Physics at Purdue University - Main Campus

Every physics school has its own distinct culture and strengths. We've pulled together some statistics and other details to help you see how the physics program at Purdue University - Main Campus stacks up to those at other schools.

Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and has a total student population of 46,655. Of the 8,338 students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University - Main Campus in 2021, 52 of them were physics majors.

Want to know more about the career opportunities in this field? Check out the Careers in Physics section at the bottom of this page.

Purdue Physics Degrees Available

• Bachelor’s Degree in Physics
• Master’s Degree in Physics
• Doctorate Degree in Physics

Purdue Physics Rankings

The following rankings from College Factual show how the physics progam at Purdue compares to programs at other colleges and universities.

Note: Rankings don't always give a complete picture of a school's strengths and weaknesses, so it's a good idea to extend your research and also look at other factors when trying to decide if the school is right for you.

Bachelor’s Degree Overall Quality & Other Notable Rankings

The physics major at Purdue is not ranked on College Factual’s Best Colleges and Universities for Physics. This could be for a number of reasons, such as not having enough data on the major or school to make an accurate assessment of its quality.

Ranking Type	Rank
	66
Most Focused Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools	75
Most Focused Physics Master’s Degree Schools	139

In 2021, 9 students received their master’s degree in physics from Purdue. This makes it the #63 most popular school for physics master’s degree candidates in the country.

There were 17 students who received their doctoral degrees in physics, making the school the #30 most popular school in the United States for this category of students.

Physics Student Demographics at Purdue

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the physics majors at Purdue University - Main Campus.

Purdue Physics Bachelor’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 52 physics majors earned their bachelor's degree from Purdue. Of these graduates, 79% were men and 21% were women.

About 65% of those who receive a bachelor's degree in physics at Purdue are white. This is above average for this degree on the nationwide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Purdue University - Main Campus with a bachelor's in physics.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	3
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	3
White	34
International Students	5
Other Races/Ethnicities	7

Purdue Physics Master’s Program

Of the 9 students who earned a master's degree in Physics from Purdue in 2020-2021, 89% were men and 11% were women.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Purdue University - Main Campus with a master's in physics.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	1
International Students	7
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

Purdue also has a doctoral program available in physics. In 2021, 17 students graduated with a doctor's degree in this field.

Related Majors

• Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology
• Geological & Earth Sciences
• Chemistry

Careers That Physics Grads May Go Into

A degree in physics can lead to the following careers. Since job numbers and average salaries can vary by geographic location, we have only included the numbers for IN, the home state for Purdue University - Main Campus.

Occupation	Jobs in IN	Average Salary in IN
High School Teachers	19,690	$53,030
Natural Sciences Managers	1,720	$65,270
Physics Postsecondary Professors	300	$107,260

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• Image Credit: By Abhijitsathe under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.