Best Physicist programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Conduct research into physical phenomena, develop theories on the basis of observation and experiments, and devise methods to apply physical laws and.
145 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,507 people a year. The job pays a median of $207,490 in California across about 5,930 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
9 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physics, Generalmain feeder CIP 40.0801In California → | 3,067 | 87.5% | 138 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 2 | CIP 40.0202In California → | 141 | 4.0% | 4 | $39,728 | $24,678 |
| 3 | Physics, Othermain feeder CIP 40.0899In California → | 140 | 4.0% | 9 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 4 | Engineering Physics/Applied Physicsmain feeder CIP 14.1201In California → | 102 | 2.9% | 9 | $57,457 | $24,706 |
| 5 | Acousticsmain feeder CIP 40.0809In California → | 20 | 0.6% | 1 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 6 | CIP 51.2205In California → | 20 | 0.6% | 3 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 7 | Physics and Astronomymain feeder CIP 40.1101In California → | 9 | 0.3% | 2 | — | — |
| 8 | Theoretical and Mathematical Physicsmain feeder CIP 40.0810In California → | 5 | 0.1% | 1 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
| 9 | Atomic/Molecular Physicsmain feeder CIP 40.0802In California → | 3 | 0.1% | 1 | $47,156 | $23,490 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 11 of the 145 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 240 | Physics, General | $50,219 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 2 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 180 | Physics, General | $53,597 | 83% | — | 33% |
| 3 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 148 | Physics, General | $60,495 | 93% | — | 9% |
| 4 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 130 | Physics, General | $48,951 | 86% | — | 27% |
| 5 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 119 | Physics, General | $43,144 | 87% | — | 29% |
| 6 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 111 | Physics, General | — | 94% | $17,608 | 3% |
| 7 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 105 | Physics, General | — | 86% | — | 42% |
| 8 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 95 | Physics, General | — | 92% | $12,032 | 4% |
| 9 | University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 93 | Physics, General | $37,859 | 75% | — | 66% |
| 10 | Irvine Valley College Irvine, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 78 | Physics, General | — | 57% | — | — |
| 11 | Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Physics, General | — | 48% | — | — |
| 12 | University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 56 | Physics, General | $19,977 | 76% | — | 76% |
| 13 | Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 55 | Physics, General | — | 46% | — | — |
| 14 | El Camino Community College District Torrance, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 51 | Physics, General | — | 42% | — | — |
| 15 | Allan Hancock College Santa Maria, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Physics, General | — | 26% | — | — |
| 16 | Moorpark College Moorpark, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Physics, General | — | 44% | — | — |
| 17 | Pasadena City College Pasadena, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Physics, General | — | 48% | — | — |
| 18 | College of the Canyons Santa Clarita, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Physics, General | — | 45% | — | — |
| 19 | Golden West College Huntington Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Physics, General | — | 49% | — | — |
| 20 | Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Physics, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 21 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 41 | Physics, General | $42,057 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 22 | Cypress College Cypress, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Physics, General | — | 37% | — | — |
| 23 | California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Physics, General | — | 86% | — | 31% |
| 24 | College of San Mateo San Mateo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Physics, General | — | 61% | — | — |
| 25 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Physics, General | — | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
All 145 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 240 | 3 |
| University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public | 180 | 1 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 148 | 2 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 130 | 3 |
| University of California - Irvine | Irvine | Public | 119 | 3 |
| California Institute of Technology | Pasadena | Private not-for-profit | 111 | 3 |
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 105 | 2 |
| Stanford University | Stanford | Private not-for-profit | 95 | 2 |
| University of California - Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz | Public | 93 | 2 |
| Irvine Valley College | Irvine | Public | 78 | 1 |
| Saddleback College | Mission Viejo | Public | 57 | 1 |
| University of California - Riverside | Riverside | Public | 56 | 1 |
| Los Angeles Pierce College | Woodland Hills | Public | 55 | 1 |
| El Camino Community College District | Torrance | Public | 51 | 1 |
| Allan Hancock College | Santa Maria | Public | 49 | 1 |
What physicists earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $172,250. California pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: California employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Physicists page.
How to become a Physicist
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 14 majors mapped to Physicists13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.1201Engineering Physics/Applied Physics
- 40.0202Astrophysics
- 40.0801Physics, General
- 40.0802Atomic/Molecular Physics
- 40.0804Elementary Particle Physics
- 40.0805Plasma and High-Temperature Physics(no graduates reported)
- 40.0806Nuclear Physics
- 40.0807Optics/Optical Sciences
- 40.0808Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
- 40.0809Acoustics
- 40.0810Theoretical and Mathematical Physics
- 40.0899Physics, Other
- 40.1101Physics and Astronomy
- 51.2205Health/Medical Physics
Common questions
Answers for people weighing physicists programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Physicist?+
Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Physics, General, which awarded 3,067 degrees in California in 2024-25, 87.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Physicist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Engineering Physics, Public Health, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 3,507 people a year in California.
How much do physicists earn in California?+
The median is $207,490 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.5% above the U.S. median of $172,250. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for physicists growing?+
BLS projects a +4.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
145 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 9 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do physicists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Physicist, Scientist, Health Physicist, Research Scientist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-2012.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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