Physical Sciences at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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 North Carolina at Chapel Hill stacks up to those at other schools.

UNC Chapel Hill is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and has a total student population of 30,092. Of the 6,496 students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021, 226 of them were physical sciences majors.

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.

UNC Chapel Hill Physical Sciences Degrees Available

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

UNC Chapel Hill Physical Sciences Rankings

Each year, College Factual ranks physical sciences programs across the country. The following shows how UNC Chapel Hill performed in these rankings.

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 physical sciences major at UNC Chapel Hill 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 Focused Physical Sciences Doctor’s Degree Schools	44
Most Popular Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools	57
Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools	68
Best Value Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	140

In 2021, 31 students received their master’s degree in physical sciences from UNC Chapel Hill. This makes it the #58 most popular school for physical sciences master’s degree candidates in the country.

There were 57 students who received their doctoral degrees in physical sciences, making the school the #27 most popular school in the United States for this category of students.

Physical Sciences Student Demographics at UNC Chapel Hill

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the physical sciences majors at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

UNC Chapel Hill Physical Sciences Bachelor’s Program

Of the 226 physical sciences students who graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2020-2021 from UNC Chapel Hill, about 54% were men and 46% were women. The typical physical sciences bachelor's degree program is made up of only 43% women. So female students are more repesented at UNC Chapel Hill since its program graduates 3% more women than average.

About 60% of those who receive a bachelor's degree in physical sciences at UNC Chapel Hill are white. This is above average for this degree on the nationwide level. Prospective students may be interested in knowing that this school graduates 1% more racial-ethnic minorities in its physical sciences bachelor's program than the national average.*

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor's in physical sciences.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	27
Black or African American	19
Hispanic or Latino	17
White	136
International Students	7
Other Races/Ethnicities	20

UNC Chapel Hill Physical Sciences Master’s Program

The physical sciences program at UNC Chapel Hill awarded 31 master's degrees in 2020-2021. About 55% of these degrees went to men with the other 45% going to women.

Of the students who received a physical sciences master's degree from UNC Chapel Hill, 77% 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 North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a master's in physical sciences.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	24
International Students	3
Other Races/Ethnicities	3

UNC Chapel Hill also has a doctoral program available in physical sciences. In 2021, 57 students graduated with a doctor's degree in this field.

Concentrations Within Physical Sciences

Physical Sciences majors may want to concentrate their studies in one of these areas. The completion numbers here include all graduates who receive any type of degree in this field from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Some of these focus areas may not be available for your degree level.

Concentration	Annual Degrees Awarded
Chemistry	226
Physics	57
Geological & Earth Sciences	29
Materials Sciences	2

Related Majors

• Architecture & Related Services
• Engineering
• 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 NC, the home state for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Occupation	Jobs in NC	Average Salary in NC
High School Teachers	25,240	$47,580
Professors	5,220	$70,590
Chemists	4,370	$77,820
Architectural and Engineering Managers	4,060	$140,980
Environmental Scientists and Specialists	3,790	$64,850

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 Marchmain05 under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.