Physical sciences

Physical Sciences

University of California-Davis · Davis, CA

Medium evidenceMatched peers12 institutions · related subjectsSee the evidence

The degree in numbers

Cost & earnings.

Annual tuition$46,024Institution-level tuition; programme fees may differ · before aid
Grouped debt estimate$21,570Related subjects at 12 matched peer institutions · bachelor's

Earnings context

One career stage.
A clearer comparison.

USD · Bachelor's · 1 year after completion
Same source release. National references exclude this degree.

Selected degree estimate$32,916
Physical sciences · national$39,009

Behind the number

Your comparison group.

Medium evidence

Related subjects at 12 matched peer institutions · bachelor's

Grouped estimate. Middle half of comparison values: $29,026–$36,858.

Historical earnings archive. College Scorecard legacy FOS archive (file dated 2022-01-19; cohorts vary). Do not interpret this as today's graduate salary. Further study and career changes are not modelled by this early-career figure.

Bachelor's outcomes · 1 year after completion
Institution & subjectReported earnings
University of Washington-Seattle CampusAstronomy and Astrophysics$33,993
North Carolina State University at RaleighAtmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physics$36,080
Binghamton UniversityPhysics$24,035
Purdue University-Main CampusPhysics$36,141
The University of Tennessee-KnoxvillePhysics$27,048
University of Central FloridaChemistry$26,353
Auburn UniversityChemistry$29,685
University of California-IrvinePhysics$31,839
University of Massachusetts-AmherstAstronomy and Astrophysics$39,009
Rutgers University-New BrunswickPhysics$39,009
Texas A & M University-College StationPhysics$42,615
The University of Texas at DallasChemistry$31,127
How matching & uncertainty work

We first look for the same subject code (or exact subject name), qualification, country, currency, source release and earnings horizon. Peer institutions are matched using admissions selectivity, completion rates, undergraduate size and institution type, with a small preference for the same region. These are institutional proxies, not a ranking of programme quality.

If subject-matched peers are sparse, we try related subjects at closely matched universities, related degrees at this university, then an explicitly labelled national reference. We never multiply a salary by a university prestige score.

Peer and national estimates give each reporting institution one vote, after taking the median of its related programmes. Shared branch-campus outcomes count once. The middle-half range describes variation between reporting institutions. It is not an individual salary range or a statistical confidence interval.

Evidence labels describe match quality and coverage, not validated prediction accuracy. Admissions and size are undergraduate institutional measures, so graduate-degree comparisons are especially approximate.

Historical cohort outcomes are not promised salaries or a causal effect of attending this programme. College Scorecard earnings cover eligible federal-aid recipients, not every graduate or international student. Source definitions ↗