Physical Sciences at University of Colorado Boulder

Every physical sciences school has its own distinct culture and strengths. We've pulled together some statistics and other details to help you see how the physical sciences program at University of Colorado Boulder stacks up to those at other schools.

CU - Boulder is located in Boulder, Colorado and has a total student population of 37,437. In 2021, 241 physical sciences majors received their bachelor's degree from CU - Boulder.

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

CU - Boulder Physical Sciences Degrees Available

• Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Sciences
• Master’s Degree in Physical Sciences
• Doctorate Degree in Physical Sciences

CU - Boulder Physical Sciences Rankings

The following rankings from College Factual show how the physical sciences progam at CU - Boulder compares to programs at other colleges and universities.

Note: While rankings may be a good starting point when you're researching a school, they don't necessarily highlight all of a school's strengths. Don't forget to check out the other details that are available for a school to see if it has what you're looking for in a program.

Bachelor’s Degree Overall Quality & Other Notable Rankings

The physical sciences major at CU - Boulder is not ranked on College Factual’s Best Colleges and Universities for Physical Sciences. 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
Most Popular Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	9
	53
Most Focused Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools	66
Best Value Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	154

In 2021, 58 students received their master’s degree in physical sciences from CU - Boulder. This makes it the #26 most popular school for physical sciences master’s degree candidates in the country.

There were 76 students who received their doctoral degrees in physical sciences, making the school the #14 most popular school in the United States for this category of students.

Physical Sciences Student Demographics at CU - Boulder

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the physical sciences majors at University of Colorado Boulder.

CU - Boulder Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Program

Of the 241 students who earned a bachelor's degree in Physical Sciences from CU - Boulder in 2020-2021, 66% were men and 34% were women.

About 63% of those who receive a bachelor's degree in physical sciences at CU - Boulder 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 University of Colorado Boulder with a bachelor's in physical sciences.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	9
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	21
White	152
International Students	44
Other Races/Ethnicities	13

CU - Boulder Physical Sciences Master’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 58 students graduated with a master's degree in physical sciences from CU - Boulder. About 84% were men and 16% were women.

Of the students who received a physical sciences master's degree from CU - Boulder, 59% were white. This is above average for this degree on the natiowide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from University of Colorado Boulder with a master's in physical sciences.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	5
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	4
White	34
International Students	6
Other Races/Ethnicities	9

CU - Boulder also has a doctoral program available in physical sciences. In 2021, 76 students graduated with a doctor's degree in this field.

Concentrations Within Physical Sciences

If you plan to be a physical sciences major, you may want to focus your studies on one of the following concentrations. The table shows all degrees awarded in this field awarded for all degree levels at University of Colorado Boulder. A concentration may not be available for your level.

Concentration	Annual Degrees Awarded
Physics	158
Astronomy & Astrophysics	73
Geological & Earth Sciences	64
Chemistry	55
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	25

Related Majors

• Engineering Technologies
• Architecture & Related Services
• Natural Resources & Conservation
• Mathematics & Statistics
• Computer & Information Sciences

Careers That Physical Sciences Grads May Go Into

A degree in physical sciences can lead to the following careers. Since job numbers and average salaries can vary by geographic location, we have only included the numbers for CO, the home state for University of Colorado Boulder.

Occupation	Jobs in CO	Average Salary in CO
High School Teachers	16,950	$55,110
Architectural and Engineering Managers	3,350	$172,300
Environmental Scientists and Specialists	2,930	$93,010
Geoscientists	2,010	$111,130
Chemists	1,700	$77,250

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 University of Colorado at Boulder under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.