Leading Today’s Groundbreaking Research. Teaching Tomorrow’s Leaders.

At the heart of the university, the School of Physical Sciences includes the departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Physics, and Mathematics. We are committed to excellence in research and teaching. The school is home to more than 180 faculty members who brought in nearly $70M in research funding in FY25.

The school offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degrees, top-ranking graduate programs, and supports California’s need for qualified science teachers through Cal Teach. With more than 500 graduate students and 4,000 undergraduate majors, there are nearly 75,000 student enrollments in Physical Sciences courses each year.

Our priorities support the chancellor’s strategic goals as our vision focuses on student success, growing our faculty ranks and supporting groundbreaking research. The school’s success also depends on friends, alumni and industry partners who play a critical role in helping us fulfill our research and educational missions.

Undergraduate Programs

We offer a wide variety of undergraduate majors and minors through our departments, as well as interdisciplinary programs in science and mathematics education.

Graduate Programs

Each of our top-ranked departments offers graduate-degree programs. Additionally, graduate students can pursue interdisciplinary study in computational science, materials science, mathematics and science education, and quantitative biology.