21 Best colleges for Applied/Engineering Physics in California, US

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Applied/Engineering Physics. A graph of 778K citations received by 14.5K academic papers made by 21 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. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#2 in the United States

#2 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $29,608
Enrollment: 45,882

2. Stanford University

Stanford

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#3 in the United States

#3 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1545
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $25,078

3. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#6 in the United States

#6 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 59%
Average Aid: $25,627
Enrollment: 47,335

4. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#9 in the United States

#9 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $14,513
Receiving Aid: 70%
Average Aid: $72,373

5. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#15 in the United States

#15 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 33%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $24,695
Enrollment: 26,133

6. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#24 in the United States

#24 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 27%
Receiving Aid: 66%
Average Aid: $25,757
Enrollment: 44,256

7. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#26 in the United States

#26 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 42%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $24,591
Enrollment: 40,065

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#48 in the United States

#50 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Average SAT: 1500
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $43,412

9. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#63 in the United States

#68 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 29%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $23,110
Enrollment: 37,297

10. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#72 in the United States

#79 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 76%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $24,355
Enrollment: 26,384

11. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#75 in the United States

#82 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 66%
Receiving Aid: 64%
Average Aid: $22,774
Enrollment: 19,938

12. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#152 in the United States

#177 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,007
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1864

13. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#165 in the United States

#191 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 36%
Receiving Aid: 62%
Average Aid: $12,053
Enrollment: 41,137

14. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#184 in the United States

#212 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 85%
Receiving Aid: 69%
Average Aid: $12,353
Enrollment: 37,661

15. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#192 in the United States

#221 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 23%
Enrollment: 2,441
Male:Female: 79:21
Founded: 1909

16. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#202 in the United States

#231 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 31%
Receiving Aid: 62%
Average Aid: $14,338
Enrollment: 23,069

17. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#207 in the United States

#237 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 48%
Average SAT: 1420
Average ACT: 32
Net Price: $53,883

18. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#211 in the United States

#241 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $11,833
Enrollment: 27,636

19. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#216 in the United States

#246 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $27,292
Enrollment: 9,110

20. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#224 in the United States

#254 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $12,825
Enrollment: 38,313

21. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#236 in the United States

#267 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 88%
Average Aid: $12,326
Enrollment: 24,427

Closest to California states to learn Applied/Engineering Physics

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	3	73
Utah	3	52
Arizona	2	19
Idaho	2	138
Washington	4	22
Colorado	6	38
New Mexico	3	66
Kansas	2	92
Texas	13	7
Oklahoma	3	118
Missouri	7	84
Louisiana	3	115
Wisconsin	3	21
Illinois	9	5
Mississippi	3	104
Indiana	5	11
Michigan	7	10
Tennessee	2	39
Alabama	5	71
Kentucky	2	77
Ohio	15	16
Georgia	6	8
North Carolina	8	20
Virginia	9	28
Pennsylvania	11	4
Florida	7	32
District of Columbia	4	147
Maryland	5	12
New York	23	13
New Jersey	5	23
Connecticut	3	46
Massachusetts	14	1
Rhode Island	3	49