2023 Best Physics Doctor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Physics Doctor'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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Physics Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 111 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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.
2023 Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for physics majors pursuing a doctor's degree.
Top 15% Best Physics Doctor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for physics students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Out of the 111 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
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Out of the 111 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the # 3 spot on the list. Illinois Tech is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Chicago is a great place for physics students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Northeastern University is a great place for physics students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree physics programs. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
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University of Arizona ranked #7 on this year’s Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public college with a very large student population.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.
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Wake Forest University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.
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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #10 on this year’s Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Iowa State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Iowa State is a very large public school located in the city of Ames.
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University of Wyoming ranked #12 on this year’s Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the town of Laramie, UW is a public college with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #13, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for physics students working on their doctor’s degree. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
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University of Maryland - College Park did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #15, Drexel University did quite well on this year’s best schools for physics students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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The University of Texas at Austin ranked #16 on this year’s Best Physics Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.
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Here are some additional great schools for Physics students that almost earned our Best Physics Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Temple University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 18 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD |
| 19 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 20 | Baylor University | Waco, TX |
| 21 | Oklahoma State University - Main Campus | Stillwater, OK |
| 22 | University of Houston | Houston, TX |
Physics by Region
View the Best Physics Doctor'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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