47 Best colleges for Nuclear Physics in California, US

Updated: February 29, 2024

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Nuclear Physics. A graph of 6.93M citations received by 163K academic papers made by 47 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 Nuclear Physics

#1 in the United States

#1 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $21,669
Enrollment: 45,307

2. Stanford University

Stanford

For Nuclear Physics

#3 in the United States

#3 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $18,279

3. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Nuclear Physics

#5 in the United States

#5 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $21,766
Enrollment: 46,430

4. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Nuclear Physics

#10 in the United States

#10 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $20,755
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $59,192

5. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Nuclear Physics

#14 in the United States

#14 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 26%
Receiving Aid: 59%
Average Aid: $20,389
Enrollment: 26,420

6. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Nuclear Physics

#16 in the United States

#16 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 24%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $20,782
Enrollment: 42,006

7. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Nuclear Physics

#38 in the United States

#39 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 37%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $20,548
Enrollment: 39,679

8. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Nuclear Physics

#42 in the United States

#44 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $17,411
Enrollment: 35,937

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Nuclear Physics

#49 in the United States

#52 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Average SAT: 1500
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $36,808

10. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Nuclear Physics

#56 in the United States

#62 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $22,042
Enrollment: 26,809

11. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Nuclear Physics

#59 in the United States

#66 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,140
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1864

12. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Nuclear Physics

#60 in the United States

#67 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Receiving Aid: 74%
Average Aid: $21,202
Enrollment: 19,478

13. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Nuclear Physics

#159 in the United States

#185 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Receiving Aid: 92%
Average Aid: $10,907
Enrollment: 26,460

14. Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

For Nuclear Physics

#179 in the United States

#205 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Enrollment: 4,280
Male:Female: 33:67
Founded: 1905

15. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Nuclear Physics

#180 in the United States

#206 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Receiving Aid: 98%
Average Aid: $9,934
Enrollment: 37,402

16. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Nuclear Physics

#194 in the United States

#221 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $10,511
Enrollment: 37,579

17. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Nuclear Physics

#209 in the United States

#238 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $9,210
Enrollment: 35,751

18. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Nuclear Physics

#210 in the United States

#239 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $25,868
Enrollment: 9,103

19. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Nuclear Physics

#217 in the United States

#247 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,478
Enrollment: 38,973

20. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Nuclear Physics

#222 in the United States

#253 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 78%
Average Aid: $9,830
Enrollment: 25,282

21. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Nuclear Physics

#227 in the United States

#259 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 23%
Enrollment: 2,670
Male:Female: 78:22
Founded: 1909

22. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Nuclear Physics

#275 in the United States

#310 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 67%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,194
Enrollment: 40,386

23. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Nuclear Physics

#281 in the United States

#319 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Average SAT: 1310
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $42,953

24. Pomona College

Claremont

For Nuclear Physics

#285 in the United States

#323 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 7%
Average SAT: 1520
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $19,962

25. University of the Pacific

Stockton

For Nuclear Physics

#294 in the United States

#333 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 1272
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $28,164

26. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Nuclear Physics

#303 in the United States

#343 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Enrollment: 1,129
Male:Female: 14:86
Founded: 1975

27. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Nuclear Physics

#306 in the United States

#346 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $10,065
Enrollment: 22,000

28. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Nuclear Physics

#332 in the United States

#375 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $9,968
Enrollment: 23,999

29. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Nuclear Physics

#335 in the United States

#378 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 55%
Receiving Aid: 77%
Average Aid: $9,040
Enrollment: 27,503

30. Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

For Nuclear Physics

#336 in the United States

#379 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Average SAT: 1520
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $39,850

31. Chapman University

Orange

For Nuclear Physics

#341 in the United States

#385 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Average SAT: 1300
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $45,033

32. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Nuclear Physics

#343 in the United States

#388 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 53%
Net Price: $36,008
Receiving Aid: 84%
Average Aid: $36,408

33. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Nuclear Physics

#350 in the United States

#395 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Average SAT: 1385
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $50,551

34. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Nuclear Physics

#357 in the United States

#402 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 98%
Receiving Aid: 76%
Average Aid: $9,262
Enrollment: 6,025

35. Occidental College

Los Angeles

For Nuclear Physics

#406 in the United States

#454 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Average SAT: 1440
Average ACT: 33
Net Price: $44,853

36. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Nuclear Physics

#442 in the United States

#491 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $9,590
Enrollment: 31,818

37. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson

For Nuclear Physics

#469 in the United States

#520 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $9,819
Enrollment: 16,426

38. California State University - East Bay

Hayward

For Nuclear Physics

#472 in the United States

#523 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $8,659
Enrollment: 13,673

39. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

For Nuclear Physics

#488 in the United States

#539 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 41%
Average SAT: 1380
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $52,815

40. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Nuclear Physics

#494 in the United States

#545 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 72%
Average Aid: $9,162
Enrollment: 14,183

41. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield

For Nuclear Physics

#496 in the United States

#547 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Receiving Aid: 90%
Average Aid: $10,750
Enrollment: 9,613

42. Whittier College

Whittier

For Nuclear Physics

#532 in the United States

#584 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Average SAT: 1240
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $28,368

43. California State University Maritime Academy

Vallejo

For Nuclear Physics

#537 in the United States

#590 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Receiving Aid: 62%
Average Aid: $9,529
Enrollment: 849

44. Westmont College

Santa Barbara

For Nuclear Physics

#542 in the United States

#595 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Average SAT: 1369
Average ACT: 32
Net Price: $33,112

45. California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino

For Nuclear Physics

#543 in the United States

#596 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $9,871
Enrollment: 19,803

46. Western University of Health Sciences

Pomona

For Nuclear Physics

#559 in the United States

#612 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 3,724
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1977

47. Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park

For Nuclear Physics

#577 in the United States

#630 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 81%
Average Aid: $7,287
Enrollment: 6,637

Closest to California states to learn Nuclear Physics

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	9	78
Utah	5	45
Arizona	4	29
Idaho	3	118
Washington	12	13
Colorado	10	25
New Mexico	5	62
Montana	3	122
Nebraska	6	81
South Dakota	6	274
Kansas	5	83
Texas	40	18
Oklahoma	7	106
North Dakota	2	191
Minnesota	11	17
Iowa	8	36
Missouri	9	57
Arkansas	6	135
Louisiana	11	70
Wisconsin	11	9
Illinois	27	11
Mississippi	5	166
Indiana	14	30
Michigan	16	8
Tennessee	13	37
Alabama	9	95
Kentucky	8	72
Ohio	28	23
Georgia	13	39
South Carolina	8	89
North Carolina	18	34
Virginia	17	48
Pennsylvania	30	22
Florida	22	27
District of Columbia	6	94
Maryland	14	6
New York	63	12
New Jersey	12	4
Vermont	4	158
Hawaii	3	110
Connecticut	10	21
Massachusetts	24	2
New Hampshire	3	76
Rhode Island	3	63
Maine	4	186
Puerto Rico	3	223