Fullerton, 748 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 342 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,729. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Cal State Fullerton does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full California State University - Fullerton Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #13, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in California for Physics for a Master’s list. Caltech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Caltech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in California” list.According to our most recent data, California Institute of Technology supports 2,240 students, and 4 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $67,154. On top of their other funding sources, 1 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read More…
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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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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