39 Best colleges for Biophysics in California, US

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Biophysics. A graph of 4.02M citations received by 60.8K academic papers made by 39 universities in California was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. Stanford University

Stanford

For Biophysics

#3 in the United States

#3 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1545
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $17,998

2. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Biophysics

#6 in the United States

#6 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,126
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1864

3. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Biophysics

#7 in the United States

#7 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 25%
Receiving Aid: 70%
Average Aid: $24,176
Enrollment: 42,376

4. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Biophysics

#8 in the United States

#8 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $25,951
Enrollment: 45,699

5. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Biophysics

#11 in the United States

#11 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $22,441
Enrollment: 46,678

6. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Biophysics

#22 in the United States

#23 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 42%
Receiving Aid: 58%
Average Aid: $21,258
Enrollment: 39,707

7. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Biophysics

#25 in the United States

#26 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 26%
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $21,533
Enrollment: 36,582

8. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Biophysics

#31 in the United States

#32 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $23,397
Receiving Aid: 68%
Average Aid: $60,201

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Biophysics

#51 in the United States

#56 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Average SAT: 1495
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $41,496

10. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Biophysics

#59 in the United States

#64 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 28%
Receiving Aid: 58%
Average Aid: $21,732
Enrollment: 26,068

11. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Biophysics

#82 in the United States

#90 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $21,564
Enrollment: 19,764

12. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Biophysics

#89 in the United States

#98 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Receiving Aid: 75%
Average Aid: $21,566
Enrollment: 26,426

13. Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

San Diego

For Biophysics

#119 in the United States

#133 in North America

Enrollment: 48
Male:Female: 37:63

14. Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences at City of Hope

Duarte

For Biophysics

#142 in the United States

#160 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 14%
Enrollment: 90
Founded: 1994

15. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Biophysics

#154 in the United States

#173 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Receiving Aid: 95%
Average Aid: $5,459
Enrollment: 39,241

16. Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

For Biophysics

#179 in the United States

#199 in North America

Enrollment: 4,202
Male:Female: 33:67
Founded: 1905

17. University of the Pacific

Stockton

For Biophysics

#197 in the United States

#217 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Average SAT: 1290
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $30,975

18. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Biophysics

#211 in the United States

#235 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $24,868
Enrollment: 9,147

19. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Biophysics

#234 in the United States

#261 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $11,498
Enrollment: 23,908

20. West Los Angeles College

Culver

For Biophysics

#235 in the United States

#262 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Receiving Aid: 70%
Average Aid: $6,817
Enrollment: 9,299

21. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Biophysics

#237 in the United States

#264 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $10,512
Enrollment: 40,278

22. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Biophysics

#240 in the United States

#267 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 99%
Receiving Aid: 73%
Average Aid: $10,046
Enrollment: 6,156

23. Western University of Health Sciences

Pomona

For Biophysics

#246 in the United States

#273 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 3,625
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1977

24. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Biophysics

#274 in the United States

#302 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $10,445
Enrollment: 41,962

25. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Biophysics

#283 in the United States

#311 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Net Price: $37,675
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $37,444

26. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Biophysics

#288 in the United States

#317 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 92%
Receiving Aid: 94%
Average Aid: $12,478
Enrollment: 25,080

27. Chapman University

Orange

For Biophysics

#289 in the United States

#318 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 56%
Average SAT: 1340
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $48,037

28. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Biophysics

#290 in the United States

#319 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Enrollment: 1,223
Male:Female: 15:85
Founded: 1975

29. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Biophysics

#311 in the United States

#344 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 87%
Average Aid: $12,000
Enrollment: 37,760

30. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Biophysics

#319 in the United States

#355 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $12,707
Enrollment: 22,485

31. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Biophysics

#328 in the United States

#365 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Average SAT: 1300
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $44,104

32. Soka University of America

Aliso Viejo

For Biophysics

#330 in the United States

#367 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Average SAT: 1340
Net Price: $18,807
Receiving Aid: 100%

33. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Biophysics

#336 in the United States

#373 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 44%
Average SAT: 1420
Average ACT: 32
Net Price: $49,651

34. Touro University California

Vallejo

For Biophysics

#346 in the United States

#384 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 49%
Enrollment: 1,090
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1997

35. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Biophysics

#348 in the United States

#386 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 74%
Receiving Aid: 78%
Average Aid: $10,441
Enrollment: 26,848

36. Pomona College

Claremont

For Biophysics

#351 in the United States

#389 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 7%
Average SAT: 1520
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $17,423

37. Occidental College

Los Angeles

For Biophysics

#354 in the United States

#392 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Average SAT: 1430
Average ACT: 33
Net Price: $47,113

38. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Biophysics

#361 in the United States

#399 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Receiving Aid: 67%
Average Aid: $11,311
Enrollment: 36,062

39. California State University - San Marcos

San Marcos

For Biophysics

#364 in the United States

#402 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $10,247
Enrollment: 15,431

Closest to California states to learn Biophysics

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	37
Utah	3	28
Arizona	4	56
Idaho	3	222
Washington	4	9
Colorado	5	55
Nebraska	4	105
Kansas	3	83
Texas	28	20
Oklahoma	4	124
North Dakota	2	198
Iowa	3	35
Missouri	9	13
Arkansas	4	148
Louisiana	8	108
Wisconsin	5	10
Illinois	13	18
Mississippi	5	172
Indiana	7	41
Michigan	10	16
Tennessee	7	38
Alabama	5	45
Kentucky	3	75
Ohio	15	27
Georgia	9	42
South Carolina	3	116
North Carolina	10	17
Virginia	10	26
Pennsylvania	23	2
Florida	13	46
District of Columbia	4	102
Maryland	7	5
New York	39	12
New Jersey	9	36
Connecticut	6	4
Massachusetts	18	1
Rhode Island	3	86
Puerto Rico	4	255

Closest to California states to learn Biophysics

Biology subfields in California