2023 Best Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Physics Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 13,674 people earned a degree or certificate in physics, making the major the #69 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 241 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Physics Bachelor's Degree Colleges.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Physics
Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Out of the 241 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the # 2 spot on the list. Illinois Tech is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Rochester Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best physics schools in the United States. RIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Rochester.
Read full report on Physics at Rochester Institute of Technology
With a ranking of #6, University of Delaware did quite well on this year’s best schools for physics students working on their bachelor’s degree. UD is a very large public school located in the suburb of Newark.
Northeastern University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree physics programs. Located in the city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
University of Arizona landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree physics programs. Located in the city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public school with a very large student population.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, physics majors at University of Arizona accumulate an average of around $24,186 in student debt.
Williams College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree physics programs. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.
The average amount in student loans that physics majors at UCSB take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $17,121.
Full Physics at University of California - Santa Barbara Report
Wake Forest University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Wake Forest University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.
University of Wisconsin - River Falls did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. UW - River Falls is a medium-sized public school located in the town of River Falls.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, physics majors at UW - River Falls accumulate an average of around $25,603 in student debt.
Read full report on Physics at University of Wisconsin - River Falls
College of the Holy Cross ranked #13 on this year’s Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Worcester, Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public school with a very large student population.
On average, physics graduates from UMN Twin Cities take out $23,998 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
Read full report on Physics at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the large city of Madison.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree physics programs. Embry-Riddle Prescott is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Prescott.
Read full report on Physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree physics programs. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $674.
Iowa State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Iowa State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Ames.
University of Maryland - College Park ranked #19 on this year’s Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full Physics at University of Maryland - College Park Report
Cornell University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Purdue is a very large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.
Union College New York came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Union College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Schenectady.
The University of Texas at Austin ranked #23 on this year’s Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.
The average amount in student loans that physics majors at UT Austin take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $22,862. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $193, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Read full report on Physics at The University of Texas at Austin
University of Wyoming did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the town of Laramie, UW is a public college with a fairly large student population.
St Olaf College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. St. Olaf is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Northfield.
Rest of the Top Best Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Physics students that almost earned our Best Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | Pacific Lutheran University | Tacoma, WA |
| 38 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins | Fort Collins, CO |
| 39 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach | Daytona Beach, FL |
| 40 | University of North Alabama | Florence, AL |
| 41 | Temple University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 42 | University of Nevada - Reno | Reno, NV |
| 43 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy, NY |
| 44 | Millersville University of Pennsylvania | Millersville, PA |
| 45 | University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA |
| 46 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
| 47 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 48 | University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN |
Physics by Region
View the Best Physics Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Physics Rankings
Physics Related Rankings by Major
Physics is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Physics
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | 21,239 |
| Geological & Earth Sciences | 7,821 |
| General Physical Sciences | 3,823 |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics | 1,375 |
| Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology | 1,140 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to A. T. Service.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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