ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2026 Best Materials Sciences Schools in the Far Western Region

3 Colleges in the United States
170 Materials Sciences Degrees Awarded
$52,125 Avg Early-Career Salary

Materials Sciences is a field worth a close look when choosing where to study. The schools below stand out for the quality of their materials sciences programs.

For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 10 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for materials sciences students pursuing a degree.

What’s on this page:

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/physical-sciences/materials-sciences/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/physical-sciences/materials-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/physical-sciences/materials-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/physical-sciences/materials-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/physical-sciences/materials-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/physical-sciences/materials-sciences/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/physical-sciences/materials-sciences/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 2
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 40.10), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "Science & Engineering Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Science & Engineering Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Science & Engineering Diploma Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Science & Engineering Diploma Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 0
DEBUG: No relevant offers, showing generic ESYOH widget

Best Schools for Materials Sciences in the Far Western Region

If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the materials sciences degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Schools in Materials Sciences

1

Leading the list is University Of California Berkeley, our #1 school for materials sciences. University Of California Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley. University Of California Berkeley graduates 93% of students within six years. There were roughly 111 materials sciences students who graduated with this degree at University Of California Berkeley in the most recent data year. Graduates of the materials sciences program make about $70,847 in their early career. University Of California Berkeley graduates carry a median of $14,238 in student loans. See the full materials sciences program report for University Of California Berkeley

2

University Of California Santa Barbara is one of the finest schools in the country for a degree in materials sciences, ranking #2. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, University Of California Santa Barbara is a very large public university. University Of California Santa Barbara graduates 83% of students within six years. There were roughly 46 materials sciences students who graduated with this degree at University Of California Santa Barbara in the most recent data year. Students who receive their materials sciences degree from University Of California Santa Barbara earn around $45,488 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $15,501 to complete this degree. Read more about the materials sciences program at University Of California Santa Barbara

3

University Of California Riverside is one of the finest schools in the country for a degree in materials sciences, ranking #3. Set in the city of Riverside, University Of California Riverside is a very large public institution. About 76% of students finish within six years. University Of California Riverside awarded about 13 materials sciences degrees in the most recent data year. Students who receive their materials sciences degree from University Of California Riverside earn around $40,040 in the first couple years of their career. University Of California Riverside graduates carry a median of $19,187 in student loans. Get the full materials sciences details for University Of California Riverside

Narrow Materials Sciences Schools by State

ADBLOCK #173
View All Materials Sciences Rankings >

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 10 schools evaluated.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options